I have been filled with merriment during exploratory time at Nishimachi. Most schools don't have such things as exploratories, and only have after school activities, but we have both. Extra curriculum is an important element in school, so now i want to you to know more about why exploratory time is a cherished time for both students and faculty.
Firstly, having exploratory time every week lets students have a more relaxing schedule. This means we have less class time in which we need to pay attention to our teachers who sometimes teach us in a boring "monotone voice." Having more free time during school days, might allow us to contemplate on our studies more! Especially in the afternoon, we become drowsy and nothing is imprinted on our brains. That's when we need our exploratory time the most. It feels like we have less school hours than usual if we have them at the end of the day! It is good for both our educational and social purposes. Some schools are getting rid of PE, art and music classes because they think students are in dire need of more math, English and science time to be on track with everybody else. However, I don't think adding irksome class time in core subjects is necessarily the best of our time. Often there are more crucial things in life than fractions, cells and the atomic mass of hydrogen. I think every school in the world, including Cambodia and Egypt, should have time like exploratories during school. On this website of Tabubil International School in Papua, , the school says about art that, "Throughout the school all forms of art and craft play an important role in self-expression and the presentation of ideas and themes." Also the site says from the music part, "Children will learn a range of musical skills and appreciation of a variety of musical styles and traditions." These quotes actually elucidate how art and music should be. I think exploratories help us to express our feelings, as well as learning tradition which is also important for social life. Put bluntly, exploratories parallel Nishimachi policy, they promote bicultural communication with our classmates.
Exploratories are also important for us because they give us extra time to interact with middle school students in other grades. I know everybody wants be in the same exploratory as their cronies, but I think it is also a great prospect to get to know other acquaintances. My first exploratory in sixth grade was "international cooking" and the only person I knew was Simon, and it was my first time having a conversation with him. As I talked to him while cooking, and also had some chances to talk to ninth and eighth graders, I thought that class was a tremendous experience. Exploratories are another opportunity to get to know teachers from other grades. You might even get A's on your report card by joining their exploratory!
My third assertion as to why we need more exploratory time is that we can strive by learning new things outside of essays, tests and quizzes. There are about 20 choices of activities that we can decide from. Sometimes I think there are not enough, but I can still try out new things every time. My friends always say that they don't get their first choices, but I think it's alright because we have to let ninth graders get their favorite ones and disport themselves in their last year at Nishimachi. According to my friend at YIS, Ellie, they don't even have much chance to get to know students in other grades. They do have minimal activities such as drama, but not as elaborate choices as we do at NIS. According to this article "Statistics show depression, stress prevalent among college students," 75% of the population surveyed felt really stressed at least one day out of week. Exploratories are good for those people who are stressed from many tests and quizzes!
I think everybody would agree on my three main arguments I presented in this essay, and I think exploratory time is very valuable for everybody including teachers. So Nishimachi should prolong this program, and maybe we can even spend more time on it. For example, four hours a week like we did last year. Hope I have enlightened you on my persuasive essay, and I feel my stance on this issue is clear: exploratory time is vital to Nishimachi and its community.
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