There's a surprisingly controversial notion floating around the Iowa legislature: time spent at pep rallies and recess shouldn't be considered "instructional time." And neither should the time that teachers spend in professional development.

State law in Iowa (and pretty much everywhere else) requires that students spend a certain number of hours every year receiving classroom instruction from a teacher. Perhaps pep rallies don't quite fit the bill. The bill would also keep schools from counting the time spent by teachers on professional development, when children are not in school at all.

The GOP-controlled House did manage to pass the bill, but not without complaint from lawmaker Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, who said, "Any chance that recess might be canceled is too much of a risk for me."

Seconding her plea--and taking it even further--was eleven-year-old Jacob Dank, who fearlessly spoke truth to power and advocated for more recess: "Fifth-graders should get more recess because it's our last year of recess."