When the classroom teacher can integrate various disciplines into the regular classroom, it reduces the tension between the time and recess factions. Other recess issues include fears of lawsuits and of unsavory adults who might be lurking around the edges of playgrounds, as well as the cost of appropriate supervision. And the elementary years are, developmentally, when this should occur. Learning to negotiate and to play informally can help children learn to get along, to include others and to negotiate some problem-solving situations. A lot of these things can happen at recess time.
Every parent struggles, at one time or another, with the issue of daycare.
If you do your homework, says Rheta DeVries, director of the Regents Center for Early Developmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa, there's really little reason to worry. Research has shown that the single most distinguishing characteristic that defines good day care is that the teachers have had training in child development. She says in too many day care settings, teachers have a limited educational background and limited training in early childhood education. She believes this is due, in large part, to the fact that day care teachers earn so little money and more highly qualified people simply go elsewhere. While day care in this country remains largely unsubsidized, DeVries says corporate day care is usually of a high quality because companies make an investment and subsidize it.