By Taylor Breckles (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: May 21, 2014
As kids, the six hours spent in school every day probably felt like an eternity. That is, until we were given a reprieve every few hours to get up, move around, and have a snack, but such is no longer the case for kids in Abbotsford schools.
Recess has been eliminated from the School District 34 timetable as part of the current contract debates with the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF).
“The Abbotsford School District has announced that recess at elementary and middle schools is cancelled as of Monday, May 12th and until the B.C. Teachers’ Federation job action is over,” the Abbotsford School District states on its website.
The job action movement has been ongoing for nearly a year after teachers’ contracts expired, yet negotiations are still underway. Teachers are requesting wage increases, a return to 2001 class sizes and composition rules, and more specialty teachers such as counsellors and librarians. The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, however, is unwilling to meet all the requests.
Students have had a couple weeks to adjust to the timetable change, and Abbotsford School of Integrated Arts (ASIA) teacher Kristina Schmidt says she has certainly noticed a difference.
“I think that it’s affected the students the most because they’re used to that break, they’re used to running outside and grabbing some fresh air or going to the bathroom … They’re the ones that are really stressing about [the cancellation],” she says. “I just kind of plough through with my lesson, do my thing, and listen to them complain.”
Even though there is no longer a scheduled break, teachers may allow students to eat, drink, or move around, explains ASIA principal Marlene Funk.
“[Class breaks] up to the teacher’s discretion … it’s up to the teacher’s professional judgement,” she says.
In Schmidt’s class, students are allowed to have a drink, eat, or use the bathroom during the former recess — or nutrition break — to re-energize themselves.
Although the lack of a break is a change for students, both Schmidt and Funk agree the students are adjusting.
“It’s somewhat business as usual in terms of care for kids,” Funk says, explaining the school day starts 15 minutes later and lunch is not affected.
“It’s a decision that the district made in service of the kids to provide supervision for the kids in a safe environment.”
While this decision has been integrating smoothly with the middle school system, Schmidt says elementary schools may have a more difficult time adapting.
“I think that the littler guys are going to have a harder time with [the change]; they need more movement,” Schmidt says. “I’m really glad to be a middle school teacher right now.”
