Nowadays, most students take extra classes. Do you think this is a good idea? Or would it be better for students to invest all that time in self-study?

Question

Nowadays, not only adults are busier with hours of work, but also school-age children have to spend more time learning than in the past. Extra classes have become an accepted standard of education in many countries around the world, especially in Asia, children now struggle with more thorny problems.

 First, learning too much on weekdays and even weekends leads to a lack of time for children. As a result, they do not have enough time to relax by doing an enjoyable hobby such as learning how to play musical instruments or playing popular sports that can improve their physical health as well as their mental health. In addition, due to lack of time, children no longer hang out with friends or participate in any outdoor activities, so children's ability to communicate with others and their lack of social skills are now becoming serious problems for parents when raising children.

 Second, parents' expectations from their children put a lot of pressure on their children because parents want their children to always be at the top of the ranking and get high scores on every test. According to some researchers, studying too much does not make children smarter; however, taking too many extra classes can lead to cognitive decline, especially in children. Because of the constant pressure to get better grades, too much concentration, lack of sleep and stress, many also suffer from anxiety and depression. While some students certainly need to focus more on academics to get better grades, others may wilt under too much academic pressure.

 In short, parents should work together to create educational systems that are a more realistic, innovative, and stress-free environment for their children, and should replace extra classes with soft skills classes.