Fran Rothstein
Rothstein Consulting
Chevy Chase, Md.
Not only do extracurricular activities inhibit substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors, as Jane Quinn correctly claims in her October column decrying the wrong-headed policy that allows random drug tests as a condition of extracurricular participation.
Extracurricular participation also contributes to positive attitudes toward school, according to multiple research studies. It’s not such a leap to assume that students who feel good about school are more likely to show up on a daily basis, participate in class, and complete their homework – all necessary prerequisites for the rigorous academic outcomes we expect them to achieve.
What possible reason is there – other than the loud voices and deep pockets of the drug-test lobby – to set up barriers to extracurricular activities, when those activities promote the very conditions necessary for academic success?
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