Why Recess Time-Out Doesn’t Work

I’ve watched the same students at recess every day for years. They emerge from their classrooms a minute or two after their sprinting classmates.

They shuffle slowly toward a lunch table or an empty bench carrying a fluttering sheet of paper or a book with no bookmark. They often get a drink of water or use the restroom along the way, killing as much time as they can get away with.

Perhaps a teacher from another classroom is assigned to watch the large group, or maybe it’s a teacher’s aide. At some schools, it’s no one at all. Occasionally, a library or an empty classroom serves as a repository for ill-behaved students sent to time-out.

Whatever the circumstance, the students are passively supervised at best and rarely by their own teacher.

Many, if not most, teachers use recess time-out as a consequence for poor behavior or missed homework, but does it really work? Do students improve their behavior or bring their homework more consistently as a result of sitting in time-out while their classmates are at recess?

This is a key question because if a particular consequence doesn’t do the job of curbing unwanted behavior, then it’s not worth doing. The consequence then becomes merely a weak punishment doled out by the teacher. If you find that a consequence is not changing behavior for the better, then you should drop it and find one that does.

I know that using recess time-out is convenient for the teacher and doesn’t interrupt class time, but for most students, it just doesn’t work very well. Missing recess isn’t a big deal for many students.

The consequence isn’t strong enough. And over time, if they’re sent to time-out often enough, they will begin to associate themselves with the kind of student who makes a habit of not doing the right thing. It becomes part of who they are.

Using the same consequence with the same students over and over again during the course of a school year without notable improvement can be detrimental. Sadly, when you take a close look at who is on recess time-out week in and week out, it’s usually the same students. They look around and think, “Yep, this is my crew. This is who we are. We’re the bad ones.”

Ask the students you send to recess time-out most often to name the students they typically see there. They won’t hesitate.

So what is the solution? Is there a way to use time-out effectively during recess? Like so much of classroom management, a little work in the beginning goes a long way. Recess time-out can be extremely effective if done in a certain way, a way that also happens to be quite simple.

You supervise them.

I know, I know. It’s inconvenient. You need to use the restroom, have a snack, and get away from your students for a few minutes. But part of what makes it work is that it is inconvenient for you.

By staying with them during recess, you are communicating to your students that they’re a priority for you and that you care about them and their behavior. You can keep your students in the classroom if you prefer, but I’ve found it to be particularly effective to walk them to the school’s time-out area and supervise them there.

By supervising your students yourself, you can make sure that they’re actually accomplishing something during time-out or, if you choose, that they’re truly doing nothing at all.

You don’t have to give any lectures or ask for assurances from them. In fact, you shouldn’t say anything to them once recess begins. You want to impress upon your students that time-out is such an important consequence-sacred even-that no one is allowed to speak, not even the teacher.

Yes, you may have to do this a couple of times a week or more in the beginning of the school year, and there will be times when you dread it. But the payoff is great and well worth it in the end.

Use the time to get some work done or eat a snack if you like. And if you need to use the restroom, have your students walk with you and wait outside holding your books and materials. Many times I’ve heard students from other classrooms say to my students. “You’re so lucky. Your teacher goes with you to time-out.”

My students look at them like they’re crazy but deep down share their sentiment. You’re showing that you care, that you’re not going to let them fail. And this makes all the difference.

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