As a student, I strongly, wholeheartedly disagree with this decision. The idea of forcing kids into an extracurricular activity is absurd and unreasonable. The principal, who is supposed to be the 'leader' of the school, forcing everyone to do something they don't want to do is a dictator-like move. Here's an example for you: Let's say Dictator Kim Jon Un decides everyone in North Korea has to stay after work for an hour to paint portraits of him. Sure, a portion of people may enjoy painting, but overall everyone is going to loathe the extra hour because they don't want to do it. That's exactly what you're doing. Now here's why you should never choose to do this to students.

First of all, students have tons of responsibilities. Besides working hard at school five days a week, students have to do homework and study for tests, for seven classes! They also have chores at home that their parents need them to do, in order to keep the house clean and functioning. Many students even have to work to support their families, even after doing all of the other responsibilities I mentioned previously. It's just not fair that you would force them into something else. Older students may be tasked with taking care of a pet or younger sibling, having to come right home after school and being busy all afternoon and evening.

Keep in mind, these are just a mere glance at the responsibilities they have to do every single day after school. Do we really need to burden these children with something else?

Parents of students may not want their child to stay after school. Students may not be able to get a ride home due to their parents working or lack of buses. This would inconvenience everyone. Students have extracurricular activities outside of school as well, and others have a tight schedule that would crush them if they had to cram one more thing in. Requiring them to do an extracurricular activity would be the straw that broke the camels back.

I personally don't think the principal has a right to do such a thing. You cannot keep students after school against their will. Once the bell rings at the end of the day, and they leave campus, you don't get to control them anymore. Forcing ever single student to participate in an extracurricular activity is despicable; you are forcing everyone to do something against their own will. You may think that you're "helping" them by giving them a light push, and you're not completely wrong. Not every student is going to loathe going to an activity, but let me tell you, should you do this, there are going to be kids who will suffer.

I also believe, and many would agree, students should want to participate in extracurricular actives. I know how it feels to be forced to do an extracurricular I didn't want to do, and I was miserable. Throughout the entire school day there was a pit of dread in my stomach that wouldn't go away, until I was finally free from the prison they called an "extracurricular." I had zero interest in it, and after it ended it discouraged me to try out other activities. To this day I still struggle with trying new things, all because of that one bad experience brought upon me by people like you, people with the power to make decisions for me.

I know that this essay is not going to completely change your perspective. This is one paper, it's not that significant. You may read dozens of other papers with completely different ideas. Though, I at least want you to think about how the decisions you make affect those around you. Think about the prompt i've been given. Imagine you were the principal. What decision would you have made before reading this essay? What about after? Was I, a child, able to change your mind?

If I was, or you agreed with me from the start, I'm glad that my words hold meaning and have power, because it's something I lack. If I wasn't, and had you been the principal, you would've chosen to force every single student to do an extracurricular, I just hope you know that not only have you wasted my time, but your time. My objective was to convince you otherwise, and get you on my side. Though, whatever your stance on this is, on my side or not, just know that you have the power. No matter how many papers I write, no matter how many points I make, in the end, you will get to choose for me. So think twice before you make decisions like that-- where you get to choose for others. Think about what else is going on in their lives; all the other things they have to do. If you got nothing else out of this essay, I at least hope you got that, because at the end of the day, you will get the final say, because you are the adult.