Picking the Right CCA

Co-curricular activities take up huge chunks of time in a regular school week. It’s an important component of holistic education and helping your child become a more well-rounded student. Some CCAs last for a semester, some a year, and others may even require a commitment of 3 or more years. While some schools may be flexible about CCA commitments, transferring a student from one CCA to another is a logistical headache and an unwelcome disruption to the curriculum that the teacher-in-charge has planned. Therefore, your child should be clear about his or her reason for the choice of CCA.

Here are two guiding questions that may help your child make that choice:

Who are you joining a CCA for?

Some schools or teachers may have their own agendas for wanting your child to join a certain CCA. For example, a tall student may be encouraged, even pressured, to join the basketball CCA. Encouragement is fine. However, I am greatly opposed to schools or teachers treating a child as an asset and forcing them to take up something they may have no interest in. This will pigeon-hole a child and rob him or her of some other opportunities that may have been the foundation of something great in the future. Besides, not every tall person wants to play basketball.

To share a painful anecdote, I once had two brothers in my basketball CCA who were also part of the school brass band. When they got into Primary 5, they found that they were unable to commit to both. They came to me for advice and I asked them which they preferred. Without skipping a beat, they both said that they preferred basketball, or any sport for that matter, and that they hated being in the brass band. I told them to decide on whatever they enjoyed more. Soon after, I found out that they had quit basketball. I was puzzled. They said that they were scolded and threatened by the teacher-in-charge of the brass band, and forced to stay. I confronted that teacher but there was little I could do as she was the HOD of Aesthetics. I really didn’t care if they had stayed in my team, but I was outraged that they had been forced to endure 2 more years of a CCA they hated. To this day, I believe with all my heart, that the school and the system had done a great disservice to the Primary school experience of those boys; and what that HOD did was nothing short of bullying and an abuse of authority and trust.

Ultimately, children must learn and be given the opportunity to make their own choices, for themselves, and learn to walk out the positive or negative consequences of their actions. That way, if things don’t work out, they can only blame themselves; and they are the only ones with the power to make a positive change. More importantly, they will have ownership over their choice. All the successes and rewards, great experiences and memories and bonds built as a result of their own choices are all theirs, and theirs alone.

What are you joining a CCA for?

One reason to take up a CCA is for exposure. Sometimes, children are unaware of what they enjoy or are good at. It’s not a bad thing to try out as many CCAs as possible during your child’s six years of Primary School. Even as adults, some of us regret not having invested our youth in different interests. We wish we had taken up music, or drama, or participated in some sport. In our later years, laden with responsibilities and little time, “imagining what could have been” is the only luxury we can afford. Youth is a precious gift. Its days are long, its possibilities are endless, and its spirit is indomitable. What a waste it is to simply settle in the first plot of land encountered, forfeiting the possible adventures that might have been. I believe that CCAs are an introduction to the variety of life beyond the academics.

On the flip side, some children enjoy a particular CCA so much that it becomes a platform for their self-expression, personal development, and source of achievements. The huge advantage of being in one CCA for six years is that your child would have six years of experience by the time they enter Secondary One. We see the benefits of this in schools that have common primary, secondary and tertiary affiliations, especially at the higher levels. For example, in sports at JC level – while some teams are fielding mostly rookies, others are fielding ten-year veterans. Also, the years spent committed to one CCA can be used as a portfolio for Direct School Admission applications, provided that your child demonstrates exceptional skill in his or her CCA.

Children have very little that is truly theirs. Their possessions are bought for them, their food is provided for them, most decisions are made for them. CCAs are one of the few places where they can truly be themselves and discover themselves. Help your child take the stress out of the equation. Help them build great CCA memories and find fulfilment outside of the classroom. When students used to ask me which CCAs they should take up, I would tell them, “Do what you enjoy and do it for yourself.”

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