Now in pre-production, our feature-length documentary will follow the impact on one neighborhood in Chicago when a local elementary school brings back the idea of recess and play.
The value of play in childhood development is universal. But in many school districts across America, recess has been lost from the school day for decades. This is true for the elementary schools in Chicago. Until this current school year, in fact, only a third of the city’s public elementary schools had recess at all — despite the evidence that play is key to childhood development, physical activity and an improved school climate.
In September 2012, Mayor Emmanuel mandated a longer school day and recess at every school. Many principals, often in the toughest neighborhoods, are skeptical of the value of recess — and bracing themselves for chaos. The film’s story starts there, and it develops into encouraging tales of newly positive principals and teachers and of school days infused with joy, games, better focus in the classroom and a transformed school environment.
For ROCK PAPER SCISSORS, acclaimed director Peter Gilbert now returns to the same neighborhoods where he filmed Hoop Dreams. His camera captures the story of kids transforming their school into a place they look forward to coming to every morning. At the end of the year, the difference in the kids — and in their school — will be unmistakable. Will they take what they learn out into our world?