No Pass, No Play: No Pass, No Play

Is taking a student’s passion away a motivation factor or just cruel? This is the question the “No Pass, No Play” rule poses. The “No Pass, No Play” rule is quite clear to understand: if a student is failing a class they are unable to participate in extracurriculars for three weeks. If they do not raise their grade by then, this treatment continues. This rule takes opportunities away from the future of our country: the students. Extracurricular activities teach valuable lessons to students that could be blocked off by the “No Pass, No Play” rule. Even if a student is failing, the teacher is supposed to help them which nullifies the purpose of the “No Pass, No Play” rule. The “No Pass, No Play” rule should not be in any schools. Students shouldn’t

Not only sports teach students valuable lessons. Other extracurriculars, like drama, teaches students life lessons. Drama requires intense concentration as sports and classes do, and also helps teach students skills. As stated by Sam Smith, “Drama, like sports, requires a concentration equal to anything in the classroom. Like sports, functioning within a group is critical. Like sports, the lessons learned are not only applicable to traditional academic courses, but to becoming an educated adult” (Smith 15) This shows how extracurricular activities can also be important. Extracurricular activities are treated as a distraction from one’s education, and a side hobby. It is overlooked that these activities can help students in the classroom. It may be argued that these lessons can just be learned later--that they can just be a sort of afterthought. However, it is much easier to have these lessons learned and known. One of these classroom skills taught is memorization. It was also said by him that, “It is remarkable that, given the repeated need to memorize in school, so little time is spent developing the skill. One of the few places in school where one can learn how to memorize is during the production of a play” (Smith 15). Students are taught how to memorize, like shown in the quote. It is also shown that little time is spent practicing this, and students must figure out how to do so on their own.

Many schools abide by the rule that teachers help failing students. The previously mentioned Dwight D. Eisenhower middle school is one of these schools. In an interview with the principal, it was said, “If a student is failing a class, it is the fault of the teacher not the student. It is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure no student fails.” Teachers are here to help the students. The students just need to get the help. As long as the students are getting the help, there’s no point in the no pass, no play rule. For school teams, the coaches are typically teachers. The teachers understand the struggle students are going through, “Coaches are very understanding about a student putting schoolwork ahead of sports. They will be understanding if a student needs to attend extra help after school before coming to a practice.” Students can balance school and sports, they just need to find the balance first. Coaches will understand the stress the students are under, that if they get a failing average they’ll temporarily be kicked off the team. The no pass, no play rule adds even more stress onto these students. Various staff members are in charge of making sure students don’t fail. “Administrators have to implement board policy. The way to do that is to insist on the teacher’s role in making sure no student fails.” Since there’s so much precaution as to