The principal's proposal has its benefits, but it could also lead to a number of problems. Kids go to school everyday for a number of hours, working away to meet their academic goals. They are then sent home with numbers upon numbers of worksheets, math problems, study guides, essays, and other homework items. While some kids are used to dividing their time for school and extracurricular activities like sports or clubs, others are not. Making after school activities a requirement will take a toll on a lot of student's after school lives for the following reasons.

Of course, their are age limits and requirements for driving. So, when kids are able to transport themselves to their activities, they look to their parents for a lift. Since parents are busy caring for their families, most go to work or work from home to earn money. Different jobs have different time frames so adding a mandatory activity to some families schedules could interfere with parent's work. A lot of parents get home late from work, meaning kids could have no way to get to their activity before then. If a child cannot get to their activity due to lack of transportation, there is an obvious problem, which will be hard to solve without complicating other family member's plans.

Another possible issue is lack of interest in the available extracurricular activities. There are only a number of activities a kid can sign up for and do in their area, so what happens if none of them spark an interest? Children are sent to school for a majority of the day, doing their school work, which most students don't seem to enjoy. Having them sign up for an activity they don't really like could turn what is supposed to be fun into a chore. Kids would be dragging on through the day, from one boring thing to the next, as they watch the clock until they are sent home. A lot of children are most likely going to be tired after hours of work at school, so requiring each of them to get home, with possibly little to no time to rest before getting ready for an activity they don't want to do could do damage on the child's mental and physical strength.

A sensitive topic to some families is money. Schools and peers never know how a family is doing with financial stability. While some families could spend with little worries on savings, others could be living their lives paycheck to paycheck, with just enough money to send their children to school, pay for a house and put food on the table. Sometimes, the current situation a family is in limits their ability to spend, and extracurricular activities often cost money. Whether the costs are on gear, supplies, or even gas for transportation to these events, some families simply cannot earn the money to pay for these things. Nobody deserves to feel pressured due to this new school rule. Adding this requirement could urge parents to have to work another job, or limit spending on other needs like food or a house to pay for whatever is needed for a child's activity. If there is absolutely no way for a family to pay for a sport, club, etc, having the school or the child's friends find out they cannot pay could lead to feelings of embarrassment and sometimes jealousy of people with more money.

Adding after school activities as a requirement could help kids get out more, exercise, and other benefits, but the bad outweighs the good. I believe families should not feel pressured to change their lives so their kids could go to their activity. Students must balance school work on top of possible family issues and other things, so if families can take them to an after school activity, then that's great, but if they can't then they shouldn't be forced to. Transportation, lack of interest, and money are just some possible issues with the principals new idea, along with others, like stress, possible injuries, etc. Schools should stick to educating our future adults, and leave the rest to the families of the children.