Issue : School should cut funding for extracurricular activities such as sports and arts when school buildings are in need of repair.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with this recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, describe specific circumstances in which adopting the recommendation would or would not be advantageous and explain how these examples shape your position.

Response :

Extracurricular activities are as important as regular studies for the development of the student. ‘Good (and creative) mind stays in good health’. For the overall development of the student along with studies, music, dance, sports etc plays crucial role. I am not completely agree with the author’s statement. Author has not mentioned about condition of school building clearly. Are there only minor cracks on walls, broken pipes or paint has come out ?? Or some serious damage is there, building may fall at any time ?? Author has not mentioned about these.

Assuming there are only minor or ‘not so serious’ damages in the school building, author’s assumption of getting funds from cutting extracurricular activity budget is unaccepted. There are other ways to arrange funds. School can use it premises to organise tests on weekends of national exams, for example IIT exam in India, it can open it’s swimming pool for public for two hours in the morning, it can rent out it’s auditorium or garden for functions like marriage, birthday celebrations etc to public. It can rent out premise for managing any government event like elections. It can even organise exhibitions to show case students skills to public, dance competitions and let public pay entry fees for these. Thus amount earned by aforementioned methods can be used to repair schools buildings without cutting funds from any school activities.

But in case there are serious damages in the building which can cost even life, school should be shifted to some other place (if possible, may not be possible for big size schools but schools having strength in between 150 to 200 it may be possible) or school should be closed for few days. In such case school management should take loan from banks, they can even request local government for complete or partial funds or they can even ask donations from public or it’s alumni.

Cutting funds from extracurricular activities is not a good decision. Students who are finishing their schools in coming two to three years, might not get chance to persuade such activities in future or students who want to persuade their career in sports or arts, such an action would be blocker of their dreams. So senior management can always find a way to fund repair cost and they should not cut funds from any regular school program.

Can anybody please rate my response. Thank you.