My knees started to tremble as Generic_School's principle started to walk on stage, getting ready to make an announcement. A few minutes go by, but it seems like he talked for hours! He thinks everyone should participate in an extracurricular activity if they aren't already in one. He has lots of good points that support his decision but I overall think it's nonsense. Students have several things they could be doing instead of putting their time into an extracurricular activity.

First, students already have enough homework. Our school has seven periods, of which six of the seven we have homework in. We are in school for seven hours and then we are expected to go home and complete another two hours of homework. Adding an extracurricular class to our school day will just add another piece of homework we will need to complete later that night. If the class doesn't involve giving out homework, it will still take precious time from students, where as students could be using that time for more important things, like studying for core classes to better their future.

Another reason I disagree is because students have more important things to focus on. Students have four core classes throughout the day that they get tested on at the end of the year and they need all of the time they can get to study and learn. Adding an extracurricular class to the school day gives them less time to study. A extracurricular class will make students focus on that individual class when they should be focusing on more important classes that will benefit them in the future. Imagine having three tests all in one day. You would much rather be studying for those tests instead of participating in a mandatory extracurricular class that wouldn't even benefit you in the future. The extracurricular class will take time away from students that need to study and it could result in a horrible test grade.

Lastly, students and teachers need time to relax. School can be stressful, especially if there are tons of tests coming up. Instead of adding a extracurricular class, add a relaxation class. School can put lots of pressure on students and even teachers. If you add an extracurricular class, someone has to teach it so that gives teachers more to do as well. Adding a relaxation period could benefit the teachers and the students by letting them relax and just enjoy being there. Students don't always get to go home and relax after school. They might have lots of chores to do and lots of homework! Teachers don't have it easy either. Teachers have to stay after school and grade papers, tests, and plan out activities the next day which could leave them tired and stressed. Everyone needs time to relax, even if it isn't a long period of time. Everyone is so focused on their responsibilities in life when they just need time to sit back and relax.

There are so many reasons why I disagree with my principle when he says everyone has to be in an extracurricular activity. I think that students should be able to choose if they would like to participate or not. Some students might handle it well as others might not. Everyone has something going on in their life to decide whether or not they can participate in an extracurricular activity and not everyone has the time for it. The principle has many great points on why students should participate in an extracurricular activity, but at the end of the day, I have a totally different opinion on it.