Have you, as a parent, teacher, guardian, etc ever noticed how distant us students are from eachother? Yes, we have close friends we see outside of school, but other than that we dont actively participate in anything other then school together. Its sad to say I personally have known my classmates for almost two years now, and I still have yet to know half of their names. This needs to be fixed as a community. If given the choice it is likely that majority of the school would not choose to do this, and it has come to a point where there shouldn't be a choice. Students should have to participate in at least one extracurricular activity because, students will learn better sportsmenship and collaboration skills, it may fix the issue of too much electronic device usage, and our school as a whole will be more familiar with eachother.

A main reason why sudents should be required to participate in at least one extracurricular activity is because, we will learn better sportsmenship and collaboration skills. From firsthand experience I have witnessed students discouraging eachother when their opposing team wins on multiple occasions. For example, in gym class we could be playing volleyball, basketball, or even kahoot in other classes, and the way students react to losing the game is horrific. They might throw a fit, use unkind words, and put down the winners in all the ways they can. Students also have a hard time collaborating with their classmates in group projects, talking with their tables about the current topic, and helping eachother out when we dont understand content in class. Having to play in sports games will teach us how to lift eachother up even when we arent ahead or "winning" the game. Another example is that if we were to join things like student council, clubs, etc we would learn how to talk to eachother as a group/team rather than doing everything individually.

Another way having to do an extracurricular activity could be used as an advantage is that it may fix the issue of too much electronic device usage. After a long day at school we are all so ready to change into comfy clothes, jump into bed and go on our phones or watch tv. Hours may pass by without us even noticing, and before we know it, its time to sleep. I do this, and even the thought is noticebly unhealthy. Having to do one sport or activity if its once a week, everyday, or for even just an hour would help. Keeping ourselves busy prevents us from having an excessive amount of screen time. Not only that, but being active also takes a part in maintaining a healthy body and lifestyle. Even if some clubs invlove being on a computer, its way more beneficial to our community than sitting around staring at a screen all day.

Lastly, all students, and our school as a whole will be much more familiar with eachother.

As said earlier, even though we have all walked in the halls and seen eachothers faces for more than a year, I dont know most people, and most people dont know me. Joining clubs, sports, or any activities will introduce us to new people, we could make new friends from our school and other schools, and we'd even be more familiar with more teachers/coaches. This doesn't mean we have to be friends with everyone, but even slightly knowing the people we see everyday, and who we will mostly continue to see throughout highschool would be nice. Meeting new people is always a good thing we should strive for. Knowing more people might just come in our favors in the future.

In conclusion, most children would think of this decision to be unfair since we are in school all day, and after that bell were on our own time, but none of us realize how fun it could potentially be. I think that in order for us students to be actively engaged in more things to come, we should be needed to particpate in at least one out of school activity. Again, I think this because, we could learn to have better skills like collaboration, sportsmenship, leadership, etc, we will have other things to do besides being on a device all day, and we will all be more familiar with eachother at the end of the day. I definitely think that there should be an option on what type of activity/sport we should do, but I also agree with the fact that this is needed to make our school a better place to be, at least for right now.