presentation high school

presentation high school

The Importance of Extracurricular Activities in Presentation High School

1. Benefits of Extracurricular Activities

School-sponsored extracurricular activities can have an everlasting impact on students. These activities can have long-lasting impressions on students. Participation in activities gives students a chance to meet more friends and build a friendship with others whom they would not necessarily build a friendship with. At times, the result may be somewhat negative in the beginning, due to the lack of interest from some students, but ultimately the friendships, grades, and willingness to succeed will improve. For example, one of the most positive benefits in coaching an extracurricular team is seeing its members successfully incorporate teamwork skills to accomplish a common goal. These types of experiences will often shape a student’s remaining years of school. Many different activities offer the opportunity to build teamwork and the leadership abilities of its participants. Learning these valuable skills will make a student more marketable when it comes time to apply to colleges and eventually to employers. This is because employers highly value hiring workers who carry excellent teamwork skills and are able to contribute positively to their company. And because this generation is currently experiencing a large surge of workers entering the age of retirement, companies will continue to look at today’s students to fill these jobs. Most importantly, the wakeup call to reality came when studies indicated that extracurricular activities play a part in reducing at-risk behaviors among adolescents. An article that was published by the Josephson Institute of Ethics stated, “Students in activities are less likely to drop out of school, they have a higher attachment to school, and they have less opportunity to become involved in behaviors that compromise their health and well-being” (Holland 2). This is music to the ears of parents and school officials. Today’s adolescents face increasing pressure to involve themselves in activities that compromise their health and well-being. With these activities yielding such positive results, schools should continue to offer extracurricular programs to as many students as possible. These will be experiences that the participant will cherish for the remainder of their life.

2. Types of Extracurricular Activities Offered

Presentation offers clubs that fit into the traditional, expressive, and investigative domains. Traditional activities are those that involve competitive sports or activities. Expressive activities are drama, music, and art oriented. Investigative activities are those that provide opportunities to be creative and to solve abstract problems. Students are encouraged to join clubs and activities that are related to their career interests. For example, a student interested in pursuing business in college has an opportunity to join a business club.

Belonging to an elite group of girls’ schools whose curriculum offers four years of college preparation for university admission, Presentation High School offers a variety of ways students can prepare for college. According to a New York University study, extracurricular activities are a significant factor in college admission—it has been adjudged to be more meaningful than GPA, community involvement, and even employment. A study in the Journal of College Admission concurred and found that participation in extracurricular activities affects college admission more than specific high school courses, grades, or standardized test scores (Jones 1).

3. How Extracurricular Activities Enhance Learning

A student’s affective skills are also enhanced through extracurricular activities. The term affective means it is learning that emphasizes attitudes, feelings, and beliefs towards people, objects, or events. Affective learning is indeed important because it is a determinant of a person’s social and emotional development. It also contributes to such things as one’s self-esteem, self-confidence, social skills, and empathy. High school activities are focused on affective development and involve students interacting with people and dealing with various success and failure situations. By interacting with others who have a common interest, a student can develop social skills and make friends. When a team or group is faced with competition and adversity, it can help build a person’s self-esteem and self-confidence through success and failure situations. This, in turn, can translate to their academics with a more confident student being more willing to participate in class or take a more challenging course.

In regular classroom settings, a student may or may not fully understand educational theories. Once that student gets involved in a club, sport, theater production, etc., it starts to deepen their understanding of what it is they are learning in class. In a classroom, one may learn about leadership in history class, but never get the opportunity to take on a leadership role. By participating in the student government, a student can apply the theories they learned in class and become an effective leader.

4. Encouraging Participation in Extracurricular Activities

In order to encourage more students to take part in extracurricular activities, the school should take the following steps. First, school administration should be sure that the importance of extracurricular activities is clear. Teachers and parents should be informed of the benefits and should be made aware of the importance of their encouragement. Today, many adults think that their children should be spending all of their time studying. While academic achievement is important, it is unhealthy for students to have no other interests. Extracurricular activities provide a release and a means of taking a break from the stresses of academics. They also help students to identify and learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. This will be very beneficial when picking college and a future career. With this in mind, the drawbacks of students not participating in extracurricular activities should be pointed out as well. A final effort should be made to inform students themselves. An assembly could be held to inform students of what is available to them and what the activities can do for them. Then, students should be regularly reminded of the activities and should be asked why they are not taking part if they aren’t.

5. Success Stories: Impact of Extracurricular Activities on Students

In 2002, a parent sent an email asking the PHS Leadership class to record innovative club and service ideas. She explained that students need more information on clubs before they choose to start one or not. At that moment, the PHS Leadership class decided to create a club directory. It was a small idea, but throughout the project it had a huge impact on the school. After creating the club directory, the idea of creating an extracurricular fair was debated and soon became a reality. In March 2003, PHS held its first extracurricular fair with only 25 clubs. The event was a success and as a result, it increased student participation in extracurricular activities. The following year, more clubs were formed and the number of students who turned out for the event doubled. This year the most recent event was held with 60 different clubs and organizations. Another success story, also due to today’s current ASB class, is the improvement of School Spirit. Finding it difficult to increase participation at all-school events, ASB researched and came up with the idea of spirit groups. The spirit groups are organized by leaders from many different clubs on campus, such as CSI or National Honors Society. Each spirit group is composed of a diverse group of girls from all grade levels. These girls create banners with positive, supportive messages, encouraging students to attend various events throughout the year. Now at sport games or school events, it is not uncommon to see an array of colorful and spirited banners, or an entire rooter bus full of enthusiastic students. This increased participation and spirit at school events is a direct result of the diverse activities our students are involved in.