Oh, to be a child again, I remember elementary school like it was yesterday. Play tag, four square, hopscotch and tackle football. What… a girl who plays football! I know, I know it's a little unorthodox, but I was St. Francis Cabrini's best defensive end that year, 1982. Things have changed since then, some games are no longer allowed to be played due to injuries, such as tag or tackle football, and other games are considered bullying, such as dodgeball. These are just some of the reasons why school districts across the United States are starting to weigh in on the idea that recess should perhaps be eliminated altogether. According to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, it was put in place to ensure that all children receive the same education regardless of economic status, to hold teachers accountable for how and what they teach, and to highlighting poor math and reading test scores. The National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education (NAECS/SDE) says nearly forty percent of the nation's 16,000 school districts have changed, eliminated, or are considering eliminating recess. These school districts are even changing their construction plans to build schools without playgrounds. Supporters believe that to comply with the No Child Left Behind Act, it is necessary to eliminate recess in order to acquire as much learning as possible, focusing on the areas we lack most. Experts believe that recess is important for our children, it helps them develop social skills, teaches them to share, helps decrease inappropriate behavior inside and outside the classroom, helps develop strength muscle, improves self-esteem and confidence. In the middle of the article......scientists researching creativity, "People vary in their level of creative impulse depending on the activity of dopamine pathways in the limbic system." The more dopamine we release, the more creative we are. Next comes distraction, says Carson, the Harvard researcher: "In other words, a distraction can provide the break you need to disengage from a fixation on the ineffective solution." » Dopamine and distraction can cause me to feel relaxed. “A relaxed state of mind is absolutely important for being creative,” says John Lehrer. The choice is clear. We can continue to live in a dog-eat-dog world that believes there is only one way to move forward: work, work and work some more. As history has shown us, when we put one person's greed ahead of another's concerns, we end up with many people who have sacrificed their happiness, their bodies, and their lives...