Have you ever been forced to participate in something you didn't want to? Well, that's exactly what this principal has decided to do with all of his students. Kids are expected to do so much in twenty four hours, go to school, do homework, go to sports, eat, and manage to get at least eight hours of sleep every night. Kids have lives outside of school that no one at school really knows about. You can't predict that a student goes home after a long day at school and wishes they had something to do. Some kids barely get enough sleep every night. For these reasons I believe students shouldn't be forced to participate in extracurricular activities.

Every day students wake up and go to school for seven hours whether they like it or not. Some kids don't like it, they don't like the environment of school and all they think about is when they can go home. So why force them to stay longer, they won't be happy so no one is winning. For the students that like school, and wouldn't mind staying a couple hours later and participating, let them do it. It should be their choice. If they think it would be fun, let them do it. But, if home is the only place where these kids feel safe, let them go home. Kids deserve to go home and relax after seven hours of school five days a week.

In addition, say a student really wishes they could participate in an extracurricular, they may not have the time to. With only twenty four hours in a day kids are expected to sleep for eight hours, go to school for seven hours, participate in any sports they might have, come home and do hours of homework, eat dinner, try to spend time with family, and go to sleep at a decent hour. As if that's not enough try adding an extracurricular activity into the mix, there's not enough hours in a day. But, not everyone has that packed of a schedule so for those people that could stay after for a little and kill some time, let them. It should be their choice and their choice only. Not the principal's who has no idea what a student's life is like after the last bell rings.

In conclusion, kids have so much going on that the school doesn't know about. Some students really don't like school so why are we forcing them to stay longer than needed for something that could just make it worse. You can't expect every student to want to go to school every day let alone commit the time into staying longer and doing something "fun". Even if they wanted to, there may not be enough time left in the day for that to happen. Students already have enough stress as it is so why put even more on their plate if it won't help them succeed. Kids that do have the time and want to participate in these can and should be able to. Because of these reasons, I believe that students should not be forced to participate in extracurricular activities.