That's different and typically can be accomplished easily if a student uses their noodle. I know opportunities are endless where we live.
Though community service hours are only required for scholarships and some private schools. It isn't a state graduation requirement that I am aware of.
here it is-it's part of the 'navigation 101' program in the public schools (the private school dd considered going to had no community service requirements).
the kids don't get an individual grade for it though-it's one element that is required in order for them to have the complete 'portfolio' they have to have completed by the end of their senior year.
it's actualy pretty cool-this is a multi year program and it's geared to get the students looking at what they might want to do after graduation. the approved community service opportunities are such that the kids will end up doing one that is somehow related to what they perceive is the general field they want to go into, and it takes into consideration that some kids will go into ones that require college/tech school, some will not.
if they are looking at construction, architecture or community planning they might do their time with the local 'habit for humanity'. they get exposed to all the aspects of the program and get an appreciation for how all the different job skills work together.
if they are looking at writing, teaching english or publishing they might work with the local group that does a huge reading/writing event each year that incorporates an academic program at some of the public schools as well as the local university.
in those cases where you have students that are planning on being sahp's or going into social work it could be working with community based organizations that offer parent/child supportive services.
the kids get exposed to professionals in the fields they are interested in, some find the realities of the career they were interested in is in no way what they thought and begin looking at other options, some find that while they were just interested in one aspect of the field there is another aspect they are much more keen on and begin looking into it.
now, the schools have their approved placements and they organize with the groups the placements but in general, depending on the community service a kid wants to do (just for general enjoyment or whatever personal reasons) it can be very competative with few opportunities. our library system for example has strict criteria for volunteers and then you have to make application, wait for an opening and do a paneled interview to compete against all the other applicants. the library (and other groups like it) were tired of investing training and supervision into people that would just flake on them or were going into volunteering believing they would be doing something (and only wanting to do that) that in reality volunteers were precluded from.
so they are very selective-but there's a big non traditional payoff for those selected-when they've successfully completed 6 months of volunteering (with a minimum amount of hours) they qualify to get a formal evaluation identical to an employee-and they can list the library as an unpaid job reference (so the library will release h/r info. and provide letters of reccommendation). this can be huge for those kids trying to get their first paid job.
when told about it. I've never taken any teaching courses but I would guess somewhere along the way in getting your teaching degree this type of thing is covered as to what not to do.
. Just this one that we encountered.
