Extracurricular activities, whether they come in the form of sports, clubs, or o

rganizations, are integral parts of most, if not all, public schools. These prog
rams are most often highly beneficial for many reasons: they allow students to p
ursue their interests to a higher degree than what they are able to in school, t
hey can allow struggling students to get the help they need (e.g. tutoring), and
they keep students who may otherwise be involved in malicious activities out of
trouble. When schools are faced with budget cuts, however, these extracurricula
r activities are often the first areas cut. This seems to be the easiest route,
as there are few, if any, government requirements in terms of required extracurr
icular activities, unlike the many requirements when it comes to academics. Furt
hermore, extracurricular activities can be comparatively expensive. Though it ma
y be difficult to get exact figures, one can assume that the dozens upon dozens
of sports most schools have take up a large portion of the budget and slashing a
few from the budget can remove a large expense from the budget without signific
antly affecting a large number of people. For these reasons, extracurricular act
ivities should be placed at a lower importance than academics (especially when i
t comes to budget issues), though they should not be placed on the back burner c
ompletely.
One reason to continue to place some amount of importance on extracurricular act
ivities, however, is the beneficial role they have in allowing students to pursu
e or study subjects that interest them to a higher degree than they are able to
in regular classes. Take, for instance, math. If a student is earning the highes
t grade possible in the class and learning the material well, they may be somewh
at bored in that class. Without any sort of extracurricular activities in that a
rea like competitions or study groups, their talent would be going to waste. Wit
h activities outside of school, however, they can learn new concepts or facts th
at may be deemed too advanced for most and thus further their education and expa
nd their interest pertaining to the subject.
Secondly, extracurricular activities should keep some degree of importance due t
o their usefulness in keeping students who would otherwise commit criminal acts
off the streets. Whether it is due to boredom, bad influences, or a flat-out wis
h to harm, many students commit crimes after school. Though these crimes may ran
ge from trivial (e.g. trespassing) to severe (e.g. theft), any sort of crime is
almost always detrimental to society. If students are given a place to go or som
ething to do after school (i.e. extracurricular activities), they will logically
commit fewer crimes, as they are likely monitored and entertained during the ac
tivity.
Extracurricular activities should, however, be placed on a slightly lower level
of importance than academics when it comes to budget issues and other problems f
or a variety of reasons. Firstly, there is the obvious fact that they are simply
not necessary. This idea is inherent in the very term extracurricular, as the p
refix extra means outside of. Outside of the course of study that is required. T
heir sole purpose is to allow additional opportunities for students to do what t
hey like to do; in most cases, no one is hurt by someone being unable to play fo
otball or not being able to participate in, say, a spelling competition. Additio
nally, extracurricular activities should be placed at a lower level of importanc
e because a small change or removal of one can result in a large benefit. As I m
entioned in the first paragraph, extracurricular activities can be very expensiv
e. Though exact figures are hard to get, one can easily assume that the cost of
supplies for say, football, and the money required to pay a coach add up quickly
without any tangible, solid benefit. Cutting out a costly activity has few down
sides compared to cutting academic programs, which carries little benefit and a
large downside.
In conclusion, while extracurricular activities do have a significant benefit to
students, as well as society at large, they should be placed at a slightly lowe
r level of importance than academics. Though extracurricular activities may be b
eneficial in furthering what students can study and restricting any harmful acts
they can commit, they cannot be placed above academics because they are, by def
inition, unnecessary. If core academic needs are not met, what is the benefit of
having extracurricular activities?