Co-Curricular Activities

[chenchow]

I would like to try and have assessment on how big a part co-curricular activities plays on a student's life in High schools in Malaysia. Perhaps you could be in university/college etc, you could provide some kind of compare and contrast in this issue.

My objective would be to see how do Malaysian students treat co-curricular activities? How many joined because they love the activities? How many joined because they were forced? How many joined because they think that this would help them in getting scholarships/universities etc? How many joined because their parents want to join? How big is peer influence etc?

There is a poll on how many hours students spend on CCA in high school on average per week.

[iQing]

in secondary school, I join cocu activities because I have to and I am not happy about it and I learn not much (almost nothing) from it except to see a group of active students dominate the AJK posts in a club. Can you recall that when Najib is the education minister he force us to join uniform group. I join it so that I can get scholarship offer easily.

When I am in INTI College it was totally different. there are many wonderful clubs enable us to have exposure to many things. I join clubs willingly and it has very big impact towards my personality development. I become more confident and I am expose to a lot of thinkings... it was fun trying to organise big events and meet big people. My life in INTI makes me learn much more things than when I was in Cemara.

[chenchow]

Thanks iQing for sharing. I have some of my co-curricular activities in my high school posted at SIG of the Path of Life. So, I guess I will just have the link here.

http://recom.homelinux.org:8000/~recom/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=20492#20492

[iQing]

I forgot to mention something important

When I was in my secondary school I have learned wushu (but it?s not under my school activity of course)
and later I represent my state in SUKMA...
such experience is really elusive and I really enjoy being an athlete... as I have seen that athlete life is so much different from student life, although an athlete has to train very hard...

can I consider this as CCA? it?s not under my school but I look for such activity by myself...

by the way, we can share more of our life experience in Walking along the patrh of life SIG...
you really can learn a lot from each other there..
see you guys there..

[lynnx01]

Hi there..

I am the Leo secretary.. seems like not a big deal, but you'll only know it's the hardest post to whole if you're in my school. Leo Club is the biggest and most prestigious club in my school. Becoming the secretary of it was superbly.. wow.. *speechless*. I send out 7 to 8 books of reports every month to Lions. Have to attend meetings by Lions too (monthly meetings and others) and they were usually at night. It was certainly difficult and stressful especially when I needed to dwell among those Lions. But you know what? I learnt so much.. esp in the corporate world.. good and bad sides (mostly bad tho).. I think it has been a valuable experience.

I represented my school in many things.. I think that's some sort of co-cu too. And those are more prominent.

Spend most of the time being prefect tho.. those staying back etc etc.

[chenchow]

lynnx01, tell us more about your experience in Leo Club!!!.

[deaf-knee]

editted. :D

[naoj]

My personal belief is that while the advantages of joining coccuricular activities are undeniable, priceless even..many people join them for the wrong reasons.

Or rather wrong reason: people join them testimonials. and occasionally for the posts that come with it. What ever happened to joining cos one is impassioned and interested? We're becoming very much like our neighbouring southern counterpart country.

[gohweihan]

My personal belief is that while the advantages of joining coccuricular activities are undeniable, priceless even..many people join them for the wrong reasons.

Or rather wrong reason: people join them testimonials. and occasionally for the posts that come with it. What ever happened to joining cos one is impassioned and interested? We're becoming very much like our neighbouring southern counterpart country.

It is a fact that many just join them for the testimonial. The head prefect and his whole executive committee (who was one year my senior) is a prime example for that. Imagine a head prefect telling his successor that "if you do not want to go for your duties, you can just stay in the classroom". I totally lost respect for him after he told me that very statement.

During my tenure as head prefect, I did managed to counter this effect by utilizing one method. It involves holding the certificates of the prefects hostage. It goes that if a prefect does not perform his duties well, then he will not get the certificate. In addition, the certificate itself will list down the characteristics of the prefect himself. So if he is a good and dedicated prefect, it will be noted down on his certificate. However, as we know, this kind of system is open to corruption.

When I was in school, I participated in ECAs because it was enjoyable - not because it was a necessity. It was really an experience never to be forgotten. From the time I debated in both the Bahasa Melayu and English debates till the times my classmates and I stayed till 11 p.m. to restore and repair the computer laboratory, it was all part of a learning experience.

[iQing]

personally I think CCA involves politic to a certain extend...
it?s not something simple like a straight line.

[chenchow]

It is very heartening to see a number of ReComers are getting involved in co-curricular activities because of their love of going through those activities.

I spend a good portion of my time in my studies life, be it in high school, INTEC (used to be called OPP), RJC and also now here at Cornell University.

I think we can learn a great deal of lessons through these activities. Those time that we really spend planning, executing activities, especially trying to solve problems that are present, those are wonderful time...

Too bad, I never get to be a prefect... Applied for 3 years consecutively, but the best I could get was 3rd round.... There were 5 rounds of interview, to really ensure that those that get in are really qualified. Prefects are highly looked upon in my school. It resembled the model students of the students. I had great admirations to them, although I can claim no part in it.

In fact, for my school, the latest one could join was Form 2 (I applied in Remove, F1, F2). So, everyone that can claim themselves to be prefects have to serve for 4 years till Form 5. Many in fact, have joined since Remove. So, that is 6 full years of service. Head Prefects are for those in Lower 6. There won't be new prefects taken in too. So, basically those prefects that study till Upper 6, would have become prefects for at least 6 years.

[janewai]

I used to involved myself in both school activities and district activities among the schools in my hometown.
Form 1 - Nanyang Student Reporter ( was an AJK in the district camp ), school perfect, AJK of Chinese Lnaguage Society
Form 2 - Sin Chew Student Reporter ( hehe.. not really active, but did write some reports of my school activities and get some money before. )
Form 3 - Naib Pengerusi of Chinese Language Society (represent school for debating in chinese language, represent school for some quiz before.
Form 4 - Assistant of the secretary of school perfect, secretary in the Mathematic and Science Society, Secretary of PBSM
Form 5 - Assistant of the Head Perfect, President of Mathematic and Science Society, Secretary of the school basketball club ( represent school before), President of PBSM

hehe... that's roughly what activities I involved before during secondary school. Always feel very thankful to my secondary school teachers that really gave me a lot of chances. :)

[solace]

such experience is really elusive and I really enjoy being an athlete... as I have seen that athlete life is so much different from student life, although an athlete has to train very hard...



an athlete's life is among the most memorable of one's experience. training hard, pushing yourself to the limits during practice mite be looked upon as a drawback, but the satisfying fruits reaped during the process is priceless. travelling to tournaments all around, sharing laughs with team mates, and digging deep into reserves when the odds are stacked against you..those are the really wonderful moments which i really treasure.

heheh~ i noe this should belong to the SIG thread, but my hands are really itchy when it comes to the nostalgia surrounding those beautiful moments :p

[chillout]

Finally.. I saw a Topic of Discussion I can relate to.

I must say on the whole that I enjoyed extra curricular activities in secondary school. There are some which I participated for the sake of them being a compulsory requirement but there are those which I'm all out for! And I can't deny, my motives in joining these activities are not purely holistic.

I was a Leo too and perhaps what made me join the club in the beginning was because my two sisters were in there before. Leo is the best days of my life. I was leading the Leo Club of SMK (P) Taman Petaling during my years. It was the most fantastic experience and it provided me a platform of opportunities.

We organised numerous projects which included community service, school service, fund raising and social activities. Our club organized two big scale projects during my years - an Environmental Exhibition at Subang Parade and a Health Exhibition at Sunway Pyramid. Both these functions involved a great deal of effort but it was paid off when we received good response from the public. Not only did we learn how to negotiate for complimentary concourses, we learned how to seek sponsorships, ways to do publicity and most important of all the secret to co-operation.

Besides participating in Leo Forums and Workshops, I joined the Youth Exchange Program under the Lions International District 308-B1/B2 to Japan. I was in Sendai, Miyagi for one month and I was exposed to their culture and technology. As an inquistive girl, I was fascinated with their bathrooms because they had many buttons which performed different functions. Haha.. I just pressed them without knowing what they did because I definitely do not understand a single bit of Katakana.

I was in other cool activities too but writing them all down here would seem as though I want to impress others. So as the Bible verse goes, "Ask and ye shall be given." ;)

[ElansarGelmir]

Hmm... It's so disheartening to see so many Leo Clubs in many schools are so active, whilst mine is like just any other mediocre societies... It's not that we the committee did not try hard... It's the teacher in charge... We came up with various fund raising campaigns, various activities, many co-organized events with the Leo of the same district, we even drafted the proposals, had everything neatly done and just waited for the approval from the authorities... And WHAM!!! The teacher in charge said, "Oh, no no, please... I don't want anything big... Just give me a big headache." Wah lau... So we went to find the second teacher in charge... and the answer he gave, "Oh, you should ask you first teacher (the one that rejected our proposals)... She knows more than i do." Wah... that's why our Leo club is so low profile. =(

I do enjoy sports, albeit i am no athlete (no sports background, was not encouraged to do sports by parents dunno for what reasons)... So most of the time, my participations are only at school level... Volley ball (ok, there's a lot of room for improvement), tennis (can't do anything except giving some lucky shots), swimming, and hiking (my fav)...

[zillion]

iQing what semester are you in??
i am studying there too... yeah, i actually love the activities held. Ever since the first week i enter, we had so many activities especially those reserved slot. Sometimes we are torn to choose to attend either one activity.

well, i have been very chatty and hyperactive girl. everyone that knew me thinks i am abit boyish cuz i tried to proove every way i can to beat the GUys 8) I played football with the guys alot during primary...some of the guys were impressed with my frens and my skill too :D
i really agree with Solace..
an athlete's life is among the most memorable of one's experience. My longest record in school was 7 days a week, every weekday till 7 and weekend we spent the whole day in school.
we weren't in some big national competition, just some district competition but we were all into having fun together. I think i will never forget those memories i spent with them.

besides, sometimes when we are in sports, we just put away the differences and learn what common things we share. We really had a bond formed among us.

boy, what a wonderful time!!! :lol:

[chillout]

-reply to Elansar-

Yeah teachers play important roles in clubs. Credit must be given to my retired teacher who was faculty advisor in the two major clubs I joined, Ms Chia Chong Em. She's the BEST! She advised me in Leo stuff as well as the Editorial Board. I worked well with her, therefore I got many projects approved.

In my sisters' days, she used to be known for her strictness, not even allowing co-organizing projects with fellow Leo Clubs especially if it's from a boys' school as we're an all girls' school. But during our years... what do you think? We had freedom to have joint ventures with any club we fancied so long as I supervised the girls' behaviors and made a full report to her. Yay!

Thus concluding... Leo is also a platform to socialize! *Grin*

[iQing]

iQing what semester are you in??
i am studying there too... yeah, i actually love the activities held. Ever since the first week i enter, we had so many activities especially those reserved slot. Sometimes we are torn to choose to attend either one activity.

well, i have been very chatty and hyperactive girl. everyone that knew me thinks i am abit boyish cuz i tried to proove every way i can to beat the GUys 8) I played football with the guys alot during primary...some of the guys were impressed with my frens and my skill too :D
i really agree with Solace..
an athlete's life is among the most memorable of one's experience. My longest record in school was 7 days a week, every weekday till 7 and weekend we spent the whole day in school.
we weren't in some big national competition, just some district competition but we were all into having fun together. I think i will never forget those memories i spent with them.

besides, sometimes when we are in sports, we just put away the differences and learn what common things we share. We really had a bond formed among us.

boy, what a wonderful time!!! :lol:

hi... great to know that u r studying in INTI too.. I was studying in INTI College Malaysia in Nilai, N9
I studied there just after my SPM 2000
after six months I study in INTEC under JPA scholarship... I still think learning in INTI for 6 months is much more memorable than learning 2 years in INTEC. INTEC has no chance to compare with INTI... but don?t forget, I love INTI, INTI loves my money.. that?s the downside...

you guys are right about being an athlete... the experience is very elusive and very different from studying
unlike being a student...
athletes usually treat thier compatitor as friends...
even when I didn?t win any gold, I feel happy for the finallist... I think students should learn more about this "semangat" and not fighting with each other for better exam result...

[bill]

too bad...i m still v childish n didnt realise how important the CCA is...now ,no way to turn bac ored.if i enter STPM,izzit the CCA oso play an important role?anybody can inspire me?1 more question,as all noe ,the stpm result this year is so good but since the next year will start teaching in English.will the result be affected?easier to get all A?

[ElansarGelmir]

bill, CCA will still plays an important role in your life if you truly cherished and enjoy your time in CCA, and not joinning just for the sake of participation. My CCA involvement was optimum during my JC life. Spent almost 15 hours a day at school whenever there's a huge event coming up. Hehe... and the time with my CCA mates? Priceless! :wink:

[chenchow]

Fully agree with ElansarGelmir~! It really depends on your personality... If you like it and I like it a lot, so you can definitely make full use of the time doing some activities, whereever you are.

[gohweihan]

too bad...i m still v childish n didnt realise how important the CCA is...now ,no way to turn bac ored.if i enter STPM,izzit the CCA oso play an important role?anybody can inspire me?1 more question,as all noe ,the stpm result this year is so good but since the next year will start teaching in English.will the result be affected?easier to get all A?

If you mean whether ECAs play an important role in determining your public university entry after STPM, then the answer is no. ECAs serve only as a tie breaker in the event of students having the same CGPA and applying for the same course at the same university.

Having said that, I would say that ECAs just serve as an avenue for students to participate in and do various activities. It is neither important, nor unimportant - it is just there. Whether you decide to utilize this avenue, it's your choice.

For me, ECAs are good (but not important) because it allows me to be involved in so many things that I like to do (debates, computer repairs, magazine publication, prefect, etc.). However, ask a person who does not have interest in the ECAs in his or her school whether it is good or not, and chances are that they will say yes only if it serves as a stepping stone.

[iQing]

I feel that CCA in secondary school don?t influence me much compare to CCA in college.