by Adam Aucoin

Play practice, sports practice, driving hours, chorus, and oh yeah, there’s this thing called homework that needs to get done. This is a possible afterschool schedule for a high school student. People are probably thinking, “Is this person out of their mind?” and they might be right. This is a lot to take on outside of school.

Junior Vinny Bonina is the epitome of balancing school and extracurricular activities. He is a wrestler, singer, and actor. On top of that he takes numerous honors classes.

Bonina admits that at times it can take a toll on him. “I’m always booked with wrestling, lifting, singing, and drama. I have little amounts of free time because of homework.”

Balancing so many activities has a big effect on schoolwork.

“It definitely causes lots of stress at times. Sometimes I have to push things to the end of the day.  Last week, I had driving hours, play practice, lifting and singing. That left me to do homework until 11 o’clock. ”

Sometimes it’s necessary to cram in homework late at night and lose some sleep because of it. Bonina says he is up to 11 on some nights, but on average he’s up to 9 doing homework.

“Last week, I had to learn two new songs for a competition and had a bunch of HAS homework and I had lifting,” Bonina said.

Junior Kevin Downing, who also wrestles, echoes what Vinny says.

“If I’m cutting weight, I don’t do my homework that night.”

For most teenagers, it’s a give and take. They have to choose which thing is more important.

This balancing act also affects a student’s social life.

“On one hand, I get to meet so many different people. But on the other hand, I don’t get to spend as much time with my other friends,” Downing says.

Bonina said, “I wanted to go airsofting with Kevin and Josh [his friends], and I couldn’t because of singing.”

So why do people do so many activities on top of school?

“I wrestle because it’s something to do and it’s fun,” Downing said.

While Bonina said, “I am good at them and they are fun to do. And for singing and acting, I want to do them when I’m older.”

He goes on to say, “I feel like my activities are worth it because they have always been a large part of my life. I want to become a professional singer.”

Students clearly struggle to complete homework when their schedule is full. What effect do teachers see?

Joseph Lentino, a math teacher and an assistant coach on the football team at Hudson High School, thinks it has a positive effect.

“In my experience, students who participate in extracurricular activities, whether it be sports, drama/ arts or work, are better at managing time both in and out of classes,” Lentino said. “They must work within a schedule and it forces them to plan accordingly.”

“Students, who do not participate in extracurricular activities, tend not to have as much motivation to perform during classes. Also, they tend to be the students who do not complete assignments and have little focus on their future.”

Time management is the main thing that a person needs to succeed in and out of school.

There are many theories on the effects of extracurricular activities on a student’s classwork and their everyday life. Some think that it takes away from the student’s ability to perform well in school and gives them no rest in the day. Others think that it makes these students conform to a schedule and strengthens their time management skills. Whatever theory a person may have, in the end, all that matters is that it works for them.

Top 5 Strategies for Balancing School and Your Extracurricular Activities

1. Keep a schedule for yourself. It makes it easier to remember the things you need to accomplish in a day.
2. Put equal amount of time into every activity you participate in.
3. Set some time to relax. Sometimes a person just needs some rest from all that is going on in their life.
4. If you have too many activities going on and you can’t handle the workload, cut back on one or two. Make sure you are comfortable with the amount of things you do.
5. Have fun and give your all in all that you do. This is most important because if you are having fun and giving your all, you will always get the best results.