BENEFITS OF HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IAHSAA（IAHSAA高中活动的好处）.pdf

BENEFITS OF HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES The following excerpts are taken from “ The Case for High School Activities” published by the National Fe deration of S tate High School Associations. At a cost of o nly one to 3 percent (o r less in m any cases) of a n overall school’s budget, high school activity programs are one of the best bargains around. ACTIVITIES SUPPORT THE ACADEMIC M ISSION OF SCHOO LS. T hey are not a d iversion, but rather an exte nsion of a good educational program. Students w ho participate in activity programs tend to have higher grade-point averages, better attendance records, lower dropout rates and few er discipline problems than students generally. ACTIV ITIES ARE I NHERENTLY ED UCATIONAL. Activity programs provide va luable lessons fo r many p ractical situations . T hrough participation in activity programs, students learn teamw ork, s portsmanship, w inning a nd losing, t he rew ards of hard w ork, self-discipline, build self-confidence, and deve lop s kills to handle competitive s ituatio ns. T hese a re q ualities the p ublic expects schools to produce in students so they become responsible adults and productive citizens. ACTIVITIES FOSTER SUCCESS IN LATE R L IFE. Participation in high school activities is often a predictor of later success - in college, a career, and becoming a co ntributing m ember of society. A 1989, nationwide study by the Women’s Sport Foundation indicated that ath letes do better in the c lass room, are m ore invo lved in school activity programs, and stay invo lved in the community afte r graduatio n. T he study, based on an analysis of data collected by the U.S. Department of Education’s H igh School and Beyo nd Study, indicated that girls receive as many benef its from sports as boys . S ports involvement was s ignificantly related to a lower d ropout rate