Conclusion
Even though I personally do not see the lot in investing in extra curricular(or co-curricular) activities especially in Japan, students don't even have life outside of their classrooms and they do not have room for their development as human beings. However, the existence of ECAs serves a purpose in student life. Having ECAs allow students to put their focus elsewhere other than just studying as education should go beyond the 4 classroom walls.
To a certain degree however, I also feel that the Japanese students should take on ECAs as, they do not have much investment or outside interaction as again, I mentioned before, their dedication is mostly in school and they rarely interact with their families. Because of this, taking on ECAs is the opportunity for the students to interact with students beyond their classroom and around the school.
The benefits of ECAS are as follows:
Improved academic performance
Studies have shown that students who participate in co-curricular activities have a marked improvement in the grades. This can be attributed to skills they learn such as better time management to accommodate their hobbies and class activities, better organizational skills and a boost in their self-esteem. Skills learnt in clubs such as debate can be applied in the classroom too, as the students learn how to express themselves better.
Personal Thoughts:
Whether this is due to student statistics, student performance do seem to be a mixture, based on the students from the first year in junior high the majority of them performed well in their tests - speaking and writing. The students in senior high also performed fairly well in average. But sometimes, I feel that our mentors had to grade them leniently as the education policy in Japan dictates that the students should not be failed. I didn't encounter any clubs that involves with the training of speaking such as debate and choral speaking. In other words, despite that the choice of ECAs offered in the school do align with Nichidai's curriculum, they do not explore or instigate the potential of the students that requires confidence.
Better time management skills
A student has to learn how to balance their academic life with their hobbies. They need to know how to incorporate their club and sports activities into their school life and allocate enough time for each. They learn how to plan out their day to include study time and co-curricular activities time, and will know how to make use of any free time they may have. They are less likely to procrastinate.
Personal Thoughts:
I can mostly agree with this statement as from Tomohisa's interview, despite with little time for himself, he still has managed to sort his time out and he spend most of his time doing things that are supposedly productive.
Learn new and useful skills
Students learn new skills that are useful in their school life and day-to-day activities. Students learn skills such as teamwork, better social skills, and critical thinking. According to studies, students who participate in co-curricular activities were found to have better leadership skills and learnt how to relate with their peers than those who didn't.
Especially in secondary schools, students engaging in extracurricular activities boost their chances of gaining admission into universities. Most universities nowadays check what the student offers apart from their academics, and that is where co-curricular activities come in. Some students have gotten scholarships into prestigious universities due to sports such as athletics and football.
Personal Thoughts:
The purpose of joining clubs not only contain benefits like from the previous points, I believe that this is the one and true purpose of students to join especially in the perspective of students here in Japan. Due to a competitive setting the students are in, they need to stand out in certain ways to gain university attention.
As far as I am concerned, I do not see any link between the clubs as well as the theories I have learnt. The closest thing I could think of is Behaviorism. The usage of routines and and repetition has been ingrained into the students' mind that they could simply put themselves into auto pilot thus, they function very well when it comes to things that they have been instructed to. If there are any changes in routine, you just have to either set positive or negative reinforcement and through repetition, the students were able to get used to the new routine. Another thing that I can link the clubs in behaviorism is that due to Nichidai being a competitive school, alongside the fact that the students require to join the clubs for the better of their resume in universities, the coaches and teachers in the clubs can be very strict. Thus, whenever our mentors mention the students' club teacher, the students would immediately behave. From this we can tell that the club and the coaches' impression means a lot to them.
To a certain degree however, I also feel that the Japanese students should take on ECAs as, they do not have much investment or outside interaction as again, I mentioned before, their dedication is mostly in school and they rarely interact with their families. Because of this, taking on ECAs is the opportunity for the students to interact with students beyond their classroom and around the school.
The benefits of ECAS are as follows:
Improved academic performance
Studies have shown that students who participate in co-curricular activities have a marked improvement in the grades. This can be attributed to skills they learn such as better time management to accommodate their hobbies and class activities, better organizational skills and a boost in their self-esteem. Skills learnt in clubs such as debate can be applied in the classroom too, as the students learn how to express themselves better.
Personal Thoughts:
Whether this is due to student statistics, student performance do seem to be a mixture, based on the students from the first year in junior high the majority of them performed well in their tests - speaking and writing. The students in senior high also performed fairly well in average. But sometimes, I feel that our mentors had to grade them leniently as the education policy in Japan dictates that the students should not be failed. I didn't encounter any clubs that involves with the training of speaking such as debate and choral speaking. In other words, despite that the choice of ECAs offered in the school do align with Nichidai's curriculum, they do not explore or instigate the potential of the students that requires confidence.
Better time management skills
A student has to learn how to balance their academic life with their hobbies. They need to know how to incorporate their club and sports activities into their school life and allocate enough time for each. They learn how to plan out their day to include study time and co-curricular activities time, and will know how to make use of any free time they may have. They are less likely to procrastinate.
Personal Thoughts:
I can mostly agree with this statement as from Tomohisa's interview, despite with little time for himself, he still has managed to sort his time out and he spend most of his time doing things that are supposedly productive.
Learn new and useful skills
Students learn new skills that are useful in their school life and day-to-day activities. Students learn skills such as teamwork, better social skills, and critical thinking. According to studies, students who participate in co-curricular activities were found to have better leadership skills and learnt how to relate with their peers than those who didn't.
Personal Thoughts:
In terms of teamwork and social skills, I believe that the ECAs in Nichidai do fulfill this factor, at the same time, the clubs in Nichidai are usually orderly where the teachers are the ones who are truly in charge, meaning that the students do not actually take part in clubs that give them the chance to instill their leadership skills.
Sense of commitment
Students who participate in co-curricular activities have a sense of commitment to whatever they are involved in. This is because as they take part in whatever sports or club activity they are a member of, they have to commit to it and give their all, and this commitment extends to all other areas of their lives.
Personal Thoughts:
I personally have to disagree with this point as the students in Nichidai may be committed to a club, it does not mean that they will be truly committed to other fields in school such as studying. The students do not link clubs the same as studying as they believe that memorization is key to ace their examinations. Also the education pathway for students here is very simple. So long as you have studied in Nichidai, the students will be guaranteed to any Nichidai Universities of any field.
Sense of responsibility
A student who is given a task such as leading a scout group, or First Aid, will with time be very efficient in that task. This will foster a sense of accountability and responsibility in them.
Personal Thoughts:
Though it may depend on the type of students and the type of class the students belong to. Most of the students are very responsible. Just like in Judo, the students had to sweep the dojo whenever they were finished using the court. Tomohisa for example often takes responsibility in his homework, whether he is late or on time, he has taken full accountability of his actions.
New friends
Students should be encouraged to pursue extracurricular activities as they meet and spend time with new people, hence forming new friendships. This is important as they interact with those different or similar interests, and learn a thing or two from them. They also get a different point of view on things as the new friends they make may see life in general from a different point of view.
Personal Thoughts:
Since I mentioned that the students only have full interaction with those in his schools. Joining clubs further expands their social circle such as the senior-junior relationship the students established. Tomohisa, being the only male in his SGL class has made friends in Judo (well, the automatic gender segregation still occurs or it is just the fact that he is more comfortable with people of the same gender). He has a cordial relationship with them.
Introduction to new activities
Students who engage in extracurricular activities are exposed to a wide range of new activities such as sports, painting, drama, scouts and singing. Though these activities may be hobbies, some students take them up and pursue them in their adult lives, turning their hobby into their career.
Personal Thoughts:
According to Tomohisa, the students are only allowed to choose one club to join as the teachers advised that it may be overwhelming for the students to commit in both. As he said before in his interview, the majority of the students join clubs to continue with what they have started in primary school, and most of the time, the clubs they joined were chosen by the parents.
More opportunitiesEspecially in secondary schools, students engaging in extracurricular activities boost their chances of gaining admission into universities. Most universities nowadays check what the student offers apart from their academics, and that is where co-curricular activities come in. Some students have gotten scholarships into prestigious universities due to sports such as athletics and football.
Personal Thoughts:
The purpose of joining clubs not only contain benefits like from the previous points, I believe that this is the one and true purpose of students to join especially in the perspective of students here in Japan. Due to a competitive setting the students are in, they need to stand out in certain ways to gain university attention.
As far as I am concerned, I do not see any link between the clubs as well as the theories I have learnt. The closest thing I could think of is Behaviorism. The usage of routines and and repetition has been ingrained into the students' mind that they could simply put themselves into auto pilot thus, they function very well when it comes to things that they have been instructed to. If there are any changes in routine, you just have to either set positive or negative reinforcement and through repetition, the students were able to get used to the new routine. Another thing that I can link the clubs in behaviorism is that due to Nichidai being a competitive school, alongside the fact that the students require to join the clubs for the better of their resume in universities, the coaches and teachers in the clubs can be very strict. Thus, whenever our mentors mention the students' club teacher, the students would immediately behave. From this we can tell that the club and the coaches' impression means a lot to them.
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