DISADVANTAGES OF CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Can cause frustration No matter the age, students can become frustrated if they are overworked with school, friends, family and co-curricular activities. Older students sometimes juggle jobs as well. Students need time to study, relax with peers and join family time. Anytime students struggle to find a balance in life, parents should look at their co-curricular involvement. Students might also be frustrated that they do not have time to grow their talents. If children put too much focus on a few, specific abilities, they might not develop into well-rounded people.

Can be stressful Balancing schoolwork with co-curricular activities can be stressful for some students, especially when an abundance of activities takes up valuable time they need to study or complete homework. A student's involvement in co-curricular activities can put stress on the whole family when parents have to rush to shepherd kids to various tightly scheduled activities. Busy kids also have less time to spend at home with their families, which can put a strain on familial relationships as the kids get older.

Can be a burden for poor families Some families may find that co-curricular activities are very expensive. These activities often require parents to purchase expensive equipment and uniforms. As we all know, nowadays these uniforms are very costly. Imagine if there are four or five children in a family. How much money do the parents have to fork out? In some cases like those who are in the school band clubs, students might be required to buy musical instruments which are very costly.

Time consuming Teenagers often struggle with time management, and some co-curricular activities demand more time and energy than many students can handle. If youre a student who needs a little longer than your peers to finish your homework, an activity that takes up several hours every afternoon after school may not leave you with sufficient time to get all your work done. An alternative might be to get involved with clubs or activities that only meet once or twice a week or that only meet for short periods after school.

Becoming Consumed by an Activity You may choose an activity that leaves enough time for school work and other priorities, but you might choose to devote your extra time and attention to that extracurricular interest. For example, you may love being involved with the drama program at your school because you love performing or working backstage, and its where your best friends are. So, instead of staying after class to get extra help when you need it or keeping up with your assignments or following through on chores at home or other priorities, you hang out at the auditorium or going over your lines and songs at home, leaving everything else undone until it's too late to catch up. Might Be the Wrong Activity If you're going to commit to an extracurricular activity, it should be one that you're interested in and that is rewarding to you. Parents may push certain activities with good intentions, but if piano lessons are stressful because you'd rather be playing basketball, talk with your parents about your feelings. Maybe you can find a compromise, such as a temporary break from lessons during basketball season.

Less Unstructured Play Time When much of a young persons life is scheduled, little time remains for the carefree moments that foster discovery and imagination. This is especially true in younger children, who need to be able to simply play and allow their minds to develop new games, instead of following a rigid schedule established by parents and other grown-ups. If you have a young child who has lessons, sports practice and other structured activities throughout the week, think about whether he's getting enough "kid time." If he seems stressed or over-scheduled, drop an activity and allow for some simple activities like tree climbing, informal games or free play with friends and family.

Academic is more important The academic curriculum is really much more important and must continue to be given more status in schools and colleges than the co-curriculum. Students are meant to be receiving an education and gaining recognised qualifications. Higher Education institutions place a greater importance on the curriculum than the co-curriculum when selecting students, and so do employers. Co-curricular activities are nice, but they have never been shown to actually play a vital role in a students life. And if they distract students from focusing on their academic qualifications, then they could be actually harmful.

It is wrong to say that taking part in co-curricular activities will prepare students for a better future. Most specialist professions still provide a range of career opportunities, without any need to compromise academic education by over-emphasis on non-academic activities. For example, athletes who have been injured in mishaps can continue their career in the same field but just in a different post. No longer could they play, but they could still coach or even give sports science lectures to aspiring super stars. And if someone does wish to radically switch career in mid-life, there are plenty of evening classes and continuing education opportunities to allow them to retrain.

If co-curricular activities are so good, then students should have right to choose whether they wish to pursue them, rather than forcing them to give equal importance to something they do not wish to do. Through equalising the demands of academic and co-curriculums there exists the possibility that a student may drop out because he or she may not be able to cope with the demands of both sets of activities. The right to an education is best exercised by giving students the choice to decide what field their lives would like to be based on, and about how to pursue these aims.

Making extra-curricular activity compulsory will take the fun out of it and strip it of its benefits. Successful extra-curricular groups work precisely because the students have voluntarily chosen to be there. If some were forced to take part, they would be less enthusiastic and spoil the activity for the rest. And the more the activity is like ordinary school, the less attractive it will be to young people. Most of the personal development benefits associated with extra-curricular commitments such as altruistic service, initiative-taking, and leadership skills come from the voluntary nature of the activity. If that voluntary aspect is removed, then the benefits are lost too.