Extracurricular Activities: A wealth bias system by Brigitte

Extracurricular Activities: A wealth bias system by Brigitte - October 2015 Scholarship Essay

The topic of extra curricular activities is well known to all individuals in the American educational system, particularly those looking towards education beyond the high school level. Clubs, hobbies, sports, and volunteer work all play a role in an individual's options with regards to admissions, acceptance, and scholarships for colleges. Some highs schools have now made extracurricular activities a requirement for graduation and many other schools have also proposed adding this requirement.

I feel that instituting an extracurricular requirement for high school graduation would be a major misstep as this added requirement would put underprivileged individuals at a disadvantage and limit their opportunities for advancement while at the same time giving a distinct advantage to already privileged individuals. Extracurricular activities often pose a financial burden to low income families for whom the cost of equipment and fees are not easily affordable. Transportation is also not readily and reliably available to individuals with parents working multiple jobs or odd shifts, a situation which is more common among low-income families. Furthermore, many of these underprivileged high school students simply do not have the time to participate in after school activities as their families often need them to work part time jobs to help contribute to the household income.

Low-income families currently have the lowest high school graduation rates and the lowest college attendance and graduation rates of any demographic group in America and education has been proven time and again to be one of the most essential tools in the struggle against poverty. Instituting a mandatory extracurricular activities requirement for high school graduation would only serve to further cripple low-income families and individuals in their pursuit of a better life. Low-income individuals who do manage to beat the odds and graduate already face a distinct disadvantage when it comes to college admissions and financial assistance due to a lack of extracurricular activities, taking away their ability to earn even a high school diploma would make the gap between them and their wealthier peers seem so large as to be insurmountable and would further impede low-income families with regards to upward social and financial mobility.

Public schools are intended to exist as institutions which provide Americans with the tools to build the foundations for the lives they wish to lead and for the betterment of their futures. The cornerstone to this foundation, which allows them to build bigger their lives and their dreams is the high school diploma; that one document is so vital to to so many aspect of what an individual wish to achieve in their life. Instituting a policy that would deny so many their opportunity to graduate and improve their lives seems counter-intuitive to the principals for which our education system stands and thereby would damage the future of our nation as a whole. Therefore, I believe that instituting a mandatory extracurricular activities requirement for high school graduation would be detrimental and should not be enacted.