Extracurricular activities refer to the events that lie outside the regular class work, but it has well planned timetable which makes it mandatory for students to participate in specified time. For students who complete extracurricular activities, they are perceived to be going above the course and school requirements, and they have an opportunity for developing skills that could otherwise not be developed. Scholars and professionals have been different in the activities that ought to be included in extracurricular activities as well as the impacts of extracurricular activities on children (Lubans & Morgan, 2008). Extracurricular activities include all the outside curricular activities that students engage, and they should have timetables that guide the specific periods when children should participate. Some professionals argue that extracurricular activities do not have a significant impact on the lives of children either in academic performance or general lifestyle. This paper indicates that extracurricular activities have positive effects on the lives of children both at a young age as well as in the high school level.
Engagement in extracurricular activities for students at a young age creates an opportunity for bringing out hidden talent that is beneficial to a child. In modern society coupled with a desire to educate students to secure a better future, it is evident that parents focus on creating an environment that will enable children to get good grades. Parents and children are seen to reduce interests in hobbies and other enriching activities that would be in a position to improve the lives of students as well as those of the children. Parents and educators especially those in public schools focus primarily on scoring good grades that will be in a position to enhance the academic degrees for children thus facilitating entry to colleges (Lubans & Morgan, 2008). In such circumstances, caregivers and professionals neglect the opportunity that children can improve their future by engaging extracurricular activities such as music and engaging in art activities.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Education is acquired through a commitment to learning and understanding concepts taught in class while every child is gifted in a particular talent. Talents appear to be more beneficial than academic performance because they create direct employment to youths rather than continued search for jobs in the labor market. For example, a musician or a footballer is in a position to become productive fast than if they were relying on academic performance. However, many children do not find it easy to recognize their talents, and they may fail to discover such gifts unless parents and teachers help them. In effect, extracurricular activities form the foundation for ensuring that children discover hidden talents and implementing such gifts for a better future. Exploiting child’s ability at school; age creates an opportunity for parents to raise children right, thus, avoiding misunderstandings that could result in poor performance of the student in the future. In some occasions, discovering talent at an early age undermines the ability of a person to enjoy the full benefit for a particular skill.
Though extracurricular activities are essential in helping children to succeed in the modern world, it is evident that there should be limitation in emphasis on the curricular activities. Extracurricular activities may be beneficial, but they need to be interlinked with academic success for the person to enjoy the full benefits of the talents. Discovery of an individual’s expertise needs to be accompanied by the knowledge that can be used in acquiring the technological activities required to be applied in these sectors such as in the music industry (Yılmaz, 2018). However, in the absence of extracurricular activities, it becomes challenging for children to discover the talent thus shaping the education to remain in line with what is expected to be achieved through the talent.
Additionally, integrating extracurricular activities with the academic improves time management for the students. Extracurricular activities are performed outside the educational requirement, and they need an individual to schedule time in such a way that they have to give priority to education before they engage in extracurricular activities. Such traits reflect in future in the real world when a child faces different chores that they have to perform in life. For example, extracurricular activities improve the ability of children to ensure work balance as in future such skills are essential because they avoid diseases such as depression that could originate from a tight work schedule. Time management is a critical aspect in shaping the future of an individual either in the workplace or interacting with other people in society. In some occasions, people are faced with various duties and chores they have to accomplish in real life situation. As a result, extracurricular activities create an opportunity for raising a well-rounded individual with overall personality but not just academic growth.
Participating in extracurricular activities creates an opportunity for ensuring that children develop adequate skills applied in academic performance. Schuepbach (2015) asserts that there is a positive relationship between child engagement and achievement in academics works such as mathematics. His argument is based on the fact that extracurricular activities create an opportunity for ensuring that children in solving some technical problems as sums. In circumstances where children participate in after class activities, they improve their thinking capacity which creates an opportunity for enhancing their thinking rate and applying that knowledge in handling class work. The improved performance of students in class shows how essential extracurricular activities are when it comes to class performance. The effects of academic improvement reflect across all study levels such as those in colleges, high schools, and early childhood development. Increase in academic performance reflects through the number of extracurricular activities that a child participates. However, the benefits should be accompanied by regulation and time planning to avoid excessive concentration on such activities ignoring the importance of class work.
Extracurricular activities create an opportunity for students to develop skills they need to determine their success or failure in the future. In the modern world, it is evident that people experience different environments such as at work, education, and engagement in future activities. As a result, there is a need for preparing kids to acquire skills that will enable children to cope with rules, regulations, and norms exercised n a particular region. According to Simoncini & Caltabiono, (2012) extracurricular activities create a chance for helping students to be in a position to learn the change in environment and adapt to its requirements. Introducing extracurricular activities in schools ensures that children participate in more than one activity thus making with different rules, therefore, compelling students to adhere to each element. For example, teachers have to change from class rules to field regulations which require the improvement of the thinking capacity of the children as they have to shift minds to the new environment. In the workplace, people keep on changing from one organization to the other or from one department with different rules thus requiring adaptability of the workers.
Extracurricular activities enhance children’s capability to interact and participate in social activities. Making friends is one of the easiest and also difficult approaches among many people especially in situations where people fail to acquire strong interaction skills. In many occasions, there exist barriers which prevent people from different cultural backgrounds to share ideas and form friends. According to Knifsend & Juvonen, (2017) each extracurricular activity creates an opportunity for participants to break the barriers between cultural backgrounds thus expanding their social networks. Building social networks is beneficial in that it creates a chance for students and children to maintain such connections which may be helpful in the future. For instance, social networks formed by students during community-based programs may assist students in seeking for jobs in the future thus making an extracurricular activity a powerful tool for breaking the barriers for social interaction.
Extracurricular activity helps children to develop skills that break the barriers and challenges for encouraging teamwork. In some cases, cultural backgrounds and poor interaction skills become a problem for people willing to achieve a particular set goal. However, the modern economy is characterized by globalization where people from different ethnic groups have to work on a project or in an organization to achieve a common goal (Schiffrin et al., 2018). In circumstances where a child failed to acquire strong interactive skills, they are finding it difficult to survive in workplaces as well as living with people from different locations. For example, extracurricular activities such as participation music as well as playing sport with peers enhance communication skills as people interact with authorities and teammates. Communication is a fundamental approach through which people adapt to a new environment and participating and interacting with people from different regions creates a chance for enhancing communication abilities.
Extra curriculum activities create an opportunity for children to develop essential personal skills applicable in the real world situation. For example, successful people in society operate by setting goals that they ought to achieve in life. In some cases, people experience problems that need the application of both analytical and descriptive procedures to solve. People develop such skills at childhood depending on the environment and situations where they grow. Extracurricular activities are some of the appropriate activities that promote the development of essential personal characteristics of the individuals. According to Kenndey, (2018) though many public schools and professionals discourage students from engaging in co-curricular activities because of funds, the benefits that children acquire activities outside class work exceed the costs of participating in such activities. For example, participating in extracurricular activities creates a chance for assisting children in exploring different environments capable of boosting personal skills. The more a child is faced with issues that they have to solve both at school and out f academic activities, the more they develop skills needed in solving real-life challenges.
Extracurricular activities become the best way for helping children to learn and cope with life requirements especially in modern life where child play has taken a different course. For example, children need to develop skills needed in interacting with people in the community as well as family levels (Nestor & Moser, 2018). In modern society, there are increasing transformation mothers who were initially associated with educating children about real-life situations that have concentrated on performing work duties. In effect, children have little time to interact with parents who possess the probability for children to engage in unacceptable behavior. However, the encouragement of students to participate in extracurricular activities enables Teachers to successfully play the role of integrating children to the cultural way of life. For instance, the music and art activities are mostly based on cultural backgrounds, and they contain some educative meaning that can help to incorporate child play in their activities.
Extracurricular activities are essential in reducing the screen time that children spend on screen. In the modern world, there is digital advancement which creates a chance for children to develop an alternative source of entertainment. For example, there is a development of activities such as PS and online games that have attracted the interests of children compelling students to divert their thinking capability (Schiffrin et al., 2018). Social media has been witnessed to have adverse effects on the academic performance of students as well as promoting the chances of participating in unacceptable behavior in society. Extracurricular activities act as a savior for the youths because they keep the student occupied thus reducing the amount of time they spend on screen. Technology has become an enemy of the community because there is little control of the activities that children perform and they have a high probability for causing addiction. However, extracurricular activity takes place in the presence of teachers and authority thus controlling the form of interaction and the kind of content that should be included in the art activities. Given the harm that technology causes to children after class activities are beneficial to students and they control the behavior of students in the entire society.
Though integrating extracurricular activities among students reduces the adverse effects associated with increased use of social media platforms and digital advancements in modern society. Parents take children to school intending to ensure they become useful beings in society. As a result, student involvement in extracurricular activities should not undermine the positive impacts that social media and technological advancements usually have on the lives of the children (Yılmaz, 2018). Though such actions may have adverse effects such as addiction and learning unacceptable behavior, they also enhance the thinking capacity and also create social interaction and share ideas capable of improving the communication of people in the community. However, the disadvantages for social media interactions are more than the befits thus making extracurricular activities a better approach.
Extracurricular activities promote healthy growth among children because they continuously engage in physical activities for maintaining body fitness. According to Janssen & LeBlanc, (2010) extracurricular activities reduces the possibility for a child to developed diseases such as anxiety disorder and depression. Children usually come from different background and face different challenges that may contribute to health damage of people in society. For example, in circumstances where a child experiences domestic violence, they may find it difficult to control their feelings by merely concentrating on class work which may lead to poor performance. During class time, children find it challenging to share non-class ideas because of the set class rules. Concentration and commitment to understanding the class concepts become the general need during academics which increases the risk for students to experience depression. However, extracurricular activities such as plays, clubs, and music create an opportunity for children to share their suffering and speak out their problems with peers as well as authorities. In effect, the problem will be solved before it causes severe effects and adverse health impacts on the individuals. For example, some schools have guidance and counseling programs that require children to attend after class programs. Such activities enable children to present their issues and receive guidance from professional thus preventing the occurrence of depression and heart diseases.
Extracurricular activities decrease the risk of developing obesity and other overweight related diseases that may impact the well being of an individual. Dimech $ Seiler, (2011) suggests that more than 12.7 million adolescents are obese for the past decade. This number is significantly large, and it reflects the number of people in the community who are finding it difficult to live a healthy life. Obese and overweight are associated with poor eating habits such as foods rich in sugar, calories, and fats that result in increased body mass index in a person. The problems are associated with adolescents who live a luxurious life without engagement in hard activities capable of burning calories. Assume of a situation where a child feeds on fast foods and exchanges growth by attending classes, doing homework, and going to sleep. Such a child will be at the risk of becoming obese and heart attack diseases. However, extracurricular activities prevent the occurrence of these problems by encouraging children to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports that play an essential role in the fat that accumulates in the body of children (Bocarro et al., 2008).
Despite the positive perception of the benefits associated with extracurricular activities, it is evident that there are also adverse effects associated with the programs. For example, many of the public schools do not support the implementation of extracurricular activities such as sports and music festivals. The counter-arguments about the benefits of extracurricular activities does not exist because teachers do not understand the benefits of such events but because of the costs associated with implementing extracurricular activities. For example, some schools are compelled to cut the budgets to cater to the needs of some of the events which increase the ability of students to discover their talents. However, the budget cut should be large enough such that it interferes with the curricular programs which appear to be more beneficial to the children. In most cases, school boards look at the programs they can eliminate from the school, and extracurricular activities become the first program to be eliminated meaning they are less effective on children who attend public schools.
Despite the existence of high costs associated with financing extracurricular activities, parents and private schools understand the full benefits related to extracurricular activities. Parents take children to school to ensure that they achieve academic excellence as well as become essential members of the society who can fill better roles in the community. They believe that engagement in extracurricular activities becomes a better way of meeting the parent’s expectation of taking the children to school. Private schools offer a variety of programs such as athletics activities which are financed by parents. For example, private school understands that though there is a benefit associated with good performance in academics such as Maths and sciences, they also recognize the importance of the skills that children acquire by participating in extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities create an opportunity for children to grow and develop leadership skills. For example, children form clubs such as music, and sports clubs enable students to develop leadership skills which can also be translated in the workplace. Leaders are needed in different areas, and leadership in extracurricular activities paves the way for children to develop skills required to be applied in a future life.
The positive impacts of extracurricular activities on children exceed the disadvantages thus making such programs essential children in all school ages. Talents are vital factors in determining the success of people in life, and extracurricular activities create an opportunity for identifying such skills at a young age. The failure by an individual to understand their abilities may hinder such a person from succeeding in life. The changes in modern society are changing the nature of child play with mothers securing regular jobs and the emergence of digital technology creating a new way for child play. These changes have both positive and adverse effects, but extracurricular activities involve few changes risks thus taking the role of controlling the lives of children. It is the desire for every person to live a healthy life and develop social interaction skills which increase the ability of people to live an enjoyable experience in the future. Leadership skills and communication become essential in ensuring that people have skills needed in the development of living in an ethnic group and successfully operating in the workplace. The costs associated with extracurricular activities become the primary reason for the difference between commitment to extracurricular activities in public and private schools.
References
Bocarro, J., Kanters, M. A., Casper, J., & Forrester, S. (2008). School physical education, extracurricular sports, and lifelong active living. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 27(2), 155-166.
Dimech, A. S., & Seiler, R. (2011). Extra-curricular sport participation: A potential buffer against social anxiety symptoms in primary school children. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 12(4), 347-354.
Holloway, S. L., &Pimlott ‐ Wilson, H. (2018). Reconceptualizing play: Balancing childcare, extra ‐ curricular activities and free play in contemporary childhoods. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 43(3), 420-434.
Janssen, I., & LeBlanc, A. G. (2010). A systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth. International journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 7(1), 40.
Kennedy R., (2018). Extracurricular Activities: Why they are so important. Retrieved from: https://www.privateschoolreview.com/blog/extracurricular-activities-why-they-are-so-important
Knifsend, C. A., &Juvonen, J. (2017). Extracurricular activities in multiethnic middle schools: Ideal context for positive intergroup attitudes?. Journal of Research on Adolescence,27(2), 407-422.
Lubans, D., & Morgan, P. (2008). Evaluation of an extra-curricular school sport programme promoting lifestyle and lifetime activity for adolescents. Journal of sports sciences,26(5), 519-529.
Nestor, O., & Moser, C. S. (2018). The importance of play. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 11(3), 247-262.
Schiffrin, H. H., Godfrey, H., Liss, M., &Erchull, M. J. (2015). Intensive parenting: Does it have the desired impact on child outcomes?. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(8), 2322-2331.
Schuepbach, M. (2015). Effects of extracurricular activities and their quality on primary school-age students’ achievement in mathematics in Switzerland. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 26(2), 279-295.
Simoncini, K., &Caltabiono, N. (2012). Young school-aged children's behavior and their participation in extracurricular activities. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37(3), 35-42.
Yılmaz, A. (2018). Parent expectations towards participation in extracurricular sports activity of high school students.Pedagogics, psychology, medical-biological problems of physical training and sports, 22(4), 216-225.
