I work in a vey small school district with an average of about 58 students in high school. Everybody is involved in many extracurricular activities from athletics, to FFA, One-Act Play, Cheerleading to UIL Academics. The state's old policy numbered the days that students could miss due to extracurricular activities. The rule changed leaving the number of days up to the school district and school board. Our school district/board has given our students an unlimited number of absences from extracurricular activities and it has affected some students grades and test scores. I want to know the difference of students' grades/scores when absences were numbered versus grade/scores with unlimited absences in our school district. How does a small school district compare to a larger school district on absences from extracurricular activities? What is the attitude of teachers who are accountable for student's test scores when they are missing valuable classroom time? How do extracurricular activity teachers or coordinators such as coaches, Ag teachers, UIL teachers, Drama teachers feel about the unlimited absences? Do students who participate in extracurricular activities feel pressure or struggle with falling behind in the classroom or with homework? These are just a few questions I ask myself on this particular Research Topic. I am excited to dive into the research.
I really like your topic and the questions you are working with for it. I have been on both sides of the extracurricular scene. As a junior high and high school student, I was heavily involved in choir and yearbook. As a 10th grader, the choir was invited to sing in Carnegie Hall. While it was an awesome opportunity, it was not free. We were frequently pulled out of class to go and sings for local organizations during lunch time. There were long hours of rehearsals. Finally there was a five day trip to New York City. We left on a Wednesday and flew into Dallas so late on Sunday night that we weren't worth anything on Monday at school. I kept up with all my studies because I knew my parents would get me if I didn't and I sure didn't want to be ineligible under no pass, no play.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher, I sometimes run into situations where my fourth grade choir members are going around to nursing homes and having lunch at the park. However, our music teachers keeps it to a minimum and we have veto power over who goes or not. I understand it is a little different at the secondary level.
Being a supporter of extracurricular activities, I go out of my way to work with students who miss class here and there for activities. I am not sure what our school board policy is on the number of days or classes that can be missed. Your small school district may be able to do more reteaching. Is the student to teacher ratio small? I teach in the largest district in my county but in one of the smaller ones, the ratio is about 6 students to 1 teacher if the class is large.
I look forward to keeping up with your research. It is quite possible that I may be asked to work with extracurricular activities in the future, and I would like to be prepared.