Significance of Extracurricular Activities for Children in Public Schools

Extracurricular activities like sports and art programs among others occur outside a normal classroom experience. They make it possible for students to improve their skills or establish their non-academic capabilities. They offer students the opportunities to learn the significance of individual & group responsibility, teamwork, completion, physical strength & endurance, diversity, as well as a sense of culture & diversity. In addition, extracurricular activities provide students with a reinforcement channel for lessons they have learned in class by giving them the chance to exercise their academic skills in real-life application. For this reason, extracurricular activities are considered necessary programs for a well-rounded education. On the other hand, most schools are eliminating extracurricular activities mainly because of lack of funds.

Common Benefits of Extracurricular Activities

Behavior– There has been a lot of research on the effect of extracurricular activities in students. Most researchers agree that students who take part in such activities perform better in class, have better relationships with their friends and educators, and have a greater chance of a leading healthy active lifestyles during their time after leaving school. According to research, the time after school is considered the most dangerous one as it is the time students engage in victimization and violent activities. Moreover, the ages between 12 and 17 are those that usually get involved in such poor behavior during the time. Since extracurricular activities mostly take part during this time, they are great at curbing students’ bad behavior. Children start learning about making their own decisions when they reach nine years of age. As a result, it is between the age of 9 and 17 years that they need to take part in extracurricular activities. This ensures that they remain under supervision, guidance as well as taking part in enriched learning experiences during their everyday life. This way, it is possible for them to resist unhealthy behaviors, for instance, criminal activities, gang involvement, and drug & alcohol use among other ill behaviors.

Better grades & positive attitude towards school – Academic performance is predicted by self-esteem. School loving students do well in class as they are motivated, unlike those who hate school. Taking part in an extracurricular activity program after school is quite motivating unlike using the time to complete homework. After school extracurricular activity programs give students a chance to form a positive as well as voluntary connection to the school.

Encourage school completion– Students, who participate in extracurricular activities love school, perform better and are most likely to complete school. Participation in extracurricular activities is even more advantageous for students who are at a higher risk of failure compared to normal achievers. This happens to be very important for students from groups with a high dropout rate, for instance, those with disabilities as well as those belonging to ethnic minorities.

Specific Extracurricular Activities and Their Benefits

Sports Programs

According to research, it is vital that students access sports as well as games. Sports programs help students in weight control, self-esteem, problem-solving , social competence, and as mentioned earlier, enhance their academic achievement. Again, sports programs result in reduced rates of teen pregnancies, juvenile arrests, and school dropout among other unwanted outcomes. They as well create important opportunities for student’s contribution to their schools as well as their whole community.

Art Programs

Art programs are very important, particularly in learning. Everyone uses art as they grow and live in the world. According to research, art programs are very important for students because they help in motor skills, language development, decision making, as well as in visual learning. Art education teaches students on interpreting, criticizing, as well as utilization of visual information and the manner in which to form choices on it’s basis.  Knowledge on the visual arts, for instance, graphic symbolism, is significant as it helps students become smart consumers as well as sail across the world full of marketing logos.

Music Programs

Everybody loves listening to music, singing, or even playing instruments. In spite of all these, music programs are being eliminated in most schools. Students benefit a lot and in various ways from music programs. Music programs help in mastery and memorization, student’s work improvement, increased coordination, sense of achievement, success in society, emotional development, learning pattern recognition, fine-tuned auditory skills, preparing for the creative economy, relaxing, creative thinking development, and teamwork among others.

Conclusion

Extracurricular activities play a significant role in the lives of students. They positively affect students’ behaviors, school completion, overall performance, socials aspects as well as positive aspects to form successful adults. Though most schools are eliminating extracurricular activity programs in schools, they should consider how they impact education. It is important to find ways to make extracurricular activities part of student’s everyday learning.

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