Extracurricular Activities Shouldn't Be Forced

Have you ever been forced to do something you didnt want to do? Did you do the task happily? Most people would say it was not an enjoyable experience. When talking about the topic of extracurricular activities in schools, it is definitely something that shouldn't be mandatory. These things shouldn't be forced because it will result in unhappy and resentful students. Also, students should be able to choose their hobbies, and it is frankly none of the school's business.

If we force students to participate in a list of activities that may not cater to their interests, it is only going to make unhappy students who don't actually put any effort into the thing they are being forced to do. Again, try and think back to a time when you were made to do something you didnt want to do. Something that took time away from things you actually wanted, or even needed to do. You probably didn't do that thing with a whole lot of thought and effort, or at least you didn't do it in a good mood. What's the point of forcing kids to do activities, if they are just going to do it sloppily, with zero effort. No matter how many options a school provides, there will always be kids who don't like any of them.

Even though they may not like any of the options at school, whose to say they don't enjoy something outside of school. For example, what if a student is really passionate about their art? And between their chores and school work, they only get work on it about an hour of their day. Now, because they are forced to play a sport or join a club, they have absolutely no time to work on what brings them joy. This defeats the whole purpose of an extracurricular activity.

Even if everyone was perfectly happy with the activity they have to do, why is it any of the schools business what people do with their free time? A school's job is to give students a safe place to learn, and to provide optional extracurricular activities. It's not a schools job to control so much of a students life, that it's even taking up time outside of school. Schools have no idea what goes on in a student's life, and it is unfair for them to assume everyone just has the time and want to do an additional thing outside of school. If a student wants to participate in something, they will. There is no need to force people to do things they dont want to do.

As you can see, the idea of making an extracurricular activity mandatory has many downsides. So many that it is obviously it is not a good idea. Making people do things they don't want to do has never turned out good. Students need the freedom to make their own choices, and the school should have nothing to do with that. No matter how many benefits, extracurricular activities should never be mandatory.