After reading the article titled "Three Things Over-scheduled Kids Need More of in Their Lives" written by Deborah Farmer Kris, I have just realized that I did not enjoy one of the extracurricular sessions provided by my elementary school. It was more like, "why should I do that?", "Ugh, I'm so tired now. Can't I skip it?", and other words that could only be said inside my head. What's worse is that the extracurricular was obligated to all students. I think this is why Kris mentioned that the extracurricular which should have been the chance for students to do what they are into, turned into another stress source.
The probability of downtime turning into another stress source can be avoided by asking students if they agree to be signed up for this session, that session, or maybe they want to choose which session themselves. Again, it is about their motivation and interest. From my point of view, students' motivation and interest are the biggest factors that can affect the meaning of the downtime: stress release or stress source.
Besides downtime, Kris mentioned that "Family Time and Playtime" are the other two things over-scheduled kids need. Then I wonder how full-day school students could get these two things when most of their time is spent at school, when they have to do all the arranged activities until dusk, etc. I know the reasons why parents choose full-day school is that they want their kids to be guarded fully in spite of parents' busy working schedule. I keep questioning myself until this question pops up in my head, "Is full-day school really good for students?" #reflection #2 #overscheduled #students #socialemotionallearning
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