In this episode as part of our Mission: ME series, we talk with Dr. Sherri Huff to explore why unstructured movement time is essential and why recess and movement plays such a critical role in raising active, healthy kids at home and at school. With more than 30 years of experience in health and physical education, Dr. Huff now serves as the district wellness coordinator for Birmingham City Schools in Alabama, where she champions physical activity, physical education, and daily recess for every student.
To find more content like this related to daily activities or health routines for kids at school or at home, visit our Mission:ME page.
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Episode Transcript
Quick Navigation (click the linked text below to jump to a new section)
- Intro
- Sherri’s background in this field
- How recess supports focus and learning outcomes
- The research behind physical activity and academic performance
- Why taking away recess as a punishment is counterproductive
- Strategies schools can use to make recess more welcoming for all students
- How free movement time impacts social development and peer relationships
- The role physical activity plays in balancing energy levels and stress
- How teachers can balance the pressure of instructional time with the need for movement
- One key takeaway
- Sherri’s final thoughts
*Edited for clarity*
Host: 00:04
This is Wellness, Health and Everything Else, a NCHPAD podcast.
Welcome to Wellness, Health and Everything Else: a NCHPAD Podcast. NCHPAD is the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability – the nation’s premier center dedicated to promoting the health and wellness of everyone. In each episode, we explore topics at the intersection of health, wellness and mobility limitations. If you have an idea for a topic, would like to learn more about a topic or are interested in our free resources, programs and partnership opportunities, email us at nchpad@uab.edu, give us a call at 866-866-8896 or check out our website at nchpad.org.
Host: 01:05
In this episode, we talk with Dr. Sherri Huff about why unstructured movement time matters and the importance of recess as part of our Mission: ME series to prioritize active and healthy kids at home and at school. Dr. Sherri Huff has been an educator for over 30 years in the fields of health and physical education. She is the district wellness coordinator for the Birmingham City Schools in Birmingham, Alabama, supporting physical activity, physical education, and daily recess for all students. Here is Sherri discussing her background in this field.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 01:22
I have been involved in physical activity, physical education, and athletics my whole life. I started playing organized basketball in middle school and continued through high school. I ran track, I played on the golf team, and I was voted the most athletic in my senior year in high school. So, with that in mind, I ended up getting a basketball scholarship to UAB, and that’s how I ended up in Alabama. Right out of college, I started working in the preschool setting and then moved into physical education and coaching. I have a BS in recreation and a Master’s in Athletic Administration and Physical Education from UAB. I have an EdS in physical education and education administration from the University of Montevallo. And I have a doctorate degree from Samford University in educational leadership. I’ve taught physical education at all levels from elementary to college. I’m currently the program specialist in the Birmingham City School system for K-12 physical education, health education, and driver education. And I’m also the Let’s Move BCS after-school coordinator. We have numerous programs that our students are involved in after school. Before I became the program specialist in the curriculum department, I was the assistant AD in Birmingham City Schools for several years. And I’m also the wellness coordinator for the school system, which actually supports 20 minutes of daily recess for our students, which is very important. I serve on the ASAHPERD board, which is the Alabama State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. I’m the advocacy chair, and we support health and wellness, physical education, and health education. Anything to do with physical activity throughout the state. And I do believe in educating the whole child. So that’s my background.
Host: 03:22
Many people may view recess as just free play, but Sherri discussed how it supports focus and learning outcomes.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 03:29
In my school system, we support 20 minutes of daily recess, and it is so important because it provides creativity for the students. It helps them with decision-making skills when they’re having recess, and it improves their attention. It keeps them on task. It helps them with problem-solving. Once they return to class, they should be able to refocus and be more attentive. It allows the students to reset, and it enhances their emotional well-being. It’s more than just free play because it does all these positive things. Once the students get back into the classroom, they’re ready to learn and ready to focus.
Host: 04:19
Here’s Sherri discussing the research behind physical activity and academic performance.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 04:24
So there have been numerous studies done. The CDC’s done studies and found that physical activity, including recess, is positively associated with academic outcomes, grades, test scores, and classroom behavior. Again, we can’t stress enough how much physical activity enhances academic performance. The science shows it. It proves that it helps the brain and the blood flow to the brain. The science shows what physical activity does for students and, well, not just students, but for everybody. It increases their memory concentration and helps with their mood and their emotions.
Host: 05:17
Sherri discussed why taking away recess as a punishment is counterproductive and what alternative teachers can use instead.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 05:24
So, taking away recess actually increases behavioral issues in the classroom, and when you keep children from being able to release this energy, they’re less focused, fidgety, and need to get that energy out. If the children are not able to release that energy, the behavior is disruptive, it reduces their focus, or they can’t pay attention to what’s going on in the classroom. So, taking that away from them is very counterproductive, and it shouldn’t be taken away from them.
Host: 06:06
Here are some strategies schools can use to make recess more welcoming for all students, including those who may prefer quieter or structured activities.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 06:15
So, students can be given options. They can be offered different types of activities that they can do, such as a quiet corner, sensory station, or different alternatives for them if they don’t prefer to be extremely active during recess. We can train staff on how to have inclusive play and to prevent students from being excluded. Again, I think educating teachers on how to include everyone and realize that some students may need more physical activity than others, but still giving them the option to be active [is important]. Maybe doing a puzzle, reading, or letting them play with Legos. Anything like that that still has them moving somewhat, but maybe not as physically active as other students.
We asked how free movement time impacts social development and peer relationships.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 07:24
Recess is a great setting for developing cooperation and conflict resolution. Children learn how to get along, they learn how to negotiate, learn rules, and they learn how to share and build friendships. It’s just a less structured environment for them to work together with their peers, their friends, learn socialization, and learn how to do that amongst themselves without having a teacher leading the way. They do it on their own.
Host: 07:59
Sherri talked about the role physical activity plays in balancing energy levels for students and reducing stress throughout the day.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 08:05
Recess reduces their anxiety. It helps them release all this energy that’s been pent up all day. It helps them to feel refreshed after being physically active. It improves mood, and it reduces behavior issues. I know that throughout the day, giving the students an opportunity to get up and move around the classroom or go outside helps reduce stress tremendously. And I’ve seen it time and time again in different classrooms that I’ve observed. The students are coming back in, and they’re so much more focused and ready to learn what’s going on in the classroom after they’ve been physically active.
Host: 08:54
Here’s how teachers can balance the pressure of instructional time with the need for movement
Dr. Sherri Huff: 08:60
So, brain breaks and kinesthetic learning have been shown time and time again to help with academic performance by giving [students] the option to get up and move and be active during class time. We used to do a thing called the jamming minutes, where we played music and the students were able to move with the music for a minute, and then the students would go back to the academic lessons or whatever they were doing at the time. Being able to have that option to move, I can’t stress enough how positive movement is and how students desperately need it. I know teachers can also use balance balls in the classroom, balance tools. I was reading an article about a teacher who made a sensory chair for students in the classroom. She took tennis balls and cut them in half, glued them on the back of the chair, and then on the bottom of the chair, and that was a sensory chair that helped children who maybe wiggled too much during class time. With the balance balls and balance tools, they’re moving with those balls and also able to still focus on the lesson or what they’re learning that day. There are several things that teachers can do to help with instructional time using movement.
Host: 10:33
We asked Sherri for one key takeaway for educators and decision makers about recess and movement.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 10:38
Recess is not a break from learning. It’s a part of learning. I’ve seen it. I’ve witnessed it myself how letting children be physically active during the day changes the whole dynamic of the classroom. It changes the behavior of the students, their cognitive, emotional, and social development. It just improves everything once children have been given that opportunity to move during the day and to be active. It helps enhance learning. I just wish that administrators and individuals in education would see the importance of it and let the students be physically active before they take a test or before they do something that’s very important in the classroom, and see the difference it makes in their scores and their behavior throughout the day.
Host: 11:34
Here are Sherri’s final thoughts.
Dr. Sherri Huff: 11:37
I just can’t emphasize enough the importance of physical activity, physical education, and movement. All you have to do is just research what’s out there regarding physical activity and recess, and how it impacts students positively. It’s not a negative thing. I think too many administrators think that it’s a negative thing to let the children be physically active before a test or before an important academic lesson is taught. It does improve their concentration, and I just wish that they would realize how important it is, and it would benefit them so much if they would take advantage of it.
Host: 12:26
Thanks for listening to Wellness, Health and Everything Else. For a full episode transcript, visit our website and find the episode in the podcasts and videos section. If you would like to check out our Mission: ME campaign with helpful resources for active and healthy kids, check out our Mission: ME page on our website. The link can be found on our social media channels and in this episode’s details on our website or streaming platforms. If you have questions about NCHPAD’s free resources, programs and partnership opportunities, email us at nchpad@uab.edu, call us at 866-866-8896 or check out our website at nchpad.org.