Many students choose not to participate in after school actives. This does not benefit them as they miss out on learning very important skills. If the principle were to mandate after school activities, it would be to the benefit of all students. It would give the people who do not already participate an excuse to do so. It might even turn out to be the best decision they had to make. This can earn them many life skills such as being a part of a team, learning to be a leader, or how to balance a more complicated schedule.

Extracurricular activities allow students to choose the activities that interest them, for example, if someone likes sports they might choose volleyball. If another student is more interested in theater, they might audition for the musical. The wide selection of activities would be good for students as they are figuring out their interests, as well. These students can try multiple different activities until they find the right one. Having an activity that is enjoyable is very important, as it makes you more inclined to learn. Therefore having an after school activity provides that inclination to learn.

This new or refreshed desire to learn, allows new skills to be taught. For example if a student are on a volleyball team and they enjoy the sport, then they will be more likely to learn to work with their teammates. Skills like working with others are very important in adult life. They are needed not just for a sports team but for any job. One example is, being on a development team. The team is trying to come up with a new way to manufacture cars, everyone on the team has their own idea. They have to work as a team in order to produce one, well fabricated idea. This requires them to be able to work as a team, just like a student might have to in their extracurricular activity.

One other skill that is easily acquired from after school programs is leadership. Many activities help with this, but the most prevalent is student council. Learning to lead classmates and peers can be of great assistance when looking for a job or getting a promotion. Most jobs that are high up in the company are jobs that require the ability to lead and manage people. Acquiring this skill at a young age could be very helpful for a person looking for this type of job.

The problem that most people have with after school programs is that it decreases the time for getting homework done on time. However, this can be a good thing. When a person takes an after school activity, they must learn how to balance their schedule. This is a very valuable skill that is used throughout a persons life. Learning to do this early makes such a difference as the person moves on to high school and likely university. Learning this skill before schedules get busier is incredibly important.

All of these reasons make it an unquestionable choice for schools to require extracurricular activities. The benefits of learning these skills are much more powerful than the minor cons that are brought forward. A required participation should be enforced, for the benefit of all students.