Extracurricular activities are unnecessary, yet useful tools for success. All over the world, students participate in extracurricular activities; they do what that they enjoy or excel at. The ability to control what one does after school is refreshing to many students; they are overcome with the powerful feeling of independence. They can choose to play sports, take an art class, or argue in debate club. Students can also choose to go directly home and study. The decision to make extracurricular activities mandatory should not be enacted because it takes away freedom, does not account for all circumstances, and does not ensure interest in the activities.

In this day and age, freedom is a right many students do not feel they have. They are required to go to school for eight hours. After school, homework, studying or helping out around the house must be done. While those tasks are time consuming, the typical student should have enough time to participate in at least one extracurricular. However, the principle of controlling the time a student has after school is not right. Freedom is making a choice based on what one desires. It is not choosing to do something because it is mandatory. With this new rule, students will feel locked into something they did not consent to. The feeling of independence will inevitably dull. This rule would send the message that freedom, the concept the United States was founded upon, is not a priority in education.

Secondly, the life of an adolescent does not solely revolve around school; many go through struggles in their life outside of their educations. For example, some students have jobs that allow them to provide for their families. For a struggling family, the money earned might be used to put food on the table, or pay for electricity. Forcing a student to join an extracurricular would limit their time, thus limiting their income. This requirement could hurt a student more than it helps. That is the issue with the rule, it does not account for everyone and their situations. A student might be struggling in school and need the time after school to focus, as opposed to playing soccer. The circumstances of each individual student are sometimes unknown, and hard to categorize. Consequently, expecting everyone to gain from a restricting rule such as this one is unreasonable. Students have different commitments and circumstances they live with, forcing a student into an unwanted activity is unfair to them and their families.

Finally, requiring students to participate in an extracurricular does not ensure they will be interested in that activity. A student who does not care might chose art club, then pull the entire class down with a negative attitude. In another situation, the student might not actively engage in the club at all. Someone with no interest in a club would be wasting the time of the people around them and their own. Time is precious, for people only have a certain amount of it before they leave. There is no point in spending this treasure on something of little to no interest. There is the solution of finding another activity, but some students are not interested in the selection offered. Additionally, some students do not care enough to find a more enjoyable activity. Without this requirement, students would have the ability to take their interests and engagement and do what they please.

In conclusion, limited freedom, different situations, and low interest in activities are reasons why the requirement of after school activities should not be forced upon students. A mandatory extracurricular takes away the choices and independence given to students. Because all circumstances are different, it would not be right to require all students to spend their time on unnecessary activities. Lastly, interest cannot be born from nothing; an uninteresting activity to a student would be irritating to him or her and those around them. The ability to chose what one does with their time is an important skill for life; students must learn for themselves what interests them and how they personally benefit from their decisions.