~Sweety Subudhi
The word extracurricular is a combination of the prefix extra, which translates to “on the outside’”
and curriculum, which translates to “ a running course/career.” Extracurricular activities enhance a
student’s personality. Extracurricular require a regular time commitment and initiative such as being on a sports team, forming a student newspaper or taking an online course on robotics.
Benefits of Extracurricular Activities
- Improved Academic Performance– Participating in activities that one is passionate about can increase one’s brain function and help to concentrate and manage time better which leads to higher grades. Lots of studies have been conducted on the relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance and they all show that students who participate in them have higher grades.
- Explore Interests and create Broader Perspectives- When a student participates in multiple different activities he/she gets an opportunity to explore a range of interests. Diversifying one’s interests subsequently broadens one’s world view.
- Higher Self-esteem- The more one achieves success through activities one is passionate about, the more one’s self-confidence will improve. Working hard and mastering new skills in a fun, relaxed-and sometimes competitive-setting allows us to be successful without the pressure of getting a good grade. Once a person’s confidence improves, one will be more open to taking risks in all aspects of life.
- Social Opportunities-One of the easiest ways to make friends is through extracurricular activities. It enables us to expand our social network .If a student makes friends in extracurricular activities he/she will be more deeply involved.
- Productive Breaks– Extracurricular activities give us something fun. It gives the students much needed break in their routine life.
- Essential life skills– One of the greatest advantages that extracurricular activities gives us is “real world” skills like goal setting, teamwork, time management, prioritisation ,problem solving, analytical thinking, leadership and public speaking.
Extracurricular activities are thus far more than time fillers and provide a lot more than variety and entertainment.