Imagine if someone decided school is now nine or ten ours long instead of the traditional seven hours, because that is what it sounded like to the students that attend my school when our principle announced all students must participate in an extracurricular activity. I disagree with making it mandatory that all students must participate in an activity after school. Students in low income families often do not have the required finances nor time it takes to participate, additionally the stress can easily overload students of all grade levels.

Many low income families can't meet the requirements for an extracurricular activity. Almost all activities require parents to buy materials such as uniforms or supplies that can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars. Even if the school offered to pay for the requirements, you would be taking away money from more academic uses such as field trips or classroom supplies. A doctors appointment alone costs families an obnoxious amount of money but when a student has to receive an updated physical and the needed vaccines annually before they can participate in any physical activity it can quickly become an unrealistic goal. Accidents always happen and if a student was to get injured how would a lower class family be able to pay for the necessary treatment? Not getting immediate medical attention for broken bones or sprained ankles can leave people in severe pain for the rest of their lives, this leaves a huge liability for the school. Parents could easily sue the school for the medical treatment, once again that is money that could be going towards academic advancements. Transportation is another thing many students do not have access to. In a home where parents work low income jobs they often can't take time off of work to pick up their child from school, because of this many students would be forced to ride a bike or walk home which can become a safety hazard.

Older students often work at after school jobs and must complete several chores at home, this can make an extracurricular impossible to attend. Trying to balance school and a job is already hard to balance but when you add an extra activity on top of that leaves you with no time for a personal life. Free time is usually spent with family and friends, and when you take away that free time relationships can be strained or ruined. Not only does this directly affect the students but it can also hurt an entire family. I often have to babysit my younger siblings so they would have no where to stay while I was gone.

Stress is a growing problem for students at my school, including myself. Parents often pressure their kids into making straight A's and achieving that is already a stressful goal but when you add an after school activity it can severely damage a students mental health. Most teachers assign homework and balancing that alone is difficult but after requiring an extracurricular leaves very little time for the additional work. School is around seven hours long meaning children as young as five years old are required to sit at a desk for seven hours each day, five days a week. When school is over students want to be able to go home and relax, not participate in another two hour activity. This can leave them exhausted which affects their overall mental and physical health.

In conclusion, I disagree with making it mandatory that all students must participate in an activity after school. Students in low income families often do not have the required finances nor time it takes to participate, additionally the stress can easily overload students of all grade levels.