How Do Extra-Curricular Activities Affect Student Learning

When students participate in extracurricular activities they learn lessons and concepts of leadership, teamwork, organization, analytical thinking, problem solving, and time management. In high school if a student wants to do a sport or other activity they will pick the activity that they like and enjoy. This is the kind of decision making skill that could help determine the type of career path for a student. By participating in extracurricular activities youth can find something they enjoy learn to use this in a career. “Participating in certain extracurricular activities having to do with the field that the student is interested in could help them find a job. If someone is looking at a resume for a potential employee, and they see they have experience or interest in what they are looking for, they will be more likely to hire that person” (Massoni). Having been apart of a particular extracurricular activity can be a positive influence in a job resume. This will cause students to find a new ambition in a career. Even on college applications these activities will affect if a student will be accepted, and in some circumstances many activities can earn a student thousands of dollars in scholarships (Massoni). Extracurricular activities can benefit students in teaching them long term commitments. When youth participate in

In the United States, 57 percent of high school students participate in at least one kind of extracurricular activity (Bureau UC). Through extracurricular activities, youth have opportunities to develop very important life skills. Through participating in an activity that requires time outside of the normal school hours, students can learn to manage their time more efficiently. They must also develop rigorous study habits to perform well in the classroom as well as in their chosen activity or activities. Through team oriented activities and clubs, students must learn to work with others and attain interpersonal skills, along with a solid work ethic. Such activities provide a different type of environment than the classroom provides, and help them to become comfortable in various situations. There are many proven benefits when teens participate in extracurricular activities; such benefits include improved physical well-being, higher self-esteem, academic excellence, important social skills, and preparation to succeed not only school, but other settings as well.

Although many theorists criticize that the extracurricular activities takes valuable time from the family, relaxation and leisure time, especially sport participation requires more and more time due to its increase in competiveness and amount of practice (Melman et al., 2008; Shaw et al., 1996 in Fredericks, 2012). In Fredericks study (2012), the unique time requirement in sports participation is explained as an enforcer to develop even stronger relationships, better refinement of the skills and most importantly more conscientiousness. The media concentrates on the highly involved students, which make approximately 3-6% of the entire high school student body, that clock in over 20 h per week, whereas the average of students participates 7-8 h per week in afterschool program, which means they stay for less then 1.5 h more after school (Fredericks, 2012). Paradoxically, according to Mahoney et al. (2006 in Fredericks, 2012) actually the most involved students, at least 20 h/per week, showed better capability in adjusting to the academically and psychological demands. These results are only applicable to a very few amount of students and not to the majority of the American population.

Some activities may require an attendance of once a week, while some require three days a week. Activities that requires strong commitment, such as soccer and basketball, are not only time consuming but are also physically and mentally draining. For example, a student maybe required to attend training for four hours a day and three times a week. By the time the student returns home, he would be extremely tired after attending school for six hours followed by strenuous four hours of training. Furthermore, the student would have to spend another one to two hours completing assignments that are due the next day. Hence, teenagers would not have any time to sit back, be relaxed and be bored as they would be busy trying to balance the limited amount of time needed for both studies and after-school

Play less and study more! Due to global increase in competition, kids today are forced to achieve very high grades or secure very high percentages. Students are so worried about grades and position that neither they have anytime for themselves nor for any extracurricular activities. They suffer from several disorders such as depression and emotional disorders. Academic subjects and extra-curricular activities complement each other and develop a well-rounded, socially skilled, and healthier student. There are so many possible extra-curricular activities that each student can choose one those appeals to him or her personality. Extra-curricular activities help to develop the whole student

Now a days technology is improving and students are staying at home, not being active. Extra-curricular activities are beneficial to someone’s life and discovers new skills for the individual. “One of the great benefits of extracurricular activities is creating new opportunities to learn and think about themselves to learn what they like and don’t like,” (Starett, 2011). This is why extra-curricular activities are important to help determine the individual discover skills that are suited for them, but time management is key to be able to participate in extra-curricular activities. “Decide which method works best for you: an agenda book for an electronic calendar and use it consistently,” (www.yrdsb.ca, 2015).

The students that won't be playing sports may not pay attention as much as they did before. If they still want to do something else we have academic clubs that the students can join and it can can help them pay attention more

If you asked my teachers about extracurriculars, they would say they take students’ time away from homework. If you asked me, I would say they keep students’ motivated in school and spark their interest. Almost anywhere you go, kids involved in sports are referred to as “student athletes.” Being a student should always come first, but athletics holds importance too. For many of us, sports are our whole lives. For me that is definitely true right now. Athletics have played a huge role in helping me develop through my adolescent life, but I am not sure they need to continue to play as large of a role going into my future.

However, extracurricular activities can also be a strain on your life. Getting into college is so competitive recently, leading to high schoolers will doing everything they can to better their chances of being accepted including more and more extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities are anything outside of mandatory schooling, this includes clubs, sports, and religious life. Even though extracurricular activities are almost required to be viewed as a well rounded student, the time and requirements of college applications and scholarships can be hard to manage. Adolescents who do extracurricular activities tend to never be fully committed to their school work. Let's take Patricia for example, Patricia is an AP student, HOSA member, Beta member, and student-athlete. Patricia will not be fully committed to her studies, her clubs, or her sport because she does not have enough time to excel in everything. All of these extracurricular activities that Patricia is involved in are stressing her out. This stress can allow Patricia to engage in negligent decisions that will result in her not being able to participate in any of these

The school rule “students must partake in extracurricular activity” is a significant disturbance to students whom are in their final year of secondary education. Extracurricular activities such as sports day and compulsory sport for the school produces an inconvenience to senior students whom have hoards of assignments to complete and tests to revise for. A better alternative to this rule would be to provide senior students the option of partaking in extracurricular activities if they wish to do so. This provides senior students with hours of extra free time in which they will be able to complete assignments and study for tests. In addition, the work load in year 12 is already a struggle for students to juggle and the addition of extracurricular

Holland, A., & Andre, T. (1987). Participation in extracurricular activities in secondary school: What is known, what needs to be know? Review of Educational Research, 57(4), 437-466. Holloway, J. H. (1999/2000). Extracurricular activities: The path to academic success? Educational Leadership, 57(4).

Students can be put under a lot of pressure to succeed, which results in them not giving their best effort. According to Michael Lorene, J.V. basketball coach at Jesuit High School in California, “Those that seem to have an overwhelming schedule and are playing multiple sports tend to be doing better academically than kids who don’t do extra curricular activities.” While this may be true of some kids, everyone’s brain works a different way, and this is not the case for most high schoolers. Andre Gregory, a Sophomore at Jesuit, says, “It’s very difficult fitting in studies and having to go to practice late at night.” So, while parents may believe that they’re doing what’s right for their kids, putting them in sports may cause extra, unnecessary

After school hours are spent away doing homework, projects, and assignments that teachers tend to hand out, suggesting it will aid to improve marks. Not only that, but most students procrastinate when it comes to studying for an exam that is scheduled for the next day. An average person needs at maximum eight hours of sleep daily to have a healthy mind and body. Though, because academic grades are considered to be top most ‘priority, students stay up late to try and ace the test. Significantly, college and university applications take consideration of the extra circular activities a student participates in during their studies. However, students lack in filling up that list as they lack the time to get involved. A key point to keep in mind is to realize that participating in sports and clubs, not only is important, but aid to develop social

Say you had a choice between two students with equal grades. Student one dedicates him or herself to school, basketball, speech team and drama club. Student two limits themselves to school. Which one would you pick? The student who shows flexibility, diversity and the will to pursue more than what’s normally pursued, or the student who shows that they can work hard to achieve the grade they want?

Although extracurricular activities can help improve students’ academics, they can also have a bad effect on how grades turn out. Extracurricular activities take time, and this can affect on how much time the student has to complete home work or study (Wells). This can lead to a student doing poorly on tests and in the big run, failing the class which will hurt the student college applications. If a student that is involved in a sport is badly injured, this can affect the student because he or she is missing school, and then all the work that is missed will have to be made up. Stress is also a big factor that is put together with extracurricular activities. Stress can affect how the child does in school; if a student is stressed out, they can get sick. Being sick requires the child to stay home and then they will