Should students be required to participate in extracurricular activities? I personally disagree. There are benefits to such activities, but the idea of such activities being a requirement isn't for everyone. Such things can have major impacts on home life, social life and academic skills.

As one of the most important parts of life, home and family life will be altered. Activities such as sports tend to be after school and may cause an inconvenience to a students parent or guardian. For parents or guardians who work the evening shift (Usually 4pm - 12am), squeezing time in to pick up there young ones from after school events can be very difficult. The amount of times I've missed out on after school events is frustrating, keep in mind what I'm talking about is optional. Making these extracurricular activities required will most likely mean that they will be counted as a grade, missing out might cause tremendous damage to a students grades.

Next, we stumble upon social life. People who are introverted can improve on great levels and overcome social obstacles while others individuals might face challenges. Going back to how grades might decrease, one part of the problem is pressure. Too much pressure can cause a student to let go of everyday chores and family time to focus on catching up or doing activities such as the yearbook. Coming from a family of educators, I get why hands-on education is important but in no way should it have authority over my social life. What I am referring to is how someone might have to spend hours in their room just to works on activities like the yearbook.

Finally, academics. The most important part of school, or at least what we're there for. Honestly, I see extracurricular activities as a side quest. Instead of spending time on activities, a student can spend the same amount of time to study topics such as math and science. We need to focus on the main topic here, every year I take a standards of learning test issued by the state to prove my capabilities and what I have learned. All a student should be required to learn are the basics and what they're being tested on. Until state requires students to participate in extracurricular activities, it shouldn't be a requirement.

As I have repeated countless times, there are benefits to such activities. Yet, the idea of such activities being a requirement isn't for everyone and can be a major inconvenience to some people.