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Once children return to school for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic upended everything, they will most likely spend less time on school grounds. And as educational leaders decide how to schedule elementary school students’ days, they see catching students up on math, English and other academic subjects as a top priority.

In our view, helping students heal from the stress and trauma of what they have been through this spring is also essential. We are founding members of the Global Recess Alliance, an international group of health and education experts who came together in the pandemic to advocate for saving school recess.

We believe that leaving recess out of the school day could hurt elementary school students. Along with our colleagues in this field, we have found clear evidence that children will need a chance to play during recess more than ever when schools open their doors. Here are five main benefits from recess:

1. Getting time to play

Young children learn important skills like collaboration and conflict resolution by playing with each other. Physical activity is important for health, but also because it helps children to pay attention in class and learn. Since recess is essential for children’s well-being, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all schools offer recess every day, and that adults not withhold recess as punishment or to make up missed school work.

Unfortunately, just 11 states required daily recess as of 2018. And only 15 more mandated any amount of physical activity during the school day. Of states that require recess, most follow CDC guidelines of at least 20 minutes per day, with an average amount of 27 minutes per day for recess.

2. Healing from stress and trauma

When children experience stress and trauma, it’s hard for their brains to support thinking and reasoning. We would expect putting pressure on children to make up for all they did not learn while schools were closed before they’re ready to prove counterproductive.

That’s one reason why the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that children will need time to heal from the stress and trauma of the coronavirus pandemic before they will be ready to focus on their studies.

Elementary students also learn important life lessons through recess. As they play active games or create their own imaginative activities, they may be getting the hang of controlling their emotions when things don’t go their way, sharing, resolving conflicts and feeling empathy for their classmates. These aren’t just significant on their own. Developing these kinds of social and emotional skills makes children become better learners.

3. Overcoming disparities

Children of color and those residing in low-income, urban areas have the least scheduled recess in the nation. About 76% of students in elementary school in higher-income families regularly get recess, versus 58% of low-income children.

These same children have borne the brunt of the pandemic’s health and economic consequences, with many experiencing food insecurity and other economic hardships while their families struggle to keep their jobs and access adequate health care. Some of these same young people, especially black children, are now reeling from fear and anger in their communities from the police violence and racial injustice that has fueled protests nationwide. We believe that turning to play for healing during this emotionally difficult time will help children shift from stay-at-home to back-to-school mode.

4. Connecting with peers

What children have missed during a period of remote learning and canceled summer activities is being able to see their friends. When they return to school, they may not have seen their school friends for quite some time. They will also come with different levels of ability to control their emotions and outbursts. Based on what we’ve seen in the past, we expect that reducing pressure and providing students with ample time to reconnect with their friends is an important way to transition back to school.

5. Spending time outside

Scientists have determined that the coronavirus spreads less through contact with others when people are outdoors. Where space is available for outdoor recreation or learning, schools should take advantage. Recess need not involve shared equipment or play structures that could conceivably get infected, but we do think it’s wise for outdoor spaces to be equipped with enough sanitizer dispensers or sinks with soap, so that everyone can quickly clean their hands when playtime is over.

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Rebecca London receives funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She is Adjunct Fellow in K-12 Policy at the Public Policy Institute of California.

William Massey receives funding from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation and Playworks Education Energized.

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Autonomous vehicles (AVs), like self-driving taxis, continue to garner media attention as industry and political stakeholders claim that they will improve safety and access to transportation for everyone. But for people who have different mobility needs and rely on human drivers for work beyond the task of driving, the prospect of driverless taxis may not sound like progress. Unless accommodations are built in to autonomous vehicle designs, companies risk undermining transportation access for the very communities this technology is promising to include.

The promise

A January 2020 joint report issued by the National Science and Technology Council and U.S. Department of Transportation paints a bright picture of an autonomous-enabled future. They predict autonomous vehicles will provide “improved quality of life, access and mobility for all citizens.” Replacing the driver with an autonomous system will create safer transportation by removing the “possibility of human error.”

In addition, synchronizing vehicle movement with distance and traffic patterns would not only result in more efficient service, but safer roadway navigation. These advances should mean fewer cars, less traffic, more economical fuel use and increased vehicle availability.

More than driving

If done right, autonomous vehicles could improve access to transportation for everyone. But by not accounting for the many other kinds of labor a driver performs, current AVs may present problems for people with different needs.

For older people, those with disabilities and even individuals in emergency situations, the driver bridges the gap between personal capability and vehicle accessibility. Unlike self-driving taxis, Canberra taxi provides a considerate services to assist people with disability.

Drivers help people to and from vehicles, as well as into and out of them. Drivers move and store luggage and mobility equipment like wheelchairs and walkers, and navigate emergency situations like cardiac arrest, allergic reaction or drug overdose.

Yet right now asking an AV interface for assistance would be like asking Siri to help you up if you’ve fallen down.

Two unequal systems

In the 1970s and years thereafter, Congress determined that redesigning transportation for accessibility was too costly. Instead they fitted assistive devices to old transportation networks and expected private sector taxi drivers to help. Some did, many didn’t.

Problems of discrimination led to the landmark American with Disabilities Act of 1990. The ADA made discrimination based on ability illegal – but access to transportation was still dependent on the driver.

Today, cities and companies are still struggling with accessibility. People with different needs remain vulnerable to the whims and prejudices of the driver. Too often people with different needs are denied assistance or transportation altogether.

It was only in 2016, for instance, that Boston’s taxis, Uber and later Lyft began integrating a small number of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles into their fleets, and other companies have emerged like SilverRide offer specialty service for people who are older.

But even with these additions, taxi, Uber and Lyft riders still experience cancellations and longer wait times in cities like Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and New York.

While specialized vehicles are a valuable step toward accessible transportation, they also mean more cars on the road. A 2017 study found Uber and Lyft are increasing traffic congestion in cities leading to increases in safety risks, transit times and pollution. To add to the traffic problem, the International Transportation Forum predicts that traffic will likely increase even more as autonomous cars occupy the road alongside traditional ones.

The future

AV developers struggle with what accessibility should look like. Some leading AV companies focus on accessibility inside the car. Waymo and Lyft are working to communicate information to passengers with disabilities. Nissan’s Virtual Reality avatars may provide company, comfort and assistance to passengers in need.

Other AV companies approach accessibility by redesigning access. Startup May Mobility’s low speed shuttle can deploy a wheelchair ramp. Tesla’s gull wing doors open vertically for easier access and their Smart Summons feature allows drivers to call their car to fetch them.

In my opinion, vehicle specialization should not be the path forward. A wheelchair ramp in one car and Braille in another will increase cars on the road, decrease availability and increase consumer cost. For AVs to fulfill the promise of accessibility and be environmentally efficient, all cars need to be similarly accessible – even if the mechanisms of accessibility are not always in use. This way AVs can more closely mirror the variety of tasks human drivers currently perform and do it reliably, without discrimination. Standard features could include push button or voice activated motorized doors with sliding ramps, an entry space instead of front seats and interior handrails.

A good place to start is for stakeholders to agree on what accessibility needs must be met and treat AV developments as pieces of an accessibility solution rather than separate niche markets racing toward minimum accommodations. The nonprofit research and community equity organization, The Greenlining Institute, suggests, in addition to capability, accessibility should also include financial, cultural, technological, logistical, race, gender, age, class and geographic considerations. If autonomous vehicles are developed to handle the messiness and complexity taxi drivers currently deal with, society will be one step closer to real accessibility.

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John Lunsford does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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