Mandatory Public Service: Unfit for Schools Former President Theodore Roosevelt said, “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” In other words, Roosevelt is saying that making America an admirable country requires dedication. Americans most commonly improve society by volunteering in their communities. In fact, some schools are beginning to adopt community service as a required component in their curriculum, using it as a teaching tool for young citizens. However, the topic of mandatory public service is widely debated. Although obligatory volunteer service has benefits, the idea as a whole is contradictory, as students are already expected to be responsible …show more content…
In fact, the purpose of school is to educate knowledge and responsibility for future jobs and community positions. So, schools offer a plethora of activities for diverse student bodies. Nearly 80% of students participate in extracurriculars, and 57% of students have activities outside of school every day (“Survey…”). Every student is different; therefore, a broad program should not be forced upon students, especially when diverse extracurriculars are already in place. Additionally, over a quarter of 16 to 19 year olds have jobs (“Unemployment Remains...”). Between extracurriculars, part-time jobs, and academics, young citizens are forced to learn about time management, patience, and hard work. Moreover, students already volunteer on their own. Organizations such as Student Council and the National Honors Society require that their members participate in school or community events. Public service hours also factor into college acceptances and scholarship awards. When students are already learning leadership skills by volunteering on their own, requiring extra volunteer hours can be easily mistaken as a punishment or chore. Most high schoolers have tight schedules. It is even more tasteless to enforce mandatory public service upon students because they are “disadvantaged” (Levine 639). Here, volunteerism sounds more like court-ordered community service than an educational opportunity. Students, …show more content…
One of the main drives behind volunteerism is to teach unselfishness and devotion to one’s country. However, the term “mandatory public service” is a blatant oxymoron, as this cartoon suggests. Such a curriculum does not teach the true meaning of service. It is simply another high school class which students must pass. In fact, the cartoon implies that a service-oriented program is almost pointless, as the first assignment is to change the name of the course so that it does not appear contradictory! Furthermore, these educational volunteer courses need major organization. Volunteer opportunities which are truly educational are lacking, and too few to supply a nation of high schoolers (Levine 639). As a result, some students are stuck performing “menial or make-work positions” (Levine 640). Is this type of volunteering really expected to inspire young adults? Levine’s article quotes Paul Light, who argues, “Young Americans want the chance to make a difference and learn new skills, not work in the back office stuffing envelopes” (640). If students are forced to complete jobs which are busy work, they are not going to be inspired. In fact, the curriculum might backfire and cause students to look upon volunteerism with dismay. The lack of organization, effectiveness, and educational opportunities illustrates that mandatory public service is a flawed
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.
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
The United States offers citizens benefit programs at every level of government to help with life’s hardships, and a considerable number of people participate. A variety of benefits are available for all Americans and some non-citizens who are in need of aid. Many Americans are aware that these programs exist, but may not be informed about how many people receive assistance, what kind of benefits are available, or who garners government relief (Welfare Info.).
45 million Americans with low income rely on at least one of the many welfare programs. Of these government assistance programs, many of them deal with fraud and abuse. “Some cases of government assistance misuse are more blatant than others, but some aid recipients are using sneaky tactics that give other needy Americans a bad reputation” (calonia 1). Clearly, people are abusing the system in order to receive money they do not deserve. This makes it harder for people who need the welfare programs to get the money they need to support a family.
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 hours are a significant issue to all students around the globe, as they are taking a substantial amount of time away from their lives scouring for some kind of work to do. This is especially a problem for those who do not live near any public organizations, and do not have the schedule to do any work for them. Most students go searching around their neighborhood asking if their neighbors have any work for them, which does not help anyone academically. Thus, most community service hours that are done don’t relate to their academic classes or technical area.
Have you ever wondered how some athletes have gotten so good at a certain sport? Have you ever thought about what they did in order for them to get this good? For some the answer is simple; workout and train. But for others the answer is different; the use of performance enhancing drugs such as steroids. There are some people that argue that steroids should be legalized and allowed in professional sports. Other people argue that steroids should not be allowed. Today I am going to state my opinion and justify my reason. Steroids should not be allowed in professional sports because it can be very dangerous to the athlete’s health, it is a way to gain and un-fair advantage and it can be dangerous in both social and physical aspects.
What classes or subjects should students learn about in school to make them well-educated and fulfill the goals of public education? Say what your goals of public education are. This K-12 and state what would be important if you were making those decisions.
the help they receive from the government. The idea of the Social Security Act was not a perpetual help to the poor, but a push to help them get out of poverty. Statistics show the economy has been growing and getting better. However the amount of people using welfare has grown more that 50%. (Brooks)
Some people abuse kids, some people abuse drugs, but the worst kind of people abuse welfare. The definition of welfare is the statutory procedure or social effort designed to promote the basic physical and material well being of people in need. Meaning the government gives this money to people in need for their daily basic necessities. The idea of welfare started during the great depression, then Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the social security act, which established a number of programs designed to provide aid to various segments of the population (“Welfare Information”). Welfare was made to help people in a poor, physical, and/or mental state because they cannot work. Although the economy and country improved, people got used to being unemployed.
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.
Welfare is the most common method for the poor citizens in the United States. It provides cash support to low-income families with children, mainly raised by a single mothers. This occurs in the 1990s. The welfare reform has some very positive effects on people’s lives. The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program was founded in the year 1996 (Cozic 47). This exceptional reform forced work requirements for the programs. These requirements which were given to a large amount of people and by the use of agreements it would cut off benefits for people who did not cooperate. The reform also enforced bounds on the reception of benefits. Welfare has had an impact on parents and children lives for years; but case studies are repeatedly saying there isn’t enough money to supply these families; at some point the government should consider another way to provider direct assistance for families suffering from these cases. As a result of the reform, the program was deeply affected and things changed drastically: single mothe...
Specifically, volunteering brings in revenue from nonprofits and “free” work. In fact, in 2009 an estimated value of $169 billion dollars was contributed to America in volunteer participation (Corporation for National and Community Service). Volunteers bring an unexpected abundance of revenue that appears in unpaid work. In addition, it enhances communication within a society. Significantly, volunteering provides insight from first hand experiences for the community’s wants and needs and if these wants and needs are being met by volunteers communicating their volunteer experiences (Young). When there is better communication within a community it is easier to understand what the wants and needs are for a society to better function. Finally, it provides services in many different forms. For instance, in a local sense volunteers can benefit many sectors such as public works and transportation; public safety, health, and human services; parks and recreation; and support functions (Young). Like stated above, it is evident that there are many different types of volunteer jobs that can be done and anyone can help by using their personal strengths to better the community. Overall, there are many economic benefits that are brought to a community that essentially leads to a safer
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
Volunteering: The great experience no one can afford to lose. Opposers say, mandatory community service can have several negative effects on students. “Community service hours are impressive additions to college applications and can provide a student with a great sense of accomplishment; however, the mandatory hours will have many negative consequences” (Cydney Hayes, 2012). Many students are barely even passing the regular school curriculum, and opposers believe that adding the additional load of mandatory service hours will discourage teens from even wanting to graduate. Also mandatory service is usually assigned by a court as punishment to delinquents. “In a small number of cases, community service is required by the court system as restitution for delinquent offenses” (Planty and Bozick, 2006).