In the world of extracurricular activities, everyone knows about sports, music, and theater. But do you think of clubs as valuable activities? Believe it or not, the benefits of clubs at school can be just as important as those other splashy activities for your child’s personal well-being and academic success. Plus, club membership helps your child build valuable skills and accomplishments that show off their abilities to college admissions directors and future employers.
What are the benefits of after-school clubs in high school? Consider these four advantages.
Benefit 1: Explore Hobbies and Pick Up New Interests
There’s a big world to explore out there. Classroom lessons simply can’t cover everything there is to learn. Maybe your child loves math and can’t get enough of it. Maybe your child is constantly drawing or writing stories. Through clubs, students have outlets for expression. They learn more about the subjects that fascinate them and perfect their talents.
Clubs also provide an entry to explore brand-new interests. Kids hear and see all sorts of things around them, from the local broadcast news to people playing chess. These might be areas that haven’t come up in the classroom, and yet something about them piques their interest. Clubs are the doorway to learning more and putting new skills into practice.
Benefit 2: Make Friends Over Shared Passions
It’s hard to socialize during a typical school day as students rush from one class to another. The importance of clubs in high school includes their power to shake up the daily routine and help students get out and about, meeting new people.
When students get together with like-minded peers, they find it easy to talk about a shared passion and bond over activities that they all love. It might be a club devoted to the hottest video game that everyone’s playing, or it could be a club devoted to a social cause, such as the environment. Maybe it’s something that’s just plain fun, like dancing or watching movies. Whatever it is, clubs give students the power to build their own social circles and make lasting friendships.
Benefit 3: Develop Leadership Skills Outside the Classroom
Schoolwork is essential to preparing students for fulfilling careers and lifetimes. However, there’s one skill that everyone needs, and it takes a lot of practice outside the classroom. That’s leadership. Leadership means different things to different people. In fact, there are countless leadership styles, and everyone needs to learn which one is theirs. In school, clubs offer the ideal platform for developing effective leadership skills.
In clubs, students often pursue projects, community service or competition. As students work together to accomplish a shared goal, they are building the soft skills that employers and college professors will soon demand. Through club projects, students learn to be accountable for the responsibilities they’ve agreed to shoulder. They learn to establish schedules, build support and keep the group on task. It’s all part of creating leaders of the future.
Benefit 4: Strengthen College Applications
Anyone will tell you that grades matter when it comes to college applications. Good grades demonstrate strong study skills, persistence, and the ability to learn. However, the people assessing those applications want to see more. They want to see well-rounded people with a range of interests on their resumes.
In this atmosphere, clubs are the gift that keeps on giving. After graduation, students who joined clubs and participated in meaningful ways will be able to show how they have made a difference. They have taken the initiative to learn more about the fields that interest them — the fields that they are likely to pursue as a major. They can show real-world impact through measurable accomplishments, perhaps by organizing a community blood drive or designing a robot that helps people with disabilities.
The important thing is making sure that the clubs your child joins are personally meaningful. College admissions directors don’t want to see applications listing every club imaginable. They want to see contributions to one or two clubs that line up with the student’s passions and interests because that demonstrates a hunger for learning and a desire to give back to society.
Benefit 5: Discover Career Interests and Build Real-Life Skills
Just as extracurricular activities make students more appealing to admissions officers, they do the same with the job market. In the real world, decision-makers want to see people who will be an asset to their community, whether that’s a college campus or a workplace.
Along with the skills they’ll be picking up in their chosen activity, after-school clubs also give your child the chance to learn real-life skills. For example, kids may join an after-school book club because they love to read. In addition to expanding their literary knowledge, they’ll also be practicing skills like respectful communication and time management.
Joining an after-school club allows students to dive deeper into their interests while staying focused on the future. They can explore things they learn in the classroom in a practical setting and investigate how what they enjoy doing might translate into a career. A student who loved the Shakespeare play in English class can learn how a script becomes a production in a theater arts club. A gaming and computer club can teach tech-oriented students about video game development and jobs in the industry.
Clubs also provide valuable networking opportunities for students interested in a particular career path. Guest speakers can offer advice on academic approaches to maximize their hiring potential after college and may even be able to connect them with internship opportunities.
How to Pick a School Club
In today’s academically competitive world, your child has probably already heard about the importance of clubs in high school. Some students respond by trying to cram in as many activities as possible around schoolwork and test prep, while others avoid them entirely. It’s essential to help them find a balance that lets them build a well-rounded portfolio while giving them the chance to relax and de-stress.
Extracurricular activities do require a time commitment, so students need to pick and choose which ones to join. Colleges use extracurricular activities for insight with the idea that they reflect a student’s personality. Your child can use the following tips to choose clubs that let them maximize the benefits above:
- Try a few clubs on for size: Schools typically hold an assembly or other event at the beginning of the school year to introduce students to the available clubs. Students can make a list of ones that sound interesting and check out their first meetings. They may find one that’s everything they want or even pick up a new hobby!
- Choose what sparks interest: Once they’ve tried out their list of possibilities, students should choose their top two or three clubs to join. Genuine interest will make the club something to look forward to and make it an easier commitment.
- Let enthusiasm build a better application: Some kids might find it tempting to pick the ones that look best on a college application. However, it’s best to encourage your child to pursue their real interests. Choosing a club that reflects their passions and potential career path will highlight their personality and make their application stand out.
- Look for clubs that offer valuable experience: If your child already has an idea of what career they want to pursue, they may want to look for an after-school club that helps them build toward that. Students interested in journalism can join a broadcast club to gain experience with broadcast or print media. A debate or youth and government club could teach essential real-life skills to students with political goals.
- Seek clubs with leadership opportunities: Leadership comes in many different forms, from team captain to club president to simply taking the initiative to improve something. Whatever the form, students are more likely to take on leadership positions when they have a personal stake in the clubs they join. Choosing an after-school club that means something to them will make your child more likely to step into leadership and stand out in college applications.
How Clubs Work With Online Learning at CCA
At CCA, we are committed to personalized learning. Teachers and parents work together to craft learning plans and experiences that cultivate each student’s passions and address their challenges. We use all the resources and tools available, making sure that students have access to anything and everything that contributes to a fun and productive learning experience.
It’s a bit like putting together a puzzle, and at CCA one of the most valuable pieces we have is our robust roster of clubs. We believe in the power of clubs to expand children’s worlds, refresh their outlook and connect them with like-minded peers. When children show an interest in a topic, we seize the opportunity to link them with clubs and other activities that help them learn more and put the topic into perspective.
Here’s how CCA’s online learning works so well with clubs:
- Flexibility: Family life shouldn’t be forced to revolve around school. School should be one facet of a meaningful lifestyle devoted to work, community, and family. Online learning gives students the flexibility to excel in their classes, but on their own timeline. That way, they can make the time for other important pursuits, such as club involvement, that build character and skills they’ll use for a lifetime.
- Career education: CCA believes education should prepare students for career success. Our students are exposed to career possibilities as early as elementary school. As they hone their interests, we help students build career pathways, so they can accumulate the academic credits and real-world experience to prepare them for college or career training. Clubs are a key part of the approach, situating students to have real impact in the areas that interest them.
- Socialization: Online learning allows students to learn in the safety and security of their own homes. CCA field trips, events, and clubs give children — and families — the opportunity to meet, make friends and share experiences that build lasting bonds.
What Clubs and Organizations Does CCA Offer?
CCA offers more than 50 clubs and organizations tailored to the passions and interests of our students. Most clubs meet online, taking advantage of technology to connect students who share a passion, but some meet in person or join up for travel to competitions. All clubs are overseen by CCA teachers, but students drive the agenda.
CCA clubs cover all the areas that students find fascinating:
- Computers: Our clubs include Coding & Computers, Computer Science, Gaming & Computer, and Minecraft.
- Arts and writing: For students with fertile minds, club offerings include Arts & Crafts, Art, Theater Arts, and Book & Digital Storytelling.
- Social impact: Today’s students know they can change the world. At CCA, they learn how through such clubs as Environment, Journalism, Debate, Health Careers & Research, and Youth & Government.
- Enrichment: Sometimes, it’s fun just to be intrigued. CCA’s introductory and advanced chess clubs are among our most popular. We also have clubs in Brainteasers, Classic Film, Pen Pal, and that classic game that parents remember well, Rubik’s Cube.
Best of all, students who don’t see a club for something they love can ask to start one of their own. If it’s approved, students will have yet another outlet for bonding over shared interests. It’s a great way to learn how to advocate for change and make something happen.
Explore the Wide Variety of Clubs That CCA Has to Offer!
Learning should be fun and fulfilling. Clubs and extracurricular activities fit the bill by giving students more chances to engage with friends, use their skills to make a difference and follow their curiosity wherever it leads them. CCA’s active roster of exciting, school-sanctioned clubs is specifically designed to make the academic journey as enriching as possible. Through clubs, CCA prepares students to find careers that they love so they grow into well-rounded, contributing adults. Enroll your student today to take advantage of the many extracurricular activities offered by CCA.
