Welcome to the EduVerse with ProfessorJBA. This series is aimed at parents and caregivers in an effort to inform them about the various roles and aspects of the educational landscape to ensure that caregivers can make informed decisions.

I don’t know who is driving the narrative that school isn’t fun but it needs to stop. Just like the famous line, “Girls just wanna have fun,” the reality is that all kids want to have fun!

Attending school shouldn’t feel like a job. It should be a stress free, innovative, thought provoking, and a freeing experience. I believe if parents were forced to go through a school routine for a week, they’d be rallying at state capitols across the nation saying that we need change.

This is why I want parents to understand the power of student activities, and they should push for this within their children’s schools. Student activities should be one of the interactive parts of the school day.

The way in which we integrate gaming, learning devices as well as student activities such as yoga, chess, debate, and even recess impacts how students engage in learning throughout the day.

I have seen students’ learning excel by incorporating various avenues of engagement through student activities. The lack of funding for education impacts student activities like the arts. The arts and social emotional learning are just as important as core subjects.

If we don’t make learning fun, how do we expect students to be fully engaged in it outside of the classroom?

Interactive activities are great and definitely needed within the classroom. However, interactive activities aren’t the full scope of student activities. Also, athletic programs that are under student activities are not the sole or main component of this work either. Student activities includes clubs and organizations that help expand student learning and interests. It helps to drive student engagement, leadership, and citizenship. And, students are still learning through activities even if they don’t realize it.