The personality of the child can be developed when he is provided with manifold activities inside and outside the school under its own control and supervision. All co-curricular activities are organized with specific purposes which vary according to the nature and form of such activities. The main objectives are listed below:
1. Physical Development.
2. Development of literary and academic interests.
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3. Social Service.
4. Civic Training.
5. Community Living.
6. Development of 4 H’s-Head, Heart, Hand and Health.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
1. Physical Development
Games and sports, mass physical training, athletics, mass drill are organised to produce healthy human beings.
2. Development of Literary and Academic Interests
Schools want pupils to become intellectually alive; hence they organise debates on burning topics of everyday interest. Group discussions are held to solve some problems of the society and community in which they live.
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Writing and enacting of short one act plays develop literary tastes. School magazine, wall magazine, and school publications on topics of public interest are meant for development of literary disposition.
3. Development of Civic Sense
Co-curricular activities like organisation of student councils, opening of student cooperative stores, self-government, are organised to develop civic sense in pupils.
They promote a spirit of self-discipline, tolerance, good temper, fellow feeling, patience and character. Lessons in cooperation are got in managing cooperative stores or in conducting student’s councils.
Boys learn how to share responsibilities and perform duties assigned to them. They come to common decision through cooperative thinking and try to implement it because it is theirs. Games and sports are also valuable because they develop team spirit.
The boy, who takes an active part in any organised game, e.g., football, hockey, volleyball, cricket, learns that if he is to win he must play in a team. To become a good member of the group, he sacrifices his own immediate interests. He develops a spirit of give-and-take as he participates in group activities.
4. Development of Sense for Social Service
Society wants its members to serve its needs and purposes. There are occasions when social service from voluntary organisations is required. Schools send their boys and girls out to help the organisers of Meals, and exhibitions. Scouts and Guides do useful service to the society on such occasions.
Activities such as these are organised to develop a sense of social service in the individual child. Organisation of social service camps tends to create happy relations between the school and community.
5. Development of Community Life
Community living on the campus helps develop the art of living together. Cleaning the school premises, beautifying the class-room, leveling the playground, preparing and maintaining the school garden, polishing furniture, whitewashing walls, painting doors and windows, are some very useful activities which help to develop a sense of living together.
6. Development of Four H’s
Cultural, creative and productive activities are supposed to develop qualities of Head, Heart and Hand. They also develop Health. They provide an elementary knowledge and basic training for some future vocation in life. They meet individual interests.
Such activities are now being proposed under the scheme of work experience. In lower primary classes for example, we are trying to introduce paper cutting, card-board cutting, and folding, modeling in clay or plasticize, spinning and simple needle work, planting indoors or on plots.
The main objective behind their introduction is to trained school children to make use of their hands and thereby to help their intellectual and emotional growth.
In the senior class-work experience will take the form of some craft. The objective behind the compulsory introduction of a craft is development of technical thinking and creative capacities.