Co-curricular activities can be referred as activities that are outside the realm of the normal curriculum but are essential for the holistic development of students. These activities, programs, and learning experiences should complement in some way or the other what children are learning in their schools. Co-curricular activities should not only focus to provide entertainment or fun to students but it should be an important base to impart various skills like leadership skills, team play, communication skill etc. In India, we find enough evidence in our mythological books that in ancient ashrams and Gurukuls, students were involved in many co-curricular activities such as cleaning, decorating, cooking, wrestling, singing etc.
The co-curricular activities have social and psychological implications. The students who participate in these activities get in contact with many people like teachers, colleagues, competitors and many more. They interact with them. This helps them in self-identification, self-assessment and socializing.
Realizing the importance of learning beyond classrooms, almost every school has included extracurricular activities in its daily plan. All the CBSE board schools in Nagpur are also focusing on the overall development of children.
Co-curricular activities can be classified into following categories:
- Cultural Development
- Emotional Development
- Leisure time Utilization
- Moral Development
- Physical Development
- Social Development
- Spiritual or vocational
Some of the activities implemented by schools include some very new and innovative activities like
- Drama
- Singing
- Rowing
- Karate
- Skating
- Poem Recitation
- Painting
- School Choir
- Hobby clubs
- Science Club
Many students discover their talent during these extracurricular activities session. Students should be given chance to choose the activity for themselves. It should not be forced on them. So that students will improve themselves and excel in the field they have chosen. We can find many examples of athletes or players who turned into professional players after representing or excelling at the school level competitions. Many famous actors, actresses, dancers, and singers have realized their true passion for acting, singing or dancing.
Generally, classroom sessions are theoretical, practical knowledge can be imparted only through extracurricular activities. The teaching of History gets more relevant through dramatization; Hiking can give children a better understanding of geography and nature. Elocutions improve student’s language and expression. Debating is a game full of fun and arguments, it gives us chance to meet new people and understand other people’s ideas, the pattern of thinking and experiences. This stimulates confidence and way to open our mind. Extracurricular activities help students to meet their psychological and social need to express their personal behavior and creative thinking.