Action is the middle letter of CAS, is the middle component of the program. Where Creativity and Service are both closely related to working with other people, Action is more of one’s own. Action includes all kinds of physical activities that involve the student evolving through a strong commitment. The CAS program is not about repeating the same thing over and over again. The point of CAS is to create situations unfamiliar to the student, so he or she can develop new skills and evolve through those challenges.
School teams are very productive when it comes to gaining Action hours. New goals can be set. For example, a student can decide to learn to shoot with his or her left foot in football, whereas he or she always used the right one before. Another example would be for the student to decide to last through the game whereas he or she asked to be taken out at one point before. Small changes like this, which cause the student to step out of the comfort zone, cause a development for the students. Also, if a student actively takes part in the planning of the training sessions so it provides new challenges for everyone, everyone is allowed to improve.
Individual sports can also be important when talking about Action. Many sports are based on risk and exceeding limits, which tend to get scary. A good example is rock climbing, another one might be scuba-diving. In both cases, the student is placed in an unfamiliar situation which is likely to challenge him or her in many ways. Independently of physical shape, extreme sports can also help in overcoming fears. The student comes out of such experiences changed, and it might broaden his or her view of the world, which fits perfectly into what the IB is teaching.
Lastly, Action rejoins Creativity and Service in the principle of sharing. Once a student has reached a definite level in a certain sport, he or she can definitely take it to share skills with others. For example, it would be a very interesting experience to teach younger kids how to play that special sport. It brings understanding in social issues as well. Through coaching people, a student can uncover new skills. Furthermore, he or she is obviously placed in an unfamiliar situation at that point. Planning and reflecting are mandatory here, so the teacher as well as the students can keep evolving.
Setting new goals and facing up to challenges does not necessarily relate to sports alone. Music, art and such are also included here. But sports are definitely the best example and the easiest to work with.
The point of the Action of the CAS program is really for the student to best him or herself. By progressing step by step every time and taking it slowly, one might come to records one day that he or she never dreamed of achieving. Whether done in team or independently, all done for Action shall certainly help the student in his or her path through life.