Break Times a Vital Part of School Day say Global Experts

Summary

In Summary, the article goes into detail about why it is believed that children should have longer break times during school in Scotland. A report done by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) brought to attention other countries where longer breaks are the normality to draw the comparison to the children’s academic performance opposed to that of Scotland.  One of the countries was Finland, which happens to be one of the highest performing countries academically, stating within the article that the children of Finland have 15-minute breaks between each 45 minutes spent learning. Other counties which experience longer school breaks include France and Switzerland. It is stated within the report by the OECD that they found information supporting those children performed better while spending time outside of the classroom without instruction and given opportunities to play, rest and socialise with their peers, which in addition, will also improve social skills. Incorporating these social skills in the classroom may improve learning and ultimately performance. The article includes a useful contribution from a lecturer in primary education supporting the idea of longer break times. The article then closes with a quote from Larry Flannigan, the general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland, who reiterates the benefits of longer breaks for children as it improves wellbeing and adds that it is also beneficial to teachers.

Link Question

The Headline immediately makes the connection to the main ideas of the article by introducing the topic that children could benefit from longer break times. The picture in the article links with the idea that extended breaks for children are vital in improving academic performance by showing the reader a photograph of children playing and using concentration skills to focus on what they are attempting to do, which will in turn improve social skills. The statistics given are relevant as they provide insight into countries where children are performing better and getting higher grades in comparison to children in Scotland who spend longer within the classrooms. The contributions used within the article also link as they are from a lecturer whose field of study is primary education so they can provide an intellectual opinion and a contribution from the Marguerite Hunter Blair, chief executive of the Play Scotland charity to also further this point. 

Evaluation

To conclude, the article did manage to achieve the purpose which was to emphasize how longer break times are essential for children’s academic performance to improve and draw attention as to how it would be beneficial for the children of Scotland. 

The Headline immediately raises awareness to the point being made as it states, “Break Times a Vital Part of School Day say Global Experts”. This is informing us that this is of upmost importance and is supported by professionals who are trying to inform the public.

The picture provided in the article raises awareness to the purpose of the article as it shows children in the playground, socialising and figuring out how to play with equipment that has been provided. This shows how it can be beneficial towards their social skills and problem-solving skills by having more time in the playground to interact with each other.

The statistics given within the article link with the purpose as it expresses a comparison between the academic performance of children within other countries who are provided more frequent breaks and time to socialise with each other and relax. It reiterates how it could be beneficial and could be a step closer to closing the attainment gap.

Awareness is also raised throughout the article with the use of multiple contributions from credible sources, one being Marguerite Hunter Blair who is chief executive of the Play Scotland Charity. She adds that “school break initiatives are amongst the most promising interventions for improving physical activity, academic skills, attitudes, behaviour and social skills.”. This is raising our awareness by reiterating the benefits that the Scottish children would have as she also believes that this would give them a much better chance in life.

The purpose of the article is further expressed from the general information given. We are informed of the multiple benefits giving children longer break times could be much more beneficial for their social skills, closing the attainment gap and to improve overall academic performance. It raises awareness by giving statistics of how well the children of foreign countries are performing in comparison by providing the exact length of breaks they get between each period of learning. It also raises awareness by providing quotes from credible contributions. These contributions are credible as they are from those who study in professions that are relevant to school children.

The main audience for the article is an intellectual, adult audience. The article was published from the Herald. This is a newspaper in which most readers are adults, the articles in this newspaper are mostly heavily detailed. This applies to this article as it provides a lot of in-depth information to support the point it is making about how schools should extend children’s break times.

Overall, the article was very well written, and the points were expressed clearly and well. It provided a lot of detail as to how Scottish children could benefit from longer break times and provided statistics to support this from showing the academic performance from other countries where this is the norm for children. The article was believable as it was supported by experts and gave valid points such longer break times being advantageous in closing the attainment gap. The article was written in a formal, informative style which was applicable because of the serious nature of the article. The Headline immediately captures the importance of the article, using language such as “Vital” and stating that the information provided was from “Global Experts”. This expresses how this issue is of upmost importance and those studying the issue are professionals in their field who have come to this conclusion. The Headlines uses a metaphor when it states that break times are a vital part of the school day. Break times are not literally a vital part of the day but could be extremely important in improving academic performance. 

A possible weakness in this article is that it lacks contributions from children themselves. This could have helped further the point being raised by collecting contributions from those most relevant to the cause.