One of humanity's greatest gifts is the freedom of choice, and no good standing citizen deserves for that to be taken away even if it’s for something perceived to be good. Many people believe community service should be required in high school; however, while this may seem good and innocent it’s forcefulness can leave a negative impact on students and therefore should not be mandatory in high schools. In Neil Howe and William Strauss’s Millennials Rising, Arthur Stukas, Mark Snyder, and E. Gil Clary’s Mandatory Volunteerism, and the Community Service Mission Statement by The Dalton High School, community service isn’t beneficial when mandatory. When forced to do something people (especially teenagers), aren’t as likely to do something with …show more content…
In Millennials Rising, the authors found that “For teenagers, “community service” came to mean punishment for drunk drivers and Breakfast Club miscreants.” (p. 75) Because community service was marked as a punishment, it was seen as one every time serving was required. Many prisoners have to do service based on their crime, giving teens the impression that they are being treated as criminals every time they are doing mandatory service, adding to a negative attitude. However many people say that doing service makes teens a better person. This is seen in Dalton High School’s Community Service Mission Statement where it gives reasons for serving like “When an individual goes out in the world and interacts with other people in the spirit of bettering, that individual makes a contribution and will feel a sense of accomplishment.”(p. 76) While this is true, it must be done “in the spirit of bettering,” a spirit teens will not have if they feel like they don’t have a choice to serve. Research shows when a person feels it was their own free choice to serve “they were more likely to want to volunteer in the future than “not ready” students...” (Clary, Snyder, and Stukas
The effect community service has on both the school and the student are, in most cases, negative, strictly because of the ‘forced’ aspect of it. Students should not have to feel enslaved when trying to pass high school, especially since many other school districts do not have a
One way to ensure a civically engaged population is to nurture and promote amongst youth and teenagers the value of participating in one’s community, with the hope that involvement will continue into adulthood. Most school districts in Arizona do not require students to volunteer as a graduation requirement. Those that do, necessitate a number of hours to be completed and logged individually; for example, Deer Valley Unified School District in Maricopa County requires eight hours of volunteering during a student’s senior year. Of course any opportunity for one to help society should be applauded – however, this particular process negates cooperative long-term attachment to a beneficial project and does not incorporate knowledge learned in class, or apply meaning in a real-life context. The implementation of Service-learning programs into public school curriculum would uphold useful skills associated with community involvement and citizenship, as well as address problems in real settings rather than do repetitious tasks in seclusion.
Studies show that opposed to popular opinion, community service has increased and looks to continue that way. The data shows Generation Y and their amount of charitable giving. “Between 1989 and 2006, the share of teenagers who were volunteering doubled, to 26.4 percent from 13.4 percent, according to a report by the Corporation for National and Community Service”. Also, “incoming college freshmen who say they plan to volunteer is at a record high” (11). I think anyone would agree that the rise in community service combats the degrading stereotype placed on the younger generation. As a former social chair of a sorority I can say that I spent a large amount of time doing philanthropic work with multiple organizations including Girls on the Run, Special Olympics, and town cleanups. I believe that millennials bring a new spirit of togetherness that everyone could take away from. With teamwork a common goal of unity and stability is being created amongst the new
If schools wanted to encourage community service then they shouldn’t force students to do it. Schools should let students know about volunteering opportunities and possibly let them sign up for the school so that it is easier for them to do so if they want
Imagine a typical teen, they have a job, homework, sports, and other extracurriculars. They don’t get home till late at night and they are exhausted. This teen can take much more and thankfully they are about to graduate, but wait the school wants them to fit in one hundred of community service into that schedule in order to graduate. How on earth is this busey teen suppose to do that with all that they have going on? Students should not have to do one hundred hours of community service to graduate high school.
Community Service is a great opportunity to make a difference in the area you live in. There are so many ways to volunteer. Some people are given chances to do community service when they need to pay off fines for tickets. Most people simply do because they love getting involved. It’s their way of making the community a cleaner, healthier place.
People become involved in community service for different reasons and it is up to the individual to realize if it is worthwhile and why they are helping others. Community service brings a nation together. Every country wants its community to be disciplined and work for change. Community service is the best way to inculcate responsibility into individuals. This is where I come in, as a volunteer, as an activist for a change and assistance. I have been inducted and a member of three unique clubs with a core purpose of community service and assistance to others. I have been apart of CSF, California Scholarship Federation, for three years and counting. Each system it is required for obtain fifteen hours of community service, whether be with an organization or school based activity. California Scholarship Federation is an exclusive community of college bound scholars who share resources, provide peer tutoring, and pursue success through community service and academic achievement. I became inducted into NHS, National Honor Society, my sophomore year. Since then I have been an active member participating in every community service opportunity our club participates in. In addition to the club's community service, we as members are required to obtain a certain amount of community service outside the club in order for our membership to not be revoked. NHS
Growing up, my parents and other influential figures around me modelled the importance of community service through their continual volunteer work and dedication to improving the world around them. Whether it be participation in a well-attended project or persistent contribution to a helpful organization, those aforementioned individuals were formative in guiding me towards a path filled with opportunities for having an impact on my community.
Community service is something that I have always engaged. In college, I worked with chemically dependent children as both a caretaker and a mentor. After I graduated, I taught at-risk children in a community youth outreach program. To remain involved and aware of the focus of my studies during my first year of law school, I volunteered at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center teaching youth their basic legal rights. Essentially, we strove to empower kids by providing practical information about the legal system and to help them develop more favora...
Kim, in the United States, grades are not the only factor in evaluating school applicants and job candidates. From Rhodes Scholar selections to college applications, excellence in other areas such as leadership, volunteer activities, sports and arts is equally important (p82-90). In American schools, students are encouraged to do volunteer work. So much so that many schools have guidelines for how much time students are expected to spend serving in the community. Children learn the value of giving from an early age. Volunteer activities is one way Americans feel a part of things and share the goal of serving and contributing to build their communities. From neighborhood watch programs to environmental issues, Americans do not wait for the government to initiate action: they take action to bring about the changes they desire. Therefore, Americans view volunteer work as a way to teach children and young adults values such as cooperation and teamwork, dedication and work ethics, equality and social justice, leadership, generosity and compassion for
Community service is a common service for people to take care of each other and volunteer. People apply to different community services: soup kitchen, taking care of children and homeless people, clinics, churches, schools, neighbor's house and many countless places to volunteer. Some people really enjoy to work at community services while others do not. These community services can be a punishment for criminals because a court assigns them to do so. However, some people do not agree with community service supporters. While some people believe that there should be a community service requirement for high school and college graduation because students need to learn and have experiences there, they are right; on the other hand, a community service requirement should be allowed for two reasons and not be allowed for another three reasons.
Community service: What a wonderful opportunity for students! A chance for our younger citizens to learn responsibility, experience the satisfaction that comes with helping others and to acquire new skills.
Community Service is a service that is performed for the benefit of the public or its institutions. There are two groups who perform community service, and those are criminals and the rest of us. This means that, for the majority of us, performing community service is completely voluntary. It is for this reasons li that I believe that community service should not be mandatory in high school for graduation. The supporters of this act think of it as an ideal society’s noble concept, but it is rather a noble concept trying to force an ideal society. When you look at it from this perspective you realize it is ironic.
Youniss, J., and M. Yates, 1999. “Youth Service and Moral-Civic Identity: A Case for Everyday Morality,” Educational Psychology Review, 11 (4): 363 – 378
In an article written by Linda Saslow titled High School Mandating Community Service for Graduation, she mentions the many pros to mandatory community service. Saslow mentions school districts like Roslyn and Hewlett-Woodmere (1994, para 3) that have started requiring high school students to complete a certain number of community service hours in order to graduate high school. Their goal is to give “kids the opportunity for new experiences” (Saslow, 1994, para 4). Through research conducted by the school districts, they have come to the conclusion that students who would’ve been “too shy to volunteer have admitted that they were glad they had been forced”. This is good because it’s bringing students together and really opening them up to new