One school of thought holds that it is mandatory for school-aged children to participate in free extracurricular activities after school. In my opinion, I agree that making such participation compulsory is a worthwhile initiative as this requirement will yield substantial benefits for both individuals and society at large.
On an individual level, one plausible reason why after-school programs should be made mandatory is that it provides individuals a great chance to develop their hidden potential and pursue their true passion simultaneously. This is because studying in class currently has a limited amount of time which is totally used for delivering academic knowledge, leading to the ignorance of non-academic talents stemming from a certain group of children. As a result of this lack of proper attention, children at school may miss their golden stages to make substantial progress in their special talents, including artistic, athletic or technical ones. The enforcement of non-academic activities would consequently help address this unfavorable environment by organizing a wide range of clubs and giving children professional guidance, thereby gaining for themselves an accurate self-evaluation and proper strategy to develop their potential.
Another point to take into consideration is that enforcing children to engage in extracurricular activities means they will make a considerable improvement in essential soft skills needed for their future personal and professional success. Take a debate club’s activities for example, many of which force children to analyse complex socio-economic topics from multiple angles while constructing persuasive arguments under time constraints. This dual duty, therefore, paves the way for the future’s achievements as it constantly mandates children to evaluate complex issues comprehensively and come up with innovative solutions in practical circumstances.
Finally, the argument in favor of engagement in non-academic programs being made to become an obligation is further reinforced by taking into account benefits on societal level. In fact, it could be argued that such activities will benefit society in the long run, for the plausible reason that it will act as a powerful deterrence against social vices. Apparently, a child’s schedule characterized by school times and other non-academic activities such as sport practices, music rehearsals, or club meetings will be better equipped with physical and mental health. This is because children are left with no vulnerable time gap to engage in street loitering or gang experimental behaviors, contributing considerably to the order maintenance of social fabric.
In conclusion, I am convinced that mandating school-aged children to join in extracurricular activities promotes their self-awareness of non-academic talents, develops essential soft skills and prevents society from disorder. For these reasons, making extracurricular activities mandatory would present a highly beneficial and forward-looking policy, serving interests of both individuals and society at large.