Several people in the United States do not participate in extracurricular activities. Most of them sit at home, play video games, and don't do much in the community. They basically only come in contact with other people at school. But what if these activities where required? Required extracurricular activities would allow them to be communicating with other people all the time, not just at school. I think required extracurricular activities are a fabulous idea because they build friendships, keep students active, and progress social skills.

First of all, after school programs let you see your friends and possibly make new ones. This will help strengthen the relationship between you and your friends. Also, when participating in extracurricular activities, you meet all sorts of new people. I know when I played basketball, I met several new people from other schools, and I know a lot of the players from other schools now. It got me in public more often, and that's better for you than staying home watching screens all day.

Secondly, I think that extracurricular activities are good for keeping people active. For example, if you chose basketball as you after school activity, you would be running in practice, going up and down the court during games, and that would lead you to getting in better shape. They would also stay active in the community, because several of the activities involve people in the community. Things such as sporting events would involve crowds of people coming to watch and support their teams. In addition, being active and playing sport would help lower obesity, which is starting to be a problem in some schools. The running and jumping, and just getting up and doing things after school help you lose weight.

Thirdly, these activities would build social skills, as being out in public surrounded by other people force you to talk, and slowly build social skills. Social skills are used for everything in life, from making friends to getting a job. They are extremely useful for doing anything in life. Going back to making friends, these skills will make it a million times easier to do so, because communication would come naturally, and you would seem more friendly. And since most of these activities involve being in the community more often and meeting new people, it doesn't hurt to have this particular set of skills..

Lastly, I believe that I have proven that required extracurricular activities are useful, productive, and better for you than laying in bed or watching television. They develop friendships, keep you active, and produce social skills. Making friends in life is important, and after school programs help you make some lifelong accomplices. The social skills you learn might help you get a future job, and will most definitely help you with life in general. I hope many people view required activities differently, and will see the reason behind them.