Having students participate in an extracurricular activity is a good idea and is very beneficial to students.

Students will be able to get life and job experience from participating in extracurricular activities. A student participating in yearbook or student council would get good experience and help them decide what job they want to do. A student that does yearbook and decides they really like it might try and pursue a job in journalism, a student that participates on a sport team might try and pursue a job on a sports team. Participating in sports would give students good teamwork and communication skills, which many jobs are looking for.

Students will be able to make new friends by participating in extracurricular activities. A student on a sports team would be able to make new friends even if they are new. I have met many friends of mine through after school clubs, and some through sports. Being in an extracurricular activity would help some kids become less shy and allow them to come out of their shell. A few people I know have been able to talk to more people and be less shy because of doing other activities out of school.

Participating in extracurricular activities might help some students get better grades. At my school we have something called Math League. In Math League kids go and do a 5 question quiz and depending on how many they get correct it helps boost their grade up in the next test or quiz in math class by giving them a few extra points. At some schools yearbook is an elective, so participating in that will get you a good grade in your yearbook class. The only thing you cant get a good grade in is sports, but if you have a bad enough grade you will be kicked off the sports team.

Many people say that forcing a student to do extra activities out of school is bad, but I think it is a good thing! Having a student that participates more in an activity out of school might help them answer more questions in class or talk more. Being in an extracurricular activity will help students later in life and in school.

In conclusion, there are many good things about having all students participate in an extracurricular activity. Being able to make new friends, get better grades, and get experience is a very good thing for middle and high school students.