All Work and No ‘A’ Children’s education is the most important thing parents could ever invest in. But sadly, some parents in the UK and from around the world may unknowingly jeopardise their children’s grades and subsequently professional success in the long run as they fail to include from an early age and throughout the academic year positive extracurricular activities, as well as a peaceful environment at home, on the University campus and body hygiene.
20 October 2021
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Good A Level grades are crucial if you want to go to university and land a gratifying career but balancing work in a peaceful environment at home, as well as body hygiene, and extra extracurricular activities, have become a common concern as many smart students are missing opportunities to enhance their grades and later secure a career.
There is a common misconception of some extracurricular activities such as athletics, horse riding, tennis, golf, piano and dance, playing chess, theatre, travelling, going to the zoo, painting, martial arts, swimming, singing as being snobbish, a distraction or costly.
But each of the aforementioned extracurricular activities taken individually inextricably contribute to the cognitive skills, intellectual, physical and emotional development of children , high school and university students throughout their academic life, thus promoting employment success and social etiquette as a whole.
Every worthy achievement comes with a price. Nothing is done at random, everything is done on purpose. Nothing beautiful or great has been achieved overnight. To cut it short, there are no shortcuts to long term success.
On the impact of extracurricular activities on students, Wilson Nikki L. said:
“According to Brown (n.d.), student participants in extracurricular activities had better grades, had higher standardized test scores, higher educational attainment, attended school more regularly, and had higher self-concepts.”
Nikki Wilson Crary is of counsel in the Orange County, California office of Jackson Lewis P.C. Nikki’s practice includes litigation under the Fair Employment and Housing Act as well as focusing on counselling in the areas of employment litigation on behalf of management.
It is believed that a clean, well lit, colourful , tidy and peaceful study space at home, as well as correct body hygiene, promotes students’ ability to study.
A budget for a clean and fresh hair cut or a lovely or clean hairstyle , clean clothes and shoes, and dentist treatments, help the kids and young adults to focus in class.
Research has found that learning environments play a crucial role in student success. Students who study in a positive learning environment are focused and motivated for longer and thus have a higher overall learning ability than those distracted by noise or lack of hygiene.
Parents who are supposed to represent their children’s emotional rock must avoid
domestic disputes in front of their children. To be more explicit, saying to each other in front of children how your marriage is a mistake and how your children’s existence is also a mistake is the type of faux pas parents MUST avoid.
Children are different. Some are mature enough to understand that when people argue, in general including their parents, they often say ugly things to each other. But other children less mature are less resilient and occasional or frequent domestics involving verbal and or physical violence will ruin their confidence, their level of concentration and subsequently their academic performance.
Analysing or examining the role of positive extracurricular activity involvement in children, adolescents’ and young adults’ educational life paths.
Advice to parents: below are the reasons why, if you can afford the aforementioned positive extracurricular you should not hesitate to invest in a couple or more of them.
Advice to students: if you are lucky enough to have parents or tutors who can afford and are willing to offer you extracurricular activities, make sure you make the most out of them.
On how some extracurricular activities impact children, teenagers and young adult academic and employment success, statistics revealed a bleak outlook for exam results for students who have been involved in zero extracurricular activities.
Athletics
Helps your speed, power, agility, anaerobic capacity, aerobic capacity, mobility, balance and coordination . Athletics also help exercising many muscles and build mental resilience, and stability. All the aforementioned attributes are key when studying. Students can enrol in their school or college sports team, it is usually free of charge. They can train at a competitive level and enter their borough competition challenge for their age group.
Running makes children fit, on top of a healthy diet. Fat and/or unhygienic children have less friends at school, and are often bullied. They usually end up focusing on the ‘she says/he said’ about their weight rather than the lesson itself. It has also been scientifically proven that many athletes do better academically, athletics boosts self-esteem and perseverance.
Horse riding
Riding as a hobby may have a strong correlation and implication in students’ studies and their professional life too.
It develops many attributes such as: humility: (by learning to be humble we can approach and learn any module , we can connect and work with all kinds of people.) Patience and dedication, teamwork and communication, leadership and entrepreneurial skills.
Bravery (how to overcome challenging, dangerous, courageous, difficult situations and which often requires making fast decisions), independence .
Playing piano:
Playing the piano has been proven to help improve concentration, which helps in every area of life. It is believed children who study the piano have 20% higher vocabularies than their peers.
According to experts, playing piano makes you smarter and improves brain functions. Playing the piano stimulates parts of the brain that are useful in subjects like maths and science, spatial intelligence, and other cognitive functions.
If private lessons are costly, getting your child involved in their school’s music programs and even school productions like musicals or choir performances or a membership in cultural centres where they get access to piano or keyboard players is free of charge.
According to experts, playing the piano improves time management, organizational skills, patience and discipline, strengthens hand muscles and improves muscle memory, provides a better understanding of rhythm and beat, provides a greater knowledge of music, boosts your self-esteem, and expands your cultural knowledge.
This opens your mind and expands your horizons about music and improves your knowledge of the musical world in general, reduces stress and anxiety, provides an outlet for your creativity, provides a good source of entertainment, and allows for a kinaesthetic approach to learning.
Playing Golf
Campbell’s study found that playing golf increases cognitive function, emotional well-being and great quality of life.
The outdoor scenery as well as its social connections boost players’ mood.
Golf offers a wealth of physical and mental health benefits.
It reduces age-related memory loss, lowers the risk of developing depression or anxiety, reduces negative moods, improves sleep, increase self-esteem.
Tennis, playing chess, staging theatre, travelling, going to the zoo, painting, martial arts, singing etc. develop similar socio-cognitive skills. On top of sports and extra curricular activities, if your status in life or profession allows you to mingle with high profile events and people, try and get your children involved with high profile people.
Not only will this serve against blind adoration of celebrities, but most importantly they will learn that, apart from some of them being reluctant or concerned with people who befriend them for their wealth, most celebrities are usually low key, kind and approachable.
Good parenting has no room for distractions: because academic, social and employment success of a child often involves more investment than what meets the eye. It involves investing your time, your love and affection for your children, to invest in their body hygiene, their work environment, to invest your money.
As a follow up and update of The Bridge Magazine’s 10th Anniversary celebration announcement, Rachel Tcheungna has published 23 educational books in both English and French which are now ready for global distribution.
Follow the links below to purchase one or various of The Bridge Books.
1) Global News That Never Fades: From Britain’s News to World Exclusives.
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3) Education Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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8) Urban Legend Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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9) High-Profile People Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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11) Travel & Tourism Global News That Never Fades: The Bridge Magazine Book – From Britain’s News to World Exclusives
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The Bridge Magazine wishes once again a good start and good luck for the academic year to nursery, primary, high school and university students all over the world.