Extracurricular Activity Requirement, Yes Or No? by KateLynn

Extracurricular Activity Requirement, Yes Or No? by KateLynn - October 2015 Scholarship Essay

Extracurricular activities. Some people are not in them at all and some people are involved in excessively many. Principals and teachers are constantly trying to get people involved in school activities, but some people will cannot be involved because they work or only want an incentive. Therefore, should students be required to be in extracurricular activities or not? I say no.
Not everyone can be involved in school activities. Many people at my school cannot be in many clubs and sports because they need a job. There are students out there that pay most of or all of their bills, hence, requiring a job and needing many hours. At some places, like my last job, they will not let some people request off for many activities anyways. I would request days off in months in advance and I was still scheduled to work. I rarely could convince people to take my shifts. Therefore, not everyone can be in many extracurricular activities due to work.
With being involved in school activities, it comes at a cost. Being in a sport or club costs lots of money. Yes, some clubs’ dues will cost only three to twenty dollars, but for several students who want to be in multiple groups, that adds up. This year I am in three groups and that adds to almost seventy-five dollars. If someone is in a sport, getting a uniform, shoes, and much more can cost over a hundred dollars. Not everyone can afford that even with fundraising. That is why I could not be a cheerleader my first year of high school.
If being involved in an extracurricular activity is required to graduate, groups will have participants who do not care to be there. When feeling forced to join a group, students will not put their best effort into being a part of that group. This will make teams and organizations not as dedicated to what they already do. The students, who are dedicated already, I think, will not even care if the extracurricular activity is a requirement. All the school would be doing is adding a hassle.
Extracurricular activities should not be a requirement to graduating high school. If it was, not everyone can meet that requirement. Lots of students have jobs and/or can’t afford it the extra stress. If schools made it a requirement it would just be a waste. Extracurricular activities should stay the way they are.