Extra Curricular Activities in Our Schools

Let me be up front and clear about my attitude toward these sometimes expensive extra curricular activities in our schools – I am supportive of them within reason. To me they represent some of the best educational experiences that students are exposed to in their school years.

I am well aware that there are some in every community who do not look kindly on these programs. In times of budget cuts, which we are likely to face in tough economic times, some will want these activities cut back providing money for only the core subjects of “reading, writing, and arithmetic.” I don’t support this view. I think there are multiple reasons these activities are important in the school experience.

To begin with, most extra curricular activities stand the very severe test of public scrutiny. If the band is out marching in a parade or putting on a concert, a significant portion of the community sees and hears them and will evaluate their performances. Whether athletic teams win or lose is a matter of very public discussion. When a theatre performance is put on, it is out there for the community to critique. This is true of most extra curricular activities. Students and teachers, being well aware of this public scrutiny, strive to do their very best. It would be real interesting if the standard classroom functioned in a similar environment. I’ve never figured out how this could be done; but, if it were, I would suspect that the teaching that goes on there would be significantly impacted. The atmosphere would be different. The need to motivate, encourage, to include all students in the process, and the strategies employed to get students to learn the skills and concepts being taught might very well be “ramped up.”

Secondly, extra curricular activities provide students with the opportunity to pursue special interests that the school doesn’t offer in the normal classroom setting. Students often will spend hours beyond school time honing their skills and knowledge with these activities. If students are involved in debate they will spend hours preparing their arguments; if contest time is approaching, music students will spend hours practicing and rehearsing; if school newspaper or the Annual due date is approaching, hours will be spent to get it “just right”; when students from technical programs such as carpentry, FFA, and automotive go out and compete in state and national contests they are putting in significant prep time, etc. In preparing themselves for these activities, they are, without even thinking about it, putting to use core skills and knowledge they have learned in the classroom. If we could find ways to get all students to fully understand how the core skills impact their present interests as well as their future endeavors in life, I think their education would be more effective. How many of us have lamented our failure to learn skills and knowledge when we were in school? Maybe there is a lesson to be learned there by our educators – that all instruction should be prefaced with the question, “Why are we learning this?”

Thirdly, these extra curricular activities often give students the first opportunity to work collectively in a group organization. They may have to assume responsibility or maybe take some leadership role where they learn to work with others in accomplishing tasks. They may be forced to learn how to effectively conduct meetings, organize limited time and resources, delegate tasks, etc. All of these skills might very well be put to use as they get out in the working world.

In addition, these extra curricular activities can and often do create a social comradery that psychologists tell us is so important to our mental health. It can create relationships that continue on for years beyond their school experience. Ten, twenty, thirty years later it is often these activities that alumni spend their time reminiscing about. But more importantly, it teaches students the importance and joy that relationships provide; and, it often manifests itself in participation in churches, business organizations, clubs, and other social groups (formal and informal) that become a part of their lives.

Extra curricular activities are important to our school experience and should be encouraged and supported by our community as long as they have good leadership so that they are a positive learning experience.