Over the last couple of decades with the rapid advancement of technologies, a lot of educational organizations have faced a new fad: many old-fashioned and active after-school programs involving sports are becoming obsolete and are being substituted with more contemporary classes, including IT and programming courses. While there is no clear harm in these modern activities, I firmly believe that they can negatively impact children’s development.
First and foremost, traditional leisure activities were designed to promote a healthy lifestyle among adolescents and positively impact not only their physical growth but their mental health as well. For example, it has been proven scientifically, that regular physical activities diminish the symptoms of depression and anxiety, the feelings that a lot of teenagers are prone to. Furthermore, students develop a sedentary lifestyle from early on, spending their free time sitting in front of the computer and being occupied with their electronic devices for way too long.
Secondly, classical leisure classes were chosen to help students with the development of their social skills. For instance, teenagers must learn how to freely communicate with their peers, find common grounds and interests and resolve conflict situations in order to properly integrate afterwards into their adulthood life. It is crucial for them to develop their social and emotional intelligence at an early age to avoid further impairments.
In conclusion, I firmly believe that while modern after-school programs are able to successfully teach children important skills, give them the required knowledge and, as a result, a competitive advantage in the modern world, the decline of the old programs has major downsides, including, but not limited to their physical and mental health, as well as their abilities to effectively socialize