On School Clubs
(Note: I do STEM stuff, this was written about my school in particular, and I know stuff. Thus, the things said here probably don't apply to you/your school. Thus, take everything I say in context and feel free to reject the parts you don't think are applicable. Because you're probably right. Also, this post is only regards to high school clubs.)
I don't really like the clubs at our school.
Some are good. That I admit. For sure. Like Art club <3. But as a whole, I think clubs just don't give you (the student) as much bang for the buck as they can; and rather than being a 'hub of innovation,' clubs seem to me to be either a breeding ground and place to meet for the mature or simply a place to start - a base to expand outwards from.
A question I ask is where are all the smart people? Are they really all in this [x] club? Or are they off doing their own thing -- talking to their friends, living life, learning on their own?
When I examine it, in most cases, the latter holds true. That doesn't mean school clubs are at all bad in any way, but this does hint at the fact that at a certain level, you just won't learn anything from going to a club. Thus, my second point; mostly, school clubs are simply a point to expand from. They shouldn't be viewed as a place to get all information (although club officers are usually super knowledgeable about various topics) on a subject, but merely an introduction to a subject.
I think that's because school clubs (in general) do a bad job at catering to the public -- the good clubs only cater to their selective audience (artists for example), and ignore everyone else. And while that might not be the best for inclusivity (a high barrier of entry?), at the very least, it keeps members going, the club going, and things get done.
This idea makes sense though. When you cater to everyone, you cater to no one, as for school clubs, even just one bad meeting is enough to get people to leave. Pretend you're the student. You walk in, maybe with some friends, to a club on some topic you like. But the presentation is boring. You already know what's going on or don't care. The atmosphere is also kind of loud. Nothing's engaging. Why would you ever want to give up a lunch period in the sun - a refuge from school - for more 'schooling'?
The other thing that is unusually forgotten about school clubs (besides the fact that it's high-schoolers educating high-schoolers) is that politics and social structures and dynamics matter immensely. For example, in many clubs (STEM related at least), seniors will just chill in the back and talk amongst themselves. And while they may be super knowledgeable and be really doing some good work, it detracts from the club experience as a whole -- the presenter cannot present as well, the audience can't listen as well (as the seniors are distracting), and overall, nothing really feels learned. Furthermore, club politik is a thing. Club officer positions actually mean something, and in this day and age, they're more than just some voluntary role someone takes for the love of the game -- clubs are one of those things that can (apparently) make/break your college application. In that way, you end up with club officers who may be there just for the role rather than for the overall vision of "educating the student body" or whatever, which is detrimental to a club's trajectory.
And that's why last school year, I decided to quit all my lunch time clubs. I held some cool positions (Programming Club VP, Math Club Secretary, Chess Club President) but overall, I wasn't doing anything. I didn't help the students that came into my club day in and day out, and overall, my clubs weren't good. I didn't think I was contributing to help the students, and thus I left, as why else would I run a club?
It's a few months later, and I enjoy my decision immensely. I get to spend lunch in the sun (or the rain), talking with friends, playing spikeball (sometimes), and relaxing. Perhaps that's just because I'm a senior, but overall, I enjoy having lunch back, I enjoy not worrying about scrapping something together to present week after week, and I enjoy spending time with the people that I know and love.
Sure, my friends all go to some clubs, but that's something out of my control.
So to you, dear reader, I encourage you to leave all the school clubs that you feel are not helping you week after week -- those clubs probably aren't worth going to. I would argue that the time spent in the sun or the time spent talking with some friends is more than enough to tip the scale in favor of no clubs.
And if you are a club officer running a club, I sincerely urge you to do something every week that you walk in. It could be as simple as watching a video together as a club or just talking about some topics that you want or some open session where club members talk about what they want but in sum, do something. If nothing is done one week, it's an excuse to do nothing the following week, and in a year, nothing may ever be done.
I guess that's good advice to end on -- both for me and you. Go do something. Go do something worth your time. Go do something you like. Go do something that'll make you feel as warm as the summer sun during the lunching hour. But above all, go do something.
Maybe go start a blog :>