It is my feeling that many schools, if not most international schools, are missing out on the benefits that a healthy extra and co-curricular activities program can bring to a school. I cannot tell you the number of times that my debaters have told me that they have learned more from doing academic Debate than they learned from their classes. I'm not sure I would go that far but whether that is true or not, it is not hard to see how Debate can bring all of the disciplines that happen under the umbrella of "school" together and provide students with an opportunity to apply that knowledge. Honestly, what I think students are saying to me when they say that is, they now have the opportunity to apply the knowledge that they have learned in school. So the question becomes, why don't more international schools capitalize on offering better academic and social extra and co-curricular activities? I think it is because they are too busy to see the value of this hidden opportunity. I see lots of very well developed sports programs at many schools throughout Latin America but all too often I only see token representation of academic extra or co-curricular activities.

To see the benefits of a strong extra or co-curricular program, first of all, lets start with the fact that extra-curricular activities take place in areas that are significantly underutilized in a school; empty classrooms and spaces that go unused after school. The school is still paying the bills for these spaces but they are not using most of them approximately 2/3rds of the day. Some schools charge for their extra curricular activities and this could bring significant direct revenue to a school who cares to have a strong offering. However, even if schools don't charge, they need to think about how these activities could increase the school's profile and income in other ways. Unless your school is just off the charts with its academic scores compared to the rest of your local competition then there is usually little difference between you and your competitors. So what is the differentiating factor that makes a family choose your school over the rest? It could be a strong music program or theatre group or dance team, something that students really enjoy and don't mind getting up for each day. Think about who that brings into your campus; parents, relatives, friends of families, neighbors coming to the concert or theatrical productions, students, teachers and parents from other schools coming to judge or watch the debate tournament. You cannot buy better advertising than that! Time share companies are giving away free vacations to get that kind of contact with the potential customer.

This does not even begin to discuss the major benefits for students, teachers, and the schools' community that come from a healthy extra and co-curricular program. I plan to do that in subsequent articles but there is significant evidence that student development is greatly enhanced by extra and co-curricular activities. Beside the fact that many students go to school just because of their extra or co-curricular activities, these activities also raise their self-esteem, lower their chances of participating in unhealthy and risky behavior, more or less keeping them out of trouble, in addition to giving them opportunities to apply their classroom knowledge, providing the relevance many students are seeking. My heart filled with pride one night sitting in front of two freshman young ladies on the bus ride home from a debate tournament when I heard one of them say to the other, "You know we won that last round because we had so many better historical examples than the other team, (then there was a pause) the American School really does prepare us for life." In my recent research one of the articles even brought up the fact that many students gain their adolescent identity by being on the Debate team or part of the Tech Team for the Fine Arts department or being a "Mathalete." Laugh if you will but this identity translates into goals and accomplishments later in life. Just look to the statistics of the Urban Debating League in the United States that has raised graduation rates by significant double digits and has an almost 100% conversion rate of students going to university from inner-city schools that struggled to send students on this academic path in the past. Suffice it to say that the evidence for increased student achievement is astronomical and I plan to write more about this in the future.

Another area where I hope to write more about in the future is how it benefits teachers and staff in the building. Not only is there significantly more bonding between extra-curricular teachers and students, creating relationships that also increase learning, but there is an opportunity to get teachers involved in meaningful projects inside of the school, one of the main factors that determines the longevity of the retention of staff. In addition to that, it can provide extra income benefits for those teachers who may struggle to stay in a region like Latin America, although they love the lifestyle, cannot afford to stay in the region because of the lower salaries. Imagine adding $6,000 to 10,000 to these extra curricular teachers' salaries each year. That money could come from charging for activities, increased enrolment, money saved from less teacher turnover, grants and sponsorships or all of the above if we really use our thinking caps. But let's not lose sight of the fact that extra and co-curricular activities could be cash-flow positive for a school. More than anything, the thing that I feel that coaching after school Debate and directing theatre productions gave me as an educator was a testing ground for different ways of teaching in my everyday classroom that made me a better teacher. I felt like these after school activities gave me the freedom to experiment with different teaching methods that I might not try in the classroom for the sake of time or the perception of my relationship with my regular classroom students. Additionally, with extra-curricular activities, students vote with their feet and if you are not providing them with something they think is worthwhile you will no longer have a club or an activity to coach or direct. So there is that tough love factor as well. With extra curricular activities, you either live or die by the quality of your classroom or group leadership. I think that would be a great way for many teachers to learn how to become more dynamic teachers. Ok, ok, I hear many heads of school or school administrators already out their groaning, oh, I don't have time to manage all this with all the other work that I do. I hear you but the great part is you don't have to. Why not delegate this job to a rising star on your campus that is looking for administrative opportunities, that has bought into the community of your school and wants to do something to advance the school, the students, their own career. They are waiting for an opportunity like this either after school or in the summer break. Delegate!

The last thing that I want to talk about in this piece is what extra-curricular activities do for the school community. I love going to a school on a Saturday and seeing the school full of students, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles as well as visiting schools, students and teachers. Many activities are usually taking place in the gym, on the sports fields, in the classrooms, inside of theatres and multipurpose spaces at the schools where this happens. The school, especially in the international setting, should be the center of the community. It should be when and where parents can go and see what they are getting for their money and the activities in which their children are involved. It should be where younger siblings tag along and watch incredulously as praise is heaped upon their older brother or sister for going above and beyond the call of duty. It should be the place where teachers meet parents and parents meet administrators and administrators meet students that they are not familiar with, in a relaxed and social setting. When the school is the center of the community it reinforces the value of education and pride in the educational institution all around. It reinforces the value of the work that goes on inside of those building throughout the rest of the week, that we might not get to see, but we know it exists. It brings people together on an equal basis. We are not administrator, teacher, student or parent. We are fans of the Mustangs or Sharks or Bears Debate, Theatre, Dance, Music, Chess, Math team, cast, group, delegation! We celebrate together in victory and we are humble and graceful together in defeat. We bond! We love each other because we are part of the same thing and our success or failure is somehow intertwined. ALL of this can happen on a Saturday at your local international school. I am curious now, after writing this to go and count the number of life-long friends that I have on Facebook that are parents, students, students family members, colleagues simply because we were brought together by after school activities. I can think of so many off the top of my head that have definitely enriched my life and made me a better person. I am so fortunate to have those people in my life.

These are the things that I think a rich and strong extra and co-curricular program can bring to a school. I have decided that I want to become an expert in this area and to advise schools as to how they can make their academic extra and co-curricular programs better for their school community and share in all of these benefits I have mentioned above. If this is something of interest to you, please join my linked in group where we will delve into this discussion much more deeply.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12152769/

Thanks for reading,

Mark Webber - Webber's Ed - www.WebbersEd.com