While some children will have an inclination to pursue academic subjects some children also have inclinations for non-academic activities. However, maintaining a balance of both can improve children’s abilities in more ways than one. This is what holistic education means.
For children naturally inclined towards pursuing their academic interests, extra-curricular activities help in improving their levels of concentration and their capacity to think critically. On the other hand, for children who have a passion to pursue something that is not taught in the four walls of their classroom, extra-curricular activities can help in identifying their potential and help them chart a trajectory to pursue their goals as well.
Keeping these few things in mind, it is important for concerned parents in Dubai to understand the nature of extra-curricular activities and to understand its various benefits.
What are extracurricular activities?
Put simply, extra-curricular activities refer to activities that are pursued outside the boundaries of a classroom. Extra-curricular activities include a number of activities such as arts, sports, activities complementing one’s academic interests such as a math club or a science club, or even something like community service.
The purpose of these activities is to stimulate children’s minds and teach a varied number of skills that might otherwise be only theoretically understood in a classroom environment. When coupled with a student’s academic learnings, extra-curricular activities can ensure that a child’s education is well-rounded.
These activities may not necessarily have a direct relation to what they’re taught in class but they surely have a direct impact on children’s abilities to think and improve their performance once they’re back in the classroom. Let’s understand how and why the schools in Dubai have placed a strong emphasis on including extra-curricular activities in their curriculum with the aim of imparting holistic education to each and every student.
Emphasis on Holistic Education
Dubai is the most populated city in the United Arab Emirates and can be considered to be a hub for expatriates from several countries who have settled in the city for quite some time. Being ranked as one of the best cities to live in the Middle East, Dubai is home to a number of high-quality schools and colleges. As an important cultural and commercial hub of the UAE, Dubai easily offers one of the highest standards of education seen across the world.
The UAE’s aim of providing a world-class education to all the students residing in its country encourages the Ministry of Education to ensure that the schools and colleges of Dubai reflect the country’s aims and aspirations. This has led to an increasing number of educational campuses in Dubai offering a holistic educational framework to ensure that children in Dubai are prepared to proactively contribute to society irrespective of where they might be living in the world.
Therefore, Indian International schools in Dubai have ensured that offering holistic education to children through a modern learning approach remains one of the most important priorities. Listed below are some of the advantages of extra-curricular activities that can aid in improving children’s overall development.
Seven benefits of extracurricular activities
1. Expands interests
By participating in different activities, students can learn more about the world and at the same time also discover new aspects of their own personality. Experimenting with new activities helps children unlock their view of the world. It shows them a world that might be difficult to imagine in the classroom. Being exposed to ideas in a theoretical manner is very different from being exposed to the practical applications that can be observed by one’s own senses.
When children are involved in extracurricular activities, they are able to discover activities they never thought they had the capacity to pursue in the first place. A child might be a prodigy in playing chess, but unless they actually try out the game, their potential might not ever be known to them or their parents.
2. Improves academic performance
A number of studies have shown a direct correlation between the positive effects of extracurricular activities and students’ academic performances. A number of parents hold the opinion that their children stand to lose valuable time if they start getting involved in extracurricular activities. However, the skills that children learn by being involved in such activities have a direct impact on enhancing their abilities in academic subjects such as math, reading, etc.
This is because activities outside the classroom provide stimulation to the same centres of the brain that are also responsible for understanding academic disciplines. Hence, students involved in extracurriculars stand a better chance of growing in the classroom at a faster pace than their counterparts whose activities are only limited to studying inside the classroom.
3. Boosts self-esteem
If certain children don’t fare well in understanding concepts in the classroom, they might doubt their abilities to thrive in the world. However, every student has their own potential. By trying out several extracurriculars, such students can end up finding activities that they excel at and therefore can regain their self-confidence. For students who already show a good inclination for academic disciplines, extracurriculars can help in making them feel more confident about their abilities.
4. Teaches essential life skills
The holistic development of children receives a major boost through extracurricular activities as it teaches them additional skills that might be difficult to learn inside the classroom. For example, students might learn how to speak and read well in the class, but it is only in a debate speaking competition where they will have to understand the importance of analytical thinking in order to put their thoughts across in a coherent manner.
In this way, extracurriculars can be helpful in not only strengthening children’s understanding of academic subjects but also help them in discovering new skills that will remain with them for the entirety of their lifetime.
5. Improves time management
The extra in extracurricular activities refers to something that is done beyond the scope of the usual curriculum. Therefore, students have to spend extra time apart from the school hours to pursue such activities. When done on a daily basis, pursuing these activities can help students in prioritizing their daily tasks to ensure that both academic and extra-curricular events are given equal emphasis.
Thus, their ability to manage their time improves. This can assist them in multiple ways in their future where they would have to learn how to balance their professional and personal lives in order to maintain the right work-life balance.
6. Provides productive breaks
It is important to take breaks after being too involved in just one activity. For students, staying inside the classroom and learning the whole day can start becoming overwhelming. While their conventional lunch or snack break gives some respite, their minds may still be occupied with what was being taught earlier. Taking part in extracurriculars offers them a refreshing change in their daily school schedule and helps to take their mind off the usual lectures they are involved in every single day.
7. Improves resume
When applying for admission to a college/university or even for a job, it is important for students to stand out from the rest. In such a scenario, having a number of extra-curricular activities mentioned on one’s resume can go a long way in indicating the various skills that students have developed in the course of their schooling years. At colleges, these skills can show that students have well-rounded personalities and can contribute to the college’s achievements too.
At jobs, it can help the hiring manager make a better judgement about why the student would be better suited for the role if the student’s skills complement their job requirements. For example, a student who has been a member of their school’s art club would have a stronger advantage if they apply for a role in a creative designing field as the recruiter would be able to see that the student has been committed to expressing their creativity from an early age.
Conclusion
In line with the above-mentioned benefits, we can see that extracurricular activities can help children identify their potential in new ways. Not only do they end up learning more effective social and personal skills, but their resume also stands to be noticed much better.
In Indian International Schools in Dubai, equal emphasis is placed on involving children in a number of extracurricular activities in order to help them hone their skills and achieve a holistic personality. With an equal balance between academic and extracurricular activities, students would be better prepared to thrive in any challenging environment in their future.
And to help achieve these benefits, Indian school fees in Dubai are moderately priced in comparison to other schools.
