Why Pay for Activities?

During times of falling revenues, people often suggest eliminating extra-curricular activities to save money. Certainly it is reasonable to put everything on the table for discussion. And when cuts are necessary to balance the budget, school officials need to review all programs to insure that core educational goals can be achieved. So what conceivable educational values are there in extra-curricular activities? Why do schools expend taxpayer dollars to pay for programs like sports, music, drama, and other activities?

Extra-curricular programs are an integral part of the educational program. That is not to say that a specific program is necessarily integral, but that the benefits to be derived from participation in extra-curricular activities helps the school achieve its mission.

In my last post I touched on the importance of developing 21st century learning skills in order to successfully compete in a global economy. Many of these important skills are fostered in extra-curricular programs, such as developing leadership skills, working collaboratively in small groups, making appropriate health-related decisions, solving problems, working effectively in a climate of ambiguity and changing priorities, showing initiative, working appropriately and productively with others, meeting high standards and encouraging and guiding others.

It is not that these skills cannot be taught and fostered in traditional academic courses. They are. Extra-curricular activities provide a highly motivating environment to help students refine these skills. And, in the case of many extra-curricular programs, like music and athletics, students are performing these skills in a "real world" environment that puts additional pressure on them to strive for excellence; a quality that we certainly hope to foster in all of our students.

Does it work? Is the expense worth it? Yes. Research has demonstrated time and again, that students who participate in extra-curricular activities maintain higher grades in their academic coursework than do their peers who do not participate. Many accomplished individuals will point to the skills they learned in sports, FFA, BPA, music, drama, etc. as an integral part of their success.

Does society often get caught up in the competition and forget about the values that should be learned? Often yes, but let's not compare college and professionals with public school students. The goal of education-based activities is not to develop professional athletes and musicians, although if a student chooses to pursue such a goal we would not stand in his or her way, but to develop well-rounded, contributing members of our democracy.