Almost every student, at one point, has participated or will participate in an extracurricular activity, whether it be athletic, academic, artistic, or altruistic. Through these activities, students learn valuable life skills and build friendships that last a lifetime. However, a large amount of students do not receive these numerous benefits as they do not participate in extracurricular activities. For this reason, the principal has decided to mandate at least one extracurricular activity for all students. I strongly agree with this decision because extracurricular activities increase academic performance, keep students out of trouble and improve social and mental health. First and foremost, extracurricular activities increase academic performance of students in a myriad of ways.
Students who are struggling in their classes have an opportunity to receive remediation that may not be allowed be the time constraints of a school day. Moreover, because they have time to get teacher help after school, they have more individualized instruction and assistance that a class size of 30 students just doesn’t permit. However, for students already excelling in academics, some extracurricular activities offer those high-achieving students to take their performance to the next level. Through such activities as Mathcounts, Technology Student Association, Debate, and Model United Nations, students already doing well in school have the chance to compete with other advanced students in competitions that challenge their critical thinking skills and their speed in skills learned in school. Furthermore, for all students, some extracurriculars provide incentives to do well in school; National Junior Honor Society, for example, recognizes students wit.
. then they can stay after school in order to avoid the insecure situation at home and take their focus off the situation by being involved in activities that they truly love to do. Because students in extracurricular activities have this increased social well-being and protection from risky environments, they are much less likely suffer from depression, and they would have increased mental health overall. In these ways, having mandated extracurricular activities benefit the students’ social and mental health.
The principal has decided to mandate at least one extracurricular activity for all students. I strongly agree with this decision because extracurriculars increase academic performance, keep students out of trouble, and improve the social and mental health of the student body. As extracurriculars benefit students in so many ways, this mandate should be imposed.
