Do Extracurricular Activities Interfere with Your Lesson Plans?
Participation in extracurricular activities is good for teens, but it can also derail your expertly prepared lesson plans.
By Linda Hinkle
Most consider participation in extracurricular activities in high school to be a positive thing. It helps keep teens busy and out of trouble, while also providing opportunities for experiences outside of the academic arena. Studies show that those who take part in extracurricular activities usually attend school more regularly, make better grades, and have more school spirit. Colleges like to see a nice long list of such activities on applications for admission. But as a teacher, dealing with your students’ involvement in school activities outside the classroom can be a challenge.
Why is it a Problem?
New teachers may wonder how this can be a problem. After all, most schools have policies that specifically address participation in extracurricular activities, and there are state organizations that also set forth rules and regulations. With so many guidelines in place, how can there possibly be anything left for the classroom teacher to address? In theory, there shouldn’t be. But in reality, there are going to be times when extracurricular activities interfere with your lesson plans and you have to find a proper balance between maintaining academic standards and supporting your students in their non-academic endeavors.
For example, regulations typically mandate that these activities take place after normal school hours so as not to interfere with the academic day. However, travel time to an activity often makes it necessary for participants to leave before the school day is over, which means they must miss some of their regularly scheduled classes. Likewise, if an activity goes late into the evening and causes participants who must travel afterward to not arrive home until the wee hours of the morning, administrators sometimes excuse those involved from the first class or two the next day.
Most teachers don’t dispute the benefits of involvement in extracurricular activities, but they do struggle with how to balance it with maintaining the progression of academics in the classroom. The struggle is greater when more than a handful of students are involved. For example, a situation in which a talented athletic team advances to the regional or state play-offs often involves more than just team members. Cheerleaders, drill teams, band members and pep squads may be excused from classes to attend and support the team. When so many members are absent from a class, do you go on with your scheduled lesson or postpone it?
What You Can Do
There is no easy answer. If you proceed as planned, the missing class members must somehow master the material you cover while they’re absent. Yes, policy usually states that the athletes are responsible for gathering information and materials presented in class, even when the absence is excused. However, dedicated teachers know that providing guidance and instruction is instrumental in helping learners catch up with missed work. If plans for the day happen to include administering a major exam, you have to deal with scheduling all the make-up tests.
If you choose to postpone or alter your scheduled lesson plan to compensate for several class members being absent due to extracurricular activities, you may still suffer some consequences. More than likely, there are some people in your class who have little or no interest in extracurricular activities and those learners may very well feel deprived if you don’t carry on with the class as usual. They may have the attitude that they are in the class, and their time shouldn’t be wasted because of those who aren’t in attendance.
It may seem as if you can’t win in these situations, but you just have to find what works best for your particular situation. Every school system is different, so what works for one may not work for another. I do think that in most situations, it helps if you show support of extracurricular activities. Students usually respond better to teachers that do so. Your attendance at a ball game, musical performance, theater production, or some other activity lets your learners know that you aren’t one of those teachers who thinks tht the world begins and ends in the classroom.
Along with showing support, I also recommend that you display a strong conviction that academics should always come first. Be flexible, juggle lesson plans, and do all that you can to accommodate those with busy schedules. But always convey the mindset that achievement in the classroom is the primary goal.
Additional Resources for Dealing with Scheduling Conflicts:
How Colleges View Extracurricular Activities
Use this information to help you, the teacher, understand what colleges look for with regard to extracurricular activities. Included is a lesson plan activity targeted to help college applicants and their parents.
Time management is an important skill for those who participate in extracurricular activities. This is an activity you can use to help your learners prioritize and make wise use of their time.
Effective time management can be a real asset to teachers as they deal with the ups and downs of scheduling around extracurricular activities. This article gives tips and strategies for making optimal use of your planning time.