- Extracurricular activity
Extracurricular activities are activities performed by
student s that fall outside the realm of the normalcurriculum of school or university education. Extracurricular activities exist at all levels of education, from 4th-6th,junior high /middle school ,high school ,college anduniversity education. On average, in the United States, students participate in a minimum of one extracurricular activity throughout the course of one school year.Such activities are generally voluntary as opposed to mandatory, non-paying, tend to be Athletics,
social , andphilanthropic as opposed to scholastic, and involve others of the same age. Students often organize and direct these activities under faculty sponsorship; although student-led initiatives - such as independent newspapers - are common.Historical background
The extracurriculum made its first appearance in American colleges in the nineteenth century. It complemented the curriculum as much as subverted it. The students found in it a kind of laboratory for practical and vocational interests. The first extracurricular activities were student literary societies (which had roots in the previous century at
Harvard and Yale), debate clubs, and by mid-century, Greek letterfraternities and sororities . Students also initiated and organized the early athletic programs on American college campuses. Literary societies were on the decline by the turn of the twentieth century, and some educators felt that less desirable extracurricular activities were now distracting students from their curricular responsibilities. Intercollegiate athletics soon became the dominant element in the extracurriculum in most American colleges and high schools.Such activities as school
newspaper and interschool sports programs have been part of American high schools since theWorld War I era. Today’s public high schools offer a comprehensive array of extracurricular activities to complement the curriculum.Extracurricular activities should not be confused with co-curricular activities such as band and choir.
Co-curricular activities do have some aspects that are outside the normal school day but are mainly curricular activities that happen during normal class time. On April 26th, 2007, members of the U.S. House passedU.S. House Resolution 121 recognizing music education as a vital part of the school curriculum.Companies seeking job applicants may not look solely for those with a high
GPA ; employers might also look at extracurricular activities to determine if the applicant is the best suited for the job.Examples
*
Student government
*Model United Nations
* Topic-specificclub s such asmath club, PhilanthropyKey Club
*Competitions such as theNational History Day program &scholastic bowl
* Political science organizations thatmoot court , or the publication of alaw review
*Intern ships and other school sponsored work programs
* University societiesExternal links
* [http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/hrm.10053 Using extracurricular activity as an indicator of interpersonal skill: prudent evaluation or recruiting malpractice] , Human Resource Management, Rubin, R.S., Bommer, W.H. & Baldwin, T.T. (2002).
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