Should Students be required to perform "Community Service"?

[wvjules]

The definition of CIVICS is the branch of political science that deals with the rights and DUTIES of citizens. IMHO, service to the community is a duty of us all---we should be contributing members of society not dead weight.

So by working, paying taxes, spending money, I am not a contributing member of society until I volunteer?

 

[GinnyEmma]

Yes. My high school didn't offer it and my parents required us to do community service. I will expect it of my children if their school does not require it.

I agree. We homeschool and it is a requirement here.

 

[OceanAnnie]

The definition of CIVICS is the branch of political science that deals with the rights and DUTIES of citizens. IMHO, service to the community is a duty of us all---we should be contributing members of society not dead weight.

Getting a job is contributing to society also. Decidedly not dead weight.

 

[bookgirl]

Yes.

 

[PaulaSB12]

i say no.


i did a year as an americorps vista, and still volunteer regularly. however, making people do it - doesn't sit well with me.


they should want to do it.

I agree volunteering has to be voluntary or it isnt volunteering. From what I can see a lot of kids have hours of homework to do, they are expected to do out of school activities work part time when do they get to be kids having fun. Or do these adults willing to give the time of children for "good causes" willing to give their time as well.

 

[bettymae1121]

I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, if you make some one do it, it's not volunteering. On the other hand, giving the kids exposure to community service may make them want to volunteer on their own, once they see how rewarding it can be.

I wouldn't push my district to add it as a requirement, but if they added it on their own I wouldn't fight it.

 

[PaulaSB12]

This is what the school district I graduated from now requires:



School clubs and sports are apparently now included (but only up to 15 hours).

That is mad, I am glad I wasn't at that school because I would have suggested putting it somewhere where a proctologist would be needed to retreive it. * Decide on several areas of interest and discuss them with your parent or guardian.
* Use the web site or community service directory for further information on your chosen activity.
* Visit the SSC for your application.
* Contact the agency/organization to arrange for an interview, to schedule service time, orientation, etc. Email may be available for some agencies.
* Complete the entire application and obtain the following signatures: agency student parent/guardian counselor
* Return all copies of the application to your counselor.
* Begin service time, keeping a daily journal of your experiences at the site.
* Record your service hours on the time sheet, getting your on-site supervisor's signature each day you attended.
* Return your time card and journal to your guidance counselor when you have completed service at that agency. If you fill one time card, you may turn it in to your counselor and start another one.
* If you decide to serve more than one agency, you must complete this process for each one.
* Upon completion of sixty (60) hours of approved service and review of the journal of your activities by the counselor, appropriate credit (.5) will be added to your permanent academic record.

 

[Pigeon]

I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, if you make some one do it, it's not volunteering. On the other hand, giving the kids exposure to community service may make them want to volunteer on their own, once they see how rewarding it can be.

I wouldn't push my district to add it as a requirement, but if they added it on their own I wouldn't fight it.

Or it may make them swear off volunteer work for life. We have no idea. Again, I'd like to see the peer-reviewed studies that show any causal connection between forced labor and later volunteerism.

A course in civics, during the school day is fine with me. Forced labor during family time is not.

 

[OceanAnnie]

The definition of CIVICS is the branch of political science that deals with the rights and DUTIES of citizens. IMHO, service to the community is a duty of us all---we should be contributing members of society not dead weight.

I don't get that label at all. By your logic, what would you call the people in need of community service?

ETA- Not everyone can volunteer or perform community service, but they aren't necessarily non-contributing or dead weight.

 

[golfgal]

I don't get that label at all. By your logic, what would you call the people in need of community service?

ETA- Not everyone can volunteer or perform community service, but they aren't necessarily non-contributing or dead weight.

Just because you may need some help/community service in some areas doesn't mean you are dead weight. A good example would be some of the elderly women in our old town. The kids from the school would rake their leaves every fall but the women spent a lot of time knitting hats and making blankets for the newborns at the hospital.

Now, someone sitting back accepting welfare for their lifetime never trying to better themselves or get a job--dead weight.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Just because you may need some help/community service in some areas doesn't mean you are dead weight. A good example would be some of the elderly women in our old town. The kids from the school would rake their leaves every fall but the women spent a lot of time knitting hats and making blankets for the newborns at the hospital.

Now, someone sitting back accepting welfare for their lifetime never trying to better themselves or get a job--dead weight.

Exactly what I stated. And the same is true if you don't volunteer or perform community service. Contributing to society comes in many forms.

 

[TDC Nala]

Homework is part of schoolwork. Community service isn't schoolwork. I don't get requiring it for graduation. I have to go to work and interact with my coworkers if I want to get the job done, but once I'm home I don't interact with anyone I haven't decided on my own to interact with. And if you don't do community service or volunteering with an organized group it does not make you "dead weight." Having your free time outside of work (and school is kind of the job of a kid) organized by a group or organization that wants to make sure you are doing the "right things" with your spare time isn't freedom. Not that people shouldn't volunteer with organized groups if they want to - but they should want to, not HAVE to (i.e. be ordered to by the government, if parents want to require community service for their children that is their choice)

 

[GinnyEmma]

Or it may make them swear off volunteer work for life. We have no idea. Again, I'd like to see the peer-reviewed studies that show any causal connection between forced labor and later volunteerism.

A course in civics, during the school day is fine with me. Forced labor during family time is not.

Lol, if they are of that sort, they wouldn't volunteer anyway. People who are looking for the negative are going to see it wherever they want to see it.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I haven't read the whole thread, but for me mandatory community service isn't as much about instilling the habit of volunteering, as it is about developing the skills of work. Identifying needs in the community, researching options, trying out different roles to see what you like, making a committment and sticking to it, etc . . . all of these are crucial skills for adulthood, whether you apply them to paid or unpaid work.

 

[college_student]

Should a student have to perform Community Service in order to graduate?

I remember doing it a lot in high school. I volunteered at my local library about 100 hours. It didn't really make me more conscientous; however, I think a lot of my peers in high school could have seriously benefited from it. Let's just say some of the people I knew in high school didn't know their manners.

I think it can be good for some kids to give them some experience helping others...or forcing them to put themselves out a bit. Some teens are very egocentric at that age. So I think it would be good.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

In my small city, it's a requirement for graduation. They call it service learning, and never once call it volunteer. They want the kids to learn that they have to give back to the community in some way, since the community paid for their education.

I don't see anything wrong with it. I can see why some would object, and it is sometimes a pain for the kids to get something they can do. In my area transportation isn't an issue since there's so much public transit.

Many of the kids volunteer at the library. Some work at the senior center. Others paint park benches over the summer. The time requirement isn't huge.

I get it...but I don't get it.

So now citizens have to work for their compulsory education that is their right by law to receive?

Do senior citizens volunteer for the privilegs of having a senior center?

Do citizens volunteer at the library in exchange for borrowing privileges?

How does the state and federal government get paid back for providing funding to the students' educations.

Again--I get it...but I don't get it at the same time.

 

[college_student]

I respectfully disagree.
You're correct, you can't mandate social conscience. But the whole reason school exists is to educate, and expose students to a number of things they will face in life and give them the tools to deal with those things. The volunteer requirement shows students what options are out there, so hopefully they will continue volunteering beyound the tiny amount required in school.
Our schools are in trouble. They are dropping subjects. In some areas the instruction year is down to just 170 days. We are graduating students from high school who aren't educated. My daughter started at a California State University campus in 2009. The SAT, ACT and GPA's were the highest in the history of the school system, and the number of incoming freshman having to take remedial math and english was the highest in history. Someone mentioned work, guess what, school is work, without out pay. What you earn in school is an ability to survive in the real world. I say, put the work back in school, in the classroom, and in community service.

This sounds like you're going for reworking the school system by putting more emphasis into the classroom. I would absolutely agree with that! I hate that schools are dropping the fine arts and other elective classes. Our schools have some serious issues right now. That's all I'll say on the matter.

 

[TwinsinCA]

Only academics? SO we should immediately droop gym class, art class, theatre, music, health, computer classes, life skills, sewing, childcare, mechanics, woodworking, etc. ?
If the three "Rs" are all you want out of school you will have to cut out half of the school day in most places.

The only class you listed that was mandatory on the high school level(in my experience) was gym. ALL others were electives. If you want to offer a community service CLASS as an elective that is fine. How that class is run (they do the work in class, AS a class off site, or have an open hour so they can use that class time to volunteer elsewhere) is up for discussion, but it should be a CHOICE for students.

And as for gym -- I would be THRILLED if that was never a requirement. But that is another thread.

 

[gina2000]

I think it's a great idea. Helping improve a community benefits all who live there. For me, I think community involvement is an important component - whether it be the community in which one lives or a community founded due to common interests such as a child's sports team, a church organization, or a town project.

I believe it's important to contribute and volunteer. It's never too early to learn and introducing the expectation in school works for me.

 

[gina2000]

To those that think it should be a requirement, do you require your kids to do it even if the school doesn't?

Or those that schools do require it, would you force your kids to do it even if the school didn't?

My son's school requires community service as does our church. Also, a growing number of universities are looking at community service as a viable way to distinguish an applicant from other prospective candidates.

I come from a family of volunteers. I believe it is an important component of life. My son would be asked to volunteer if he did not already do so.