It’s time for recess. Or is it? Schools struggle with keeping kids physically active

KEY POINTS

President Trump signed an executive order resurrecting the Presidential Fitness Test.

Education and fitness should be inseparably entwined, but the test requirements might deter kids from trying.

Reports show the average weekly recess time in U.S schools shrank by 60 minutes over the last 20 years.

On a hot August day at Copperview Elementary School, fourth graders are chasing balls and climbing ropes and spinning on playground equipment. The new school year is just a week old and the children are a blur of activity, some playing soccer while others invent games. The recess aides play, too, sometimes competing and other times gently coaching.

On this school playground in Midvale, Utah, they settle disputes like whether a ball went out of bounds with “rock, paper, scissors.”