According to recent surveys, around 86% of students participate in extracurricular activities. Students playing sports or being in the year book club has been very beneficial for them. They can learn a lot from the activities, as well as representing the school. Participating in an extracurricular activity should be a requirement for the following reasons: Students will learn something new, students will gain life skills, and the school will see growth in their sport teams.

First, students will learn something new. Not all students have participated in an extracurricular activity. Students who haven't done so, will be taught something they didn't know how to do. When I was in the sixth grade, a couple of my friends and I tried out for something we had never done before. We tried out for the middle school lacrosse team. We learned a lot from our coach and went from not knowing how to catch the ball, to being pretty decent at the sport. Not only can students learn something new, they can also gain life skills.

Second, students will learn life skills. Students will learn to show commitment, leadership, and responsibility. My father was a really good soccer player in high school and college. He tells me all the time about the three most important things: commitment, leadership, and responsibility. He also made it very important that I knew about the hardships of being on a travel team like he was on. He had to commit to playing soccer in all of his spare time, always practicing, he had to show leadership and get all the practices and games and help those in need, lastly, he had to show responsibility by making it to all the practices and games on time and prepared. This is why students will learn life skills. Not only can students benefit from extracurricular activities, the school can as well.

Third, the school will see a growth of students coming to the school. These numbers help the school earn rewards and more money. When people see a school earning a bunch of rewards, they tend to switch to that school if they are in the same activity that is winning rewards. When the school gets more recognition, they will tend to get better players and will keep gaining rewards. One of my friends used to go to the same school as me but then he went to another school that had a better football team and was known for winning the division title. That school has gotten a ton of people to go to their school because of an extracurricular activity. This why the school will see a growth of students going to their school.

However, others believe that students shouldn't have to do an extracurricular activity. They also say that students shouldn't have to be tied to school any longer than they already are. This wrong for several reasons: students will gain knowledge and life skills from these activities, students will have fun doing so, and students won't be at school for much longer than the normal school day. These activities are not just there to torture the students, they are there to help them excel and grow as a person. The activities will also prepare the students for the rest of their lives.

In conclusion, it should be a requirement for students to participate in an extracurricular activity. Students will learn something new, students will learn life skills, and the schools will see a growth of numbers in the activities available. These are reasons why students should be required to participate in an extracurricular activity. I hope that you will think about participating in an extracurricular activity.