Do you think all students need to participate in extracurricular activities? Do you think that is fair to students who have other things they must complete? If you said

Yes to these questions, then you would agree with the principle who thinks that all students needs to participate in some kind of extracurricular activity. But, I think students do not need to participate in extracurricular activities if they do not want to.

First of all, Some students might have important things that they must complete. For example, Homework, Is something that all students deal with. Here is a scenario, say Generic_Name has a big science project on Newton's third law, he is almost done with it, it is due the next day, but he cannot finish it because he has to go to the student council meeting at 5:00 because his principle requires him to. What should he do? Another example is, Generic_Name is trying to finish his Geometry and Civics/Economics homework, which they are due tomorrow, but he has to go to the school basketball team practice this evening, and he cannot miss it. If students have to do these things, then they might not get things done on time. Do you still say yes to the two questions in the introduction?

Another reason could be, a student, of all the choices available, might not want to do anything because nothing sounds good to them. Like if a student was looking for something to do, and they don't find anything, then they may have to do something they don't want to. Say Generic_Name is trying to find something that he would enjoy, he does not find anything that he wants to do. So the school assigns him something, Soccer, but he does not like soccer and does not have fun doing it. How about now? Do you still think all students need to do extracurricular activities?

Have you ever considered the fact that some students might just want to stay home with their families? Or go somewhere on the weekends? Or just relax on the weekends? Well, if you still say yes to the two questions in the first paragraph/introduction, then consider the fact that some students come home after a long day at school, and they just want to relax, talk to their family about their day, or watch a movie, TV show, etc. Or on the weekends where they just want to stay home, visit their relatives/friends, or go somewhere, like museums, the store, or somewhere they will enjoy it. Here is another scenario, Generic_Name plays on the Baseball team, and there is a championship game coming up, he is very excited for it, and he cannot miss it unless he is sick. But Generic_Name and his family are going to the beach, something Generic_Name has been looking forward to, but the coach schedules the championship game the same day that his family is going to the beach. What should he do now? It's things like this that can interfere with family events that a student might look forward to. Now what do you think? After all the things I have just explained to you, do you still think extracurricular activities should still be required?

OK, if you still say YES to the first question, you might think this.

If you play a sport, wouldn't that be good exercise for you?

Yes, but a student could get great exercise at their house, If they go outside, then they could ride a bike, scooter, skateboard, etc. They could also get great exercise at school to, P.E. they run, play games, sports, etc. going outside and doing PE is a great way to get some exercise.

I think doing an extracurricular activity is something that students do not need to participate in if they do not want to. Do you STILL disagree with me after all that nonsense? I hope you do agree with me now. Anyway, extracurricular activities is something that the student should decide upon, not the principle. The student should be the one that decides that kind of thing. If we live in a free country, why should this even be an argument?