Extracurricular Activities - the history and benefits of involvement for youth

Did you know that the first extracurricular activities began in the United States in the 19th century? In the beginning they were an additional part to the normal academic schedule  and included some practical or vocational interests. The first well known extracurricular activities where literacy clubs at Harvard and Yale University. Later, debate clubs and sororities and fraternities began to emerge. Athletic activities designated as extracurricular were also first offered in the U.S.  and remain popular today.  During the WWI era, clubs focused on the  creation of newspapers and yearbooks became popular extracurricular activities and today students have many other extracurricular choices to provide positive opportunities for personal and social growth and development.  

It is estimated that 1 in 4 students participate in extracurricular activities in the U.S. (Miller, Zittleman, 2010, 189) The cost to establish these programs in rural and inner city schools is around $250 million. (Girod et al., 2005, 64) With this in mind, one might wonder why we spend so much to offer extracurricular activities for kids? Are there benefits to having kids participate in these programs and if so, what are they? The evidence on how these types of programs benefit children and youth is abundant. According to the National  Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), indicators of successful participation in extracurricular activities includes improved and consistent attendance in school as well as higher levels of academic achievement, and aspirations for continuing education beyond high school. While it cannot be known from collected data whether participation in extracurricular activities leads to success, or if successful students are just more inclined to participate, more than likely it's a combination of both.

Education expert Mary Daniels Brown says, “Participation in school activities, especially athletics, leads to higher self esteem and enhanced status among peers, which some argue is deterrent to antisocial behavior.”

And John H. Holloway, a consultant with the Educational Testing Service, identifies he most common time for negative behavior to occur is the time after school and before parents get home, which is usually the time between three o’clock and seven o’clock. This is the time kids are most at risk to commit violent acts and victimization. Youth between the ages of nine and seventeen are highly vulnerable to the influences of their peers and must  learn to make their own decisions and control their behavior. This is why it is a crucial time for them to participate in extracurricular activities because these activities provide supervision, guidance, and engage youth in enriched learning experiences. By participating in these activities, youth are better able to resist unsafe behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, gang involvement, and criminal activities.

Girls on the Run is one of the many extra curricular activities available to youth, specifically female youth, at schools and community centers across the U.S. and Canada.  Through outcomes based lessons, Girls on the Run provides a physical activity based positive youth development program (PA-PYD) like no other that inspires girls to define their lives on their own terms by helping them build their confidence and celebrate all that makes them unique.

Aren't you glad that the smart folks at Harvard and  Yale began offering extracurricular activities some 150 years ago as an enhancement to normal academic programming? The benefits of these programs has reached far and wide in ways probably never imagined by these pioneers. Knowing your child can benefit from participation in such activities should make that extra bit of time, money and effort necessary to make these activities possible seem like a great investment in their future!