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| Sports and Extracurricular Activities. |
8/1/2007 |
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| Extracurricular Activities: Serious fun for the well-rounded student |
| Written by: |
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Elizabeth Pinson |
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Extracurricular in its literal sense means outside the regular curriculum. It could even mean “above and beyond” the curriculum, according to advocates who promote sports, drama, music, chess – you name it – as being crucial to the education process.
Students who take part in extracurricular activities perform better in the classroom than those who don’t, studies show. Extracurricular activities boost self-esteem, which is fundamental for emotional growth and intelligence. It’s also fundamental for having the ability to say “no” to bad influences that lurk around every corner for children with too much time on their hands.
Students who choose sports have the added benefit of physical fitness and the building of social skills. Service projects such as visiting a nursing home, cleaning up the neighborhood park or gathering toys and clothes for children who need them provide lifelong lessons in love and giving. And for those who aren’t gifted academically, pursuing an activity such as music or photography could give them a direction in life they might otherwise have missed.
Just as reading is fundamental, so are extracurricular activities.
Balance the Options
Extracurricular activities in the Triad are varied and many, says Herb Goins, director of athletics and driver education for Guilford County Schools, where about 34 percent of middle school students and about 31 percent of high school students participate in extracurricular sports.
“Kids involved in these activities generally have more of a buy-in to the schools,” Goins says. “There is a great tie-in between kids involved in extracurricular activities and their performance in school.”
Parents can play a vital role in guiding their children toward activities that are individually beneficial. It depends on the type of child they have – one who loves simply everything and tends to get involved in too much or one who needs encouragement to stick to even one activity — to determine a course of action. Parents might need to help a child narrow the field, or they might need to gather the options and encourage a hesitant child. Principals, guidance counselors and other parents can be good sources for finding out what’s available and information about the teachers involved.
When a student tries to do too many things, stress can occur and schoolwork can suffer. “Kids have to budget their time,” Goins advises, adding that the benefits are definitely worth the effort. “If students make the choice to do an activity and the parents don’t force them, they can find time to do what they want to do — and balance their time to be successful in both.
“We always stress that studies have to come first,” Goins says. “But participation in outside activities is a real plus.”
More troubling than students who tackle too much, Goins says, are those who aren’t involved in outside activities at all. “You can have some real problems there, like poor grades and dropping out of school,” he says. “So many of the kids we see dropping out have not been involved in extracurricular activities.”
Parents, Take Note
Driving the miles from one activity to another might seem like a negative to parents, but it can be a good thing if the time is spent wisely with meaningful conversation. For those bemoaning the loss of family conversation around the dinner table because of so many extracurricular activities, car time can be the perfect time to reconnect.
When helping a child choose an extracurricular activity, make sure you know who the instructor or coach is, experts advise. A child’s relationship with his or her music teacher can make all the difference between lasting through two or three lessons or actually learning to love the art and sticking with it. It’s all in the relationship between student and teacher.
If opportunities for a child don’t seem to be there, a parent can look for ways to get involved. Be a Scout leader; be a soccer coach.
Charlotte’s Molly Barker, for example, had a dream of forming a program called Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization promoting self-respect and healthy living for girls ages 8-12. It’s now a huge success with programs in 150 cities across North America, including Greensboro. It took a desire to improve things for her children and for others that led Molly to take action. She’s a shining example of how parents can make a difference.
High School and Beyond
Aside from all the self-esteem and character-building benefits, can extracurricular activities help a student when applying to a college or university?
“It’s very, very important,” says Tim Jackson, dean of enrollment management at Greensboro College. “We look for students who are very involved in extracurricular activities. They are actually factored into the admissions and scholarship processes. In our school, community involvement is ranked as high as the SAT score.
“We look at the overall picture of the student,” Jackson adds. “If a student played just one sport in high school and nothing else, he wouldn’t get many points. We’re looking for someone very involved, someone who’s not one-dimensional.
“Extracurricular activities make students better-rounded citizens. Having that experience shows initiative. It shows they have the energy to do numerous things. We think they’ll do the same thing here.
“History tells us they will.”
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Elizabeth Pinson is a Greensboro writer and mother of two.
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