Are Extra-curricular Activities Devouring Class Time?

Do you ever fuss over losing precious class time for early dismissal to a sports game? Have you been irritated trying to catch up with missed assignments and tests? Or, on the contrary, have you perhaps been seizing every opportunity to skip a class?

These are issues that are gradually surfacing in school as an increasing number of students, recognizing the importance of extracurricular activities on post-secondary applications, start to devote more time on activities. Sports, school clubs, school plays and, recently, the leadership conference are just a few examples of activities that are cutting into students’ school time.

Beneficial as it may be, such “negligence” of school work is starting to take its toll on some teachers’ patience. In one English class in a secondary school, after six students failed to show up due to a school musical rehearsal, the teacher, who normally kept his composure on all occasions, blurted out a few weighty sentences regarding the unreasonable and irresponsible schedule of the school play. The idea is explicitly conveyed—some teachers hold a negative opinion on such dispense of class time.

This, however, raises a seemingly overlooked and potential dilemma. Could the school board come up with plans to separate extra curricular activities from school, such as moving all those activities to some time after school? Fundamentally, are the students, the centre of the issue, affected by any degree? Perhaps a more extensive research should be carried out to identify the potential shortcomings and to enhance the students’ school and community experience.