Wednesday, March 24, 2010

There Are Limits

I've been playing three games on Facebook. Two of them, Farm Town and YoVille just take a few minutes each day. But the third one, Zoo World, takes way more time than I probably should be giving it.

Each day I get invitations to play more games. There's Cafe World, PetVille, Happy Aquarium, Farmville, Mafia Wars, Fish World, Birdland, Hatchlings, Hospital City, Fish Isle, My Town, Mobsters, Vampire Wars, Castle Age, World at War, Island Life, Country Life, Tiki Farm, Island Paradise, and many more.

A friend of mine plays about ten of them. I don't know how she does it. The last invitation I received, I politely declined giving the excuse that I had to have some time to eat and shower. These games are time-consuming; enjoyable, but time-consuming. A person could spend all their time doing just these games.

The same applies to students in school. Some students get so involved in school activities, all other aspects of their lives, including grades, can suffer. This is even more of a problem in the spring. Activities include track and field, tennis, swimming, softball, baseball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, and probably some others I haven't thought of.

And some students want to be involved in them all. I had students who were involved in so many activities in the spring that they were never home. In addition, they tried to have jobs as well. Homework was done in the car or bus on the way to events. As a result, many of their grades suffered. They, and their parents, had forgotten that the primary purpose of school was an education.

Just like the games on Facebook, school activities are fun...lots of fun. But they are time-consuming. Students have to set limits on themselves, and if they can't, then it's the parents' job to make sure students are putting their studies first, then their activities in reasonable amounts.

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