While working on tech crew for “Urinetown,” the musical from last spring, I found myself incredibly overwhelmed with approaching assessments in my classes. I was trying to manage my time productively and stay on top of my school work, however I was also getting home around 9 p.m. every night that I had rehearsal. I sacrificed sleep, didn’t have time to eat and devoted all my free time at school to completing work and studying. During that week and a half long period the musical took up a majority of my time, but I did not experience leniency from my teachers about assignment due dates and test postponements, which proved to be detrimental to my well-being.
Such occurrences are common for many students who participate in extracurricular activities, both at the school and externally — these students will at some point experience highly stressful periods of time due to their commitments. However, there is an obvious discrepancy between how athletics are treated in this regard versus other extracurricular activities.
Teachers oftentimes see athletics as a more legitimate excuse for pushing back a deadline than another activity, regardless of the time commitment. At the beginning of the school year, many coaches will connect with their players’ teachers to establish open communication about how athletes are doing academically, according to Athletic Director Jason Kelly. Not all extracurriculars follow this practice. For other activities, students are expected to handle all of the communication between their advisor or overseeing faculty member and their own teachers, which could explain why athletes are given more leeway when it comes to academics. Additionally, the school sets limits on practice times for athletes — in-season sports are allowed a maximum of two and a half hours per day, while out of season sports are allowed a maximum of four hours per week, according to Kelly.
The school should implement a standardized policy for extensions and postponements that are requested due to extracurricular commitments. Students should be able to participate in the things they enjoy and are passionate about, and they should not have to sacrifice their academics or mental health in order to do so. Such a policy should allow students with extended after-school commitments to postpone an assignment due date until they have more time to study and complete work. There would be little to no negative impact of a student taking a test a few days after their classmates. However, it can be a huge source of stress if a student has to juggle everything at once.
Many extracurricular activities have periods of concentration, such as a weekend-long athletic tournament or a layout week for one of the school’s publications. During these times, students have significantly less free time to complete school work and study for assessments. During layout sessions for The Chronicle, which last for about a week, I often get home at around 7 p.m. and am still expected to continue working on my assignments at home in addition to my normal school workload. Writing and creating the paper takes up more of my time after school than an in-season varsity sport does. However, the Chronicle advisor doesn’t have the same type of communication as coaches, which should be obligatory for all students who participate in time consuming activities because.
This type of concentration also occurs in academics—oftentimes, many tests and important deadlines are all during the same few days due to different classes finishing their units at around the same time. This causes inherent stress for students, which is why the school has in the past created policies like the three test rule, where if a student has three or more tests in one day they are able to push one back. Having these types of policies have proven to have positive impacts on students—there should be clear policies that pertain solely to extracurricular activities.
Participating in extracurriculars has long term and short term positive impacts on students — working on a team with others leads to better socialization for students, which in the long run, makes students more connected and in touch with their community. Being forced to choose between academics and extracurriculars only leads to more stress and a sense of detachment from fellow peers. By creating clear and more accommodating policies, the culture at the school can shift focus to recognize the different importances of extracurricular engagement and academics. In addition, making sure these policies are the same across the board will send the message that all extracurriculars are important — whether it be athletics, performing arts, The Chronicle or anything else.
