How does one go about establishing a club in a school?

This is my guiding question for my Spiral of Inquiry project. As someone who has participated in multiple extracurricular activities since childhood, I can personally attest to the value of such gatherings. I have participated in:

  • Piano lessons
  • Choir
  • Swimming lessons
  • Karate
  • Basketball team
  • Sparks/Brownies/Girl Guides
  • Leadership
  • Chess club (not that I was ever very good)
  • Gaming club
  • Anime club
  • Volunteer work (SPCA, Junior Volunteers at the hospital)
  • Peer tutoring

These activities gave me a chance to socialize with others that I might not normally have the chance to talk with in the course of a regular school day, as well as invoke feelings of belonging and community with those who share my interests. Research supports this as well – Sirac and Hirca1 observed 200 students with varying special needs as they participated in 32 different clubs around their respective schools. While only a fraction of these students showed an active role in the clubs, it was also shown that these students were generally accepted by their peers into the gatherings. This gave these students a chance to connect with others outside of a classroom environments and show a side of themselves that they might not otherwise get a chance to.

Generalizing further, Lacey2 (no relation) collected anecdotal evidence via interviews regarding the positive benefits of school clubs on the social-emotional development of children. Not only did active club members have more positive social relationships, they also demonstrated higher academic achievement, more self-confidence, and positive emotional competence and behavioural changes. Such studies are a testament that students are so much more than their grades, and as educators, we need to recognize that.

I have been eager to conceptualize and establish a club of my very own at a school one day. To that end, I reached out to my friend Melanie Bellwood – in the past, she has run a D&D club at College Heights Secondary. My observations of club sessions while I was working under a contract showed how much students loved coming in to play and how familiar they were with the routines. I reached out to Melanie to ask a few questions – the answers are as follows:

  1. What kinds of things does one have to take into consideration to get a club going in a school? What are the requirements?
    • The environment and societal landscape of the school are important. For example, at [College Heights] there are many sports initiatives but little to no engagement for students who were uninterested in sports. That made gaming, art, and social clubs really popular. At [DP Todd], there are a variety of initiatives and subjects students can engage with, so starting a club would have to be something niche that the students have already asked for. Space is another important factor – many clubs need a room to be in consistently so students know where to go, but many teacher sponsors do not have their own room or work in a school where the gym and other common spaces are completely used up throughout the day. 
  2. What sorts of challenges have you had or have heard of from others running a school club?
    • Space, time, and responsibility commitment. The ultimate goal is to get the students running the club themselves, but the groundwork it takes to get there is a lot of time and effort. Sharing that amongst staff consistently is really helpful.
  3. What was it that motivated you to run school clubs in the past?
    • The kids wanted them. I don’t personally care if I run a club at school, but if a student wants to try something, I want to either give them the chance to or be able to direct them to where they can try it. 
  4. Is there some kind of form to fill out to run/maintain a school club? If so, where can I find it? I wanted to submit a draft proposal as part of my work.
    • There is no consistent form that I am aware of, but there are many in-house systems. It’s important to check in with the Community Schools Coordinator if a school has one, and if not, then with the Vice Principals. 

Having participated in the gaming club at DP Todd on Friday afternoons, I feel that Melanie’s insights align with what I have experienced in the past. Sadly, there is no singular form for getting a club running, so I thought I would include relevant information in a document:

Draft Club ProposalDownload

For the purposes of this exercise, I simply proposed an “upskill club” in which every month offers a different everyday skill students can pick up if they so choose. Since this exercise is theoretical, I cannot account for such things as budgets and conflict with other school activities, but I believe all of the necessary information should be there. Overall, I might propose a different club than this should I go so far as to suggest one, but I hope the social and learning experiences will have a positive impact nonetheless.

References:

  1. Saraç, H., & Hırça, N. (2017). SITUATIONS IN WHICH MAINSTREAMING STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM SOCIAL CLUBS. European Journal of Special Education Research, 0. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejse.v0i0.1217
  2. Lacey, T. (2016) An exploration of the benefits of after-school club for children, focusing on their emotional and social development. Cork: Community-Academic Research Links, University College Cork.