Extra-Curricular Activities Benefit Both Student and Teacher

Welcome to another edition of Teaching Tip Tuesday!

Today, we welcome Amber Barnes to the community of teachers who read, contribute, and enjoy this weekly series.

There are over one hundred useful tips, tricks, and lesson plans in the archive. If you have something you’d like to contribute, please contact me.

Teachers helping teachers is what this series is all about.

Without further ado, here is this week’s guest post.

Why I Get Involved 

Extra-curricular activities wouldn’t exist without the generosity of teachers who dedicate their time to provide students with athletic, academic, art, and friendship opportunities outside of class time. But, teachers who volunteer only because they see the innumerable benefits for their students are missing out on rewarding experiences.

As a teacher candidate I got involved in extra-curricular activities as a way to build my reputation as a leader and member in the school community, but I stayed involved (now entering my second year of teaching) because I would miss the rewards.

Here are ten of my rewards.

1. I learn more about my own interests by sharing them with others. 
2. My students tell me things about themselves and their families that they would not reveal during class time. 
3. I get to meet and connect with students that I do not teach.
4. I enjoy hearing stories from my students about how they benefited outside of our club from what I taught them (soloist in choir because they could sign O Canada while singing, artwork featured in a newspaper, composed their own song, taught family/friends a game, etc.) 
5. My students begin to teach me by organizing and running their own clubs to share their interests with others. 
6. I love the look of a crowded classroom (40+ students) of eager and happy faces that voluntarily slide over, set down their own work, and begin to help late arrivals.
7. I love the question “Is there ___________ club today?” and the smile that follows when the answer is yes. 
8. Every teacher loves to hear “You’re the best!”, “Can you teach me…?”, “That’s okay. I can show them.” and “Can I take this home with me to work on?”
9. I inspire other teachers who take my ideas and apply them in their classrooms. 
10. It makes me happy.