Imagine, sitting through nine classes each day, not understanding the material being taught, and failing many subjects. This would be a terrible school experience.
Put yourself in the mind of an unsuccessful student – every day you dread school, knowing all you will do is sit there staring blankly at the teacher, not comprehending what is being said.
I believe that a possible solution to this problem is to have other activities outside of the classroom that students will enjoy and excel in. There have been numerous studies done by psychologists to prove the following hypothesis: Extracurricular activities stimulate the brain thereby enhancing classroom learning. Bais Yaakov schools should have sports teams, such as basketball or tennis, in addition to music, home economics and the like. Having these activities will allow the less than average student to gain self-confidence and self-esteem which will effect her classroom performance.
Failing students may feel helpless and be depressed, and may even begin to hate themselves for always doing so poorly. Many of these students lack the self-confidence they need to do better.
These activates would also be appreciated by the “A” students. Having exciting activities on a regular basis releases stress from the brain, and making it easier to concentrate in a classroom setting. In a study done by the USDE, it was revealed that students who participate in extracurricular activities are three times more likely to have a grade point average of a 3.0 or higher. This is regardless of their previous background or achievement. Students that participate in extracurricular activities also showed positive changes in their self-confidence and teacher perception.
Do want your children to dread going to school every day? Do you want them to hate school because they are struggling with understanding what they are learning? In order to prevent these students from feeling bad about themselves, convince your child’s school to increase the amount of weekly extracurricular activities they offer.