Which CCA (co-curriculum activities) will you recommend to a student to gain an edge over others in life?

My son is very active too. So we started to think how he can apply his energy for better development and found rugby in Singapore where we booked a free trial for a Rugby course. What we really liked, was that all mentors are carefully selected and know how to work with kids. The training time is in the morning, so I can drop him in before work and then my mother picks him up.

Hi Bullythebear,

I've been following your blog for a long time and have responded to some of your posts under the name of Adrian.

IMO, based on 17 years of experience as an educator, any CCA has the potential to provide an edge. Most of the time, having a CCA is better than not having one. But which CCA gives an edge is questionable.

The fundamental idea of CCA is provide a community for like-minded individuals to come together. The specialised skills acquired with respect to the CCA is secondary to the relationships formed, soft skills acquired and the intrinsic motivation acquired to delve deeper into CCA's area of interest.

I have friends and ex-students who continue participate in the CCA way beyond school and into adulthood (eg, rugby, scouting, choir, band, chess, etc...). Any of these have potential to go beyond just school. That's also where the opportunity lies, networks among the like-minded expands your knowledge and skills faster than being alone.

Of course there's also another group, people who don't continue in their CCA of choice beyond school (case in point, I've been in track and field, soccer, boys' brigade, christian fellowship, math society). What it offered me was a diversity of knowledge, skills and friends.

Then there's another extreme, those who have no CCA, or take the most idle CCA. My question would be what do they do with their time freed up? Some mix with undesirable company, if any CCA can interest them and keep them in school, these students will be kept away from going down the slippery slope. I had a student who used to delve deeper into programming and designed his own apps, starting from Sec 1. If CCA took too much of his time, where can he afford the time to learn on his own? In fact, he has an external CCA of sorts, friends on github/discord, fellow coders. Or what about the child who has no CCA, but spends the time serving the community with a particular VWO on a weekly basis?

Personally, I'd discuss with my sons their area of interest and what they hope to acquire from CCA by the time they leave school: Network, soft skills, or expertise in a particular area? How can he foresee these giving him an edge beyond school?

Final thought, having a focus community that you spend a lot of time accelerates your learning and skills, but at what cost? Is there a risk of being trapped in an echo chamber? We often talk about diversification of financial assets, what about the communities we interact with?

I guess there is no right or wrong answer, but more of how the child views participation in CCA as a leverage to boost their portfolio, their networks and their expertise?

I picked Scouts as my main CCA and I've got Football as my 2nd CCA. Scouting gave me more than just the discipline, it's more multi-fauceted learning on survival skills. You put yourself out of the comfort zone of a HDB home with running water and lights and find yourself camping under the skies, enduring the insects and humidity of the night. It's then I appreciate the things we take for granted at home, like running water for toilet, hot water for bathing, electricity for fan and lights.

As for Football, I joined because I wanted to train as a team. The teamwork and camaderie in training makes you strong. You win as a team, you lose as a team. It's not a one-man game. I enjoy my time and represented school level competition. Even though I was not on the starting list, the coach always gave everyone a chance. He volunteered to coach us and not just coach us on the physical part of the game but mentally as well. Sad to say but he recently passed and I did not get to give him my last respects. It's a tiny regret I carry inside as he moulded a foundation in my upbringing.

I was in NCC and I must say I still vaguely recall all the fun (and stupid moments) spent with my secondary school friends.

Not going to lie, it really helps when you go to NS as you already know some of the drills/commands/how to use rifle/disciplinary routines etc (of course, the point is not to wayang ;)). Most NCC people in NS lay low to not get aimed.

Personally, I entered with an open mind and with an aim for a leadership role - I was eventually ASM (assistant sergeant major), and it was a fun experience at a young age mentoring juniors, learning leadership, planning, working in a team etc (something you can't get if you're joining individual sports - unless you are a captain).

These are attributes that will follow you everywhere in your uni life, work force.

If you ask me, resume wise top rank of NCC/NPCC etc definitely beats president of library club ;) there's just so much more learning as compared to the less intensive CCAs.