Advertisement Upstate schools giving students recess every hour to help them 'Finnish strong,' district says Superintendent brought back new bell schedule from recent trip to Finland Share Shares Copy Link Copy

OK kids (and teachers,) how does more recess sound?Some children at a Pickens County elementary school are getting recess every hour in an effort to "Finnish strong." Liberty Elementary School instituted the new bell schedule last month, and posted a video about it.Ambler Elementary is also practicing what the district is calling Finnish Fridays a couple of times a month, according to district representative John Eby."The response to the program has been so positive that we definitely expect more schools to adopt it," Eby said. "But it isn't easy to make such a large change to the schedule mid-year. I think it may be next fall before a lot of schools try it."Hourly recess is just one of the many insights Dr. Danny Merck, the school district's superintendent, brought back from a trip he took to Finland last month, with other educators and leaders.Why Finland? Because, as Merck pointed out in an essay posted on the district website last month, Finland has one of the best public school systems in the world.In Finland, each class hour consists of 45 minutes of teaching and 15 minutes of play."The first time I walked into an elementary school gym in Finland, my jaw dropped: three full-sized basketball courts, side-by-side! Vigorous sports like floor hockey, soccer, and basketball are the norm for students of both genders at recess, allowing students to burn off energy and focus when they get back to class," Merck wrote.Merck composed a rhyme of what he learned:"Build more.Feed all.Test less.Play ball!""Build more" refers to students working more with their hands. "Their students not only use their hands for creative things like art projects, they learn basic life skills," Merck said. "This sort of hands-on practical learning keeps students -- especially boys -- engaged in what they're doing in the classroom.""Feed all" means that Finland schools put a priority on feeding all students."I believe the lesson for our schools is that learning and growth are only possible when our students' basic physical and emotional needs are fulfilled," Merck said.Less testing was also a practice of Finnish school that Merck noted."Finns place little-to-no emphasis on academic achievement in early childhood; they focus on early social and physical development," Merck said. He pointed out that it's only in high school when students begin to be assigned homework, and has zero federally required tests from third to eighth grade. "With a mindset that they are learning for life, not just for a test, students in Finland retain what they learn in elementary much better than American students," he said.Changes like these require "buy-in from parents, from leaders, and from a national culture that is far more unified than ours," Merck said. "Some changes, like less testing, will require a change of thinking all the way up in Washington D.C. But fortunately, some of their methods—like the 45/15 schedule and their emphasis on hands-on learning in elementary—are changes that I can work toward making at the district-level as a superintendent. I look forward to making our schools Finnish strong this year."Merck's trip was led by Public Education Partners, Furman University’s department of education and the Riley Institute at Furman.