Role of extra-curricular activities in student development

Many may argue, how extracurricular activities may not be as important in a school child’s life. We, however, differ with that. A student’s social life is as important as her academic life as it is for development. There is so much pressure on students, especially in secondary schools to perform well in their exams and attain high scores. This, by all means, is not wrong at all as we want students to perform well in their exams.

The problem comes in when students have no life outside the classroom and what they all do is to think about their books. They become zombies whose world revolved around books alone with no room for any development as human beings. Even parents, guardians etc. do not understand the importance of extra curricular activities in sholinganallur and schools have to convince them to allow their wards to take part. Parents tend to feel that such after school/in-school activities in sholinganallur may distract them from studies and even some students feel the same way.

This notion does not hold true anymore as co-curricular activities are just as important as academics. They complement each other well to develop a well-rounded student with more social skills that one can concentrate on books. Education must go beyond the classroom walls and must be more than just books too.

There are so many activities that a student can choose from, including sports such as cricket, football, rugby, scouts and guides, debate, chess or even music. Interested students can take part in more than one activity as long as they have enough time left for their studies.

Here are some benefits of Extra-curricular activities

1)    Improved Academic Performance: Studies have shown that students who participate in co-curricular activities have improved academic grades as they learn better time management, better organizational skills and self-esteem. Students also learn how to express themselves better.

2)    Better time management skills: They learn how to incorporate their sports activities into their school life and allocate enough time for each. They learn how to use excess time well and are less likely to procrastinate.

3)    Learn new and useful skills: Their teamwork, social skills and critical thinking get better. They learn how to relate better with peers and have improved leadership skills.

4)    Sense of commitment and Responsibility: They learn how to commit and give their best shot in everything they do. This extends to all other areas of their lives as well. When in a group, they foster a sense of responsibility and accountability and be very efficient in all tasks they do.

5)    Make new friends and get introduced to new activities: They meet new people, spend time and form new friendships. They get a different point of view of things which help them see the world at a different view. They get exposed to a wide range of new activities such as sports, painting, drama, singing etc which may start as a hobby but can be pursued later full time when they turn adults. Many students have also gotten scholarships in prestigious institutions due to sports and special talents.

Thus the aim of education must be for all-around development and this includes the student’s intellectual, spiritual, social, physical and moral capabilities. At Ellen Ellen Sharma Memorial Matric. Hr. Sec School, we are one of the child friendly environment schools in Sholinganallur and we strike a balance in all these aspects, so as to benefit the child. We are a progressive, child-centered, co-educational school, committed to providing holistic education to all our pupils.