Some principals have decided that all students are required to participate in an extracurricular activity whether it be sports, yearbook club, or serve on student council. Extracurricular activities can be fun for students that have free time after school and sometimes before school to participate in the schools events. Extracurricular activities like sports can keep students in shape and even improve students social life. Clubs and student council can also improve students social life. However, students should not be required to participate in extracurricular activities because not only is school enough by itself, but students also need time for homework, family time, and time to get rest.

When students participate in extracurricular activities, they need to find a way to balance time between that and homework. Some students are not able to do that which is why they should not participate in extracurricular activities. Homework is important because it helps understand what is taught in class. If students rush through the homework as the teacher is collecting it in class, the students will not benefit from it. Not doing your homework will not only effect what you are learning in the class but it will also effect your grade if it is not done.

Also, when students participate in extracurricular activities, there are many reasons why it is important for them to have time with their families too. First, not having time with their families will effect them mentally and emotionally, because this may cause students to feel lonely. Next, not having family time may also upset their parents because the student may have a younger sibling or cousin that needs to be babysat. Last but not least, students may have a loved one that is in the hospital and if a student has to participate in an activity, they may regret not spending time with that person. Students may end up too tired to socialize with their families or go visit a loved one in the hospital when they are done with sports practice or a club meeting.

When participating in extracurricular activities, it may be hard to find time to get a good nights rest between finding time for homework, family, and school. It is important for students to have time to get a long rest every night because they need it to stay focused in class, sleep is required to have a positive attitude, and students need a good amount of rest each night to be healthy overall. If students do not have enough sleep every night, they may fall asleep in class and their grade will drop. Also, if students do not have enough rest, their mental, emotional, and physical health will suffer and they may not be able to participate in their extracurricular activity to the best of their ability. If the student is not able to do their best in the club or sport, there is no purpose in having them included in it.

Children should have a choice in school when it comes to participating in extracurricular activities because they need time to complete school work, they need bonding time with their loved ones, and they need time to sleep. It is important for principals to take all of these reasons into consideration before they decide to make all of their students participate in an extracurricular activity. If the student does not want to do the activity then they will not work to their best ability to be successful in it anyways. No student should be forced into doing something that they do not want to do when it comes to outside of school work and learning. 