The Help of Extracurricular Activities - Term Paper Example

EXTRACURR Within the general topic of educational success, the current report looks at the question of how extracurricular activities will affect a student’s success or failure in school. By looking at what research says about extracurricular activities, one can see how students can be aided in the achievement of their academic, social, and career success levels. “Increasingly, programs divide the time into non-academic learning and recreational activities, such as sports or arts and crafts; academic activities such as structured curricula or enrichment in language arts, science, and math; and homework support” (Noam, 2002). The basic assumption of the current report is that although extracurricular activities are blamed by some for a decrease in academic performance, they are actually a vital part of education that help students to succeed, giving students better skills at time management, and fewer opportunities to get into trouble during the time in which school is closed for academics. Most studies relating the various experiences of extracurricular activities in various academic institutions are positivist in approach: the focus seems to be on a link between status and performance, so that in their formative years, children who are not socialized in terms of extracurricular activities are seen as more likely to develop poor adjustment skills and possibly pathological problems later in life. These activities can be considered to be extracurricular activities, because they show (although part-time jobs are not always enjoyable) “the value of safe, structured, and enjoyable opportunities… unstructured afternoons, weekends, and early evenings are particularly risky times for youth” (Kahne et. al, 2001). Extracurricular activities are primarily thought of in terms of social interest, diversity, sociability, and the formation of an appropriate and successful resume or application. Generally, extracurricular activities can be divided by broad parameters of athletic and artistic activities, with various sub-categorical definitions. Scholars point out that “large-scale quantitative and qualitative studies find evidence that extracurricular activities foster educational attainment, identity development, and social integration into adult society” (Anderson et. al, 2001). Without extracurricular activities, students face increased risks. The lack of positive patterns of rule enforcement in schools can, in extreme cases, lead students to form horrifyingly negative structural patterns of behavior that are then taken back into the institution in terrifying ways. Socialization currents tend to flow backwards in unstructured and unsupervised time for adolescents who do not have more positive ways in which to occupy their time, or the social guidance that seems to be so crucial in terms of deterring or redirecting negative energy. “An increasing number of public and private school administrators face situations involving serious violence perpetrated by and against adolescents. School officials are responding by adding violence prevention programs-often a commercially available ‘off-the-shelf’ package-to their schools already overcrowded curricula” (Posner,198). The situation may be better remedied by “keeping schools open for supervised extracurricular activities on afternoons, evenings, and weekends, and during the summer. Keeping students away from the streets, gangs, drugs, and boredom for even a few hours after classes will at least diminish the amount of time that the negative influences have to do their work” (Posner, 1998). This process may significantly decrease the number of students who turn to drugs or violence in the unstructured time they spend away from school, thus decreasing the number of students who bring this behavior back into school. Just because an activity is extracurricular, however, does not automatically make it valuable or contributory to student success. For example, watching television may technically be an extra-curricular activity, in that it occurs outside of the institution of learning, but it is not an extracurricular activity, for it lacks sufficient structure and does not require a great deal of commitment. The question of what extracurricular activities are not becomes more complicated when one takes hobbies and part-time work into consideration. Hobbies are often structured activities, even though they are not necessarily social, and part-time work is nothing if not a serious commitment to after-school times. Extracurricular activities are seen to fill these times with meaningful activity, and are mainly thought of in terms of a group dynamic in which effective socialization patterns are highlighted. Extracurricular activities also are seen to provide motivation, heighten opportunities for leadership, and bring substantial variety into the lives of youth. The are structured activities that require commitment. “School-based educators, community youth workers, policy makers, and funders are increasingly recognizing the importance of non-school time as a context for… development… as a means of providing support for youth development” (Kahne et. al, 2001, p. 421). One example of an extracurricular activity would be the pursuit of a sport, which is seen to motivate youth to succeed in a competitive atmosphere, help them become team players and team leaders, and provide physiological development in a structure of commitment to daily practices. Another example would be the youth’ becoming a member of a theatre group, which motivates socialization and leadership abilities, brings variety, and requires a great deal of commitment and motivation in terms of rehearsal and memorization. However, as stated, part-time jobs and hobbies may also be considered to be extracurricular activities, for they too require commitment, structured time, and socialization that promotes effective learning. In a 2001 study, Li-fang Zhang examined the relationship between self-esteem and extracurricular activities. The author hypothesized that “more extracurricular experience (e.g., work and leadership experience, number of hobbies) would statistically contribute to the use of the more complex and creativity-generating thinking styles and in higher self-esteem” (Zhang, 2001). It seems to be that children who self-care are not as likely to adapt positive socialization patterns as children who spend time after school in structured extracurricular programs. “What should be learned takes on new importance as states begin to establish standards for student performance, and as new concern is voiced about ‘social promotion’” (Katz, 1999). Overall, this report has argued that despite possible drawbacks, extracurricular activities can help students succeed socially and academically. Opportunities abound in extracurricular programs, and students can take advantage of the opportunities to become effective leaders, communicators, and achievers. By taking part in extracurricular activities, students can develop self-esteem and positive self-concepts while familiarizing themselves with the structured environments that will make up a large part of their futures and making positive social relationships. Also, considering related student gains in academic achievement, leadership, and positive development, the benefits of extracurricular activities far outweigh any perceived disadvantages, which tend not to focus on differences between structured and unstructured time, instead taking extracurricular activities at face value as specific comparative entities. Students who participate in afterschool extracurricular activities will not waste a lot of time watching television, which is an inherently passive medium in which social interaction is warped and restricted in terms of personal control. “A recent synthesis study of 15 youth development programs, for instance, finds that those with the most holistic, least targeted approaches also benefit kids academically, while a long-term study of 120 community youth programs likewise shows school-related benefits” (DeAngelis, 2001). REFERENCE Anderson, D.R., Huston, A.C., K.L. Schmitt et. al (2001). Extracurricular Activities. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, vol. 66, pp. 90- 99. Andring, Heather (2002). Advising the Involved Student: When Extracurricular Involvement Compromises Academic Achievement. The Mentor. Retrieved on December 15, 2002, from http://www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/020909ha.htm. DeAngelis, Tori (2001). What Makes a Good Afterschool Program? APA Monitor, vol. 32. Retrieved on December 15, 2002 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/mar01/afterschool.html. Kahne, Joseph, Nagaoka, Jenny, Andrea Brown et. al (2001). Assessing After-School Programs as Contexts for Youth Development. Youth and Society, vol. 32, pp. 421-446. Katz, Lilian J. (1999). Another Look at What Young Children should be Learning. EECE Digest. Retrieved on December 15, 2002, from http://ericeece.org/pubs/digests/1999/katzle99.html. Noam, Gil G. (2002). Afterschool Education: A New Ally for Education Reform. Harvard Education Letter. Retrieved on December 15, 2002 from http://www.edletter.org/current/index.shtml. Posner, Marc (1998). Research Raises Troubling Questions about Violence Prevention Programs. Harvard Education Letter. Retrieved on December 15, 2002 from http://www.edletter.org/past/issues/1994-mj/youthrisk.shtml. Zhang, Li-fang (2001). Thinking styles, self-esteem, and extracurricular activities. International Journal of Psychology, vol. 36, pp. 100-107. Read More