Volunteerism Project 2

8/12/2019 Volunteerism Project 2

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No longer just a rsum padder for college applications, volunteerism has become agraduation requirement for high school students in hundreds of school districts around thecountry. Schools have done this most successfully through service-learning programs, whichtie community-service projects to areas of academic study, such as the environment or worldhunger. The orporation for National and ommunity Service reports that service learningincreases students! attendance, grades, and community involvement, among other benefits."#ownload a $#%of a brief on the report.& 'ut opponents argue that (mandatory

volunteerism( is a contradiction in terms, one that schools should not thrust on studentsalready overwhelmed with homewor), e*ams, and college applications. Should schools requirehigh school students to serve their communities+ Tell us what you thin)

Should high schools require community service?

es. Students have a responsibility to give bac) to their communities, and it isreasonable to require volunteering as a prerequisite for graduation.

62% (95 votes)

aybe. Schools should not ma)e volunteering mandatory, but they should offerample opportunities for volunteerism, and they should reward students whoparticipate.

29% (44 votes)No. Schools should focus on creating a rigorous academic environment to preparestudents for college and beyond, and they should let volunteering be a personalstudent decision.

10% (15 votes)

Totl votes! 154

/ thin) it is sad that someSubmitted by 0uth "not verified& on arch 12, 1334 - 56731.

/ thin) it is sad that some thin) of a requirement of community service is (forcing( the )idsinto community service. / would consider it another form of homewor). #o we consider thatwhen assignments are given we are forcing the students into doing math, or social studies+ 8nassignment that is valuable is one which teaches a good lesson. ommunity service is onesuch assignment where students have vast opportunity to find a way to ma)e the assignmentpersonally meaningful.

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community serviceSubmitted by vanessa "not verified& on arch 55, 1334 - 51729.

i thin) community service shouldn!t be a requirement people shouldn!t be forced to dosomething they don!t want to do

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shouldn!tSubmitted by vanessa bravo "not verified& on arch 51, 1334 - 51719.

i agree communtity service shouldn!t be a requirement it should be an option

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http://www.nationalservice.org/pdf/07_0224_issuebrief_servicelearning.pdfhttp://www.edutopia.org/node/5984/results#comment-58582http://www.edutopia.org/comment/reply/5984/58582http://www.edutopia.org/node/5984/results#comment-58266http://www.edutopia.org/comment/reply/5984/58266http://www.edutopia.org/node/5984/results#comment-58305http://www.edutopia.org/comment/reply/5984/58305http://www.nationalservice.org/pdf/07_0224_issuebrief_servicelearning.pdfhttp://www.edutopia.org/node/5984/results#comment-58582http://www.edutopia.org/comment/reply/5984/58582http://www.edutopia.org/node/5984/results#comment-58266http://www.edutopia.org/comment/reply/5984/58266http://www.edutopia.org/node/5984/results#comment-58305http://www.edutopia.org/comment/reply/5984/58305


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Submitted by Cannah "not verified& on ?anuary A3, 1334 - 5A7A5.

Bn the one hand, giving bac) is a great idea and )ids should be givers to as well as ta)ersfrom their community. 'ut when my )ids were in school, we ran into a problem - what is theircommunity+ They lived in an isolated rural area.


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ommunity ServiceSubmitted by Fara "not verified& on ?anuary 16, 1334 - 55711.

/ wor) in a district where the students have a mandatory component of community service inthe curriculum. 8t the fifth and si*th grade level, students have the autonomy to choosewhere and how they want to volunteer. /n the past the students were merely required to fulfilla certain amount of hours, and get a signature from someone at the organiDation. This didn!tlead to a lot of accountability on the students, because teachers were often unsure howcredible the students hourly logs were. This year we made changes to the program. Studentsat our school have teams of 1 or A teachers. Each team had to come up with their owncommunity service plan. Teams have ranged from having ba)e sales and car washes to raisemoney for an organiDation, to collecting goods, and donating time at shelters and nursinghomes. The students this year have had an overwhelmingly positive response to the changesin our community service requirements, and enjoy wor)ing as a team with their peers to havean active part in our community.

ommunity service requirementsSubmitted by #avid 8. Smith, $h.#. "not verified& on ?anuary 15, 1334 - 52794.

The question is presented in an aw)ward manner. Schools should offer service-based learningand growth e*periences. Bn the one hand, community service can be a very effective learningopportunity, but on the other hand mindless chores with no reflection and no reinforcement ofstandards do little more than give service a bad name. Students may merely clean up ahighway, but with a good follow-through students may learn the value of not littering, or theymay be more li)ely to object when their friends and family litter, or G. /t!s the learning, notthe chore that matters. There are many fine organiDations that promote such service. Fiwanis,for one, sponsors student service clubs at the elementary, middle, high school and universitylevels. Those who design community service projects would be wise to concentrate on resultsinstead of less-effective requirements, such as si*ty student service hours per year. / havefound that one reflective project can change student attitudes more than a year of servicewhere there is little more than an accidental connection to learning.

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ommunity ServiceSubmitted by huc) %ellows "not verified& on ?anuary 15, 1334 - 5A799.

$rior to the bureaucratiDation of education (community service( was an integral part of theeducational e*perience. Therefore, it should not be viewed as a (required( componentH ratherit should be viewed as an opportunity for a course correction in education.

The current system of education isolates the student from society and removes )nowledgefrom its naturally integrated>interdependent state by slicing )nowledge into individualterritories that ma)e no sense to the inquiring mind.

'ecoming part of the larger community will help students build life relationships and returnlearning to the process of education. The community will return to its role as a participant inthe learning process as a partner in creating the future.

Then the three (0s( - relevance, rigor and relationships - will inhabit schools again.

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epSubmitted by 0. $etheram "not verified& on ?anuary 15, 1334 - 5A759.

Enough said.

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ommunity E*perienceSubmitted by harlie "not verified& on ?anuary 15, 1334 - 3@751.

ommunity Service E*periences should be a requirement and not a choice./f the program is sponsored and set up by professionals then in theory it should wor).any ?esuit schools have e*emplary service models and / am sure others do too.

Therefore models of service are already e*ist.


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This is a false choice7 require service v. !hit the boo)s!. Every clever teacher-educatorwannabe needs to as) themselves7 should BK be required to do community service+ $rojectlearning+ Cow about some social and emotional learning+


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mar)etplace. The only area where ris)-ta)ing, creativity and imaginative thin)ing is coupledwith developing critical thin)ing s)ills in in the creative arts./f every bit of individual personality and creativity has been squelched through an educationsystem that is standardiDed then there is no growth and obviously nothing new.

So here!s my two-cents7 Encourage )ids to watch clouds, to dream and most certainly how toplay Encourage them by telling them the truth7 Not everyone is good at math and science. 8llof us have talents and shortcomings. They have the rest of their adult lives to edge toward(perfection.(

Oife is a continuing series of change and growth. None of us will ever (master( it.

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/ts a great planSubmitted byTrevor"not verified& on ?anuary 13, 1334 - 5675@.

/t is all about building good habits.

y e*periences in gym class helped get me fit enough to )now how good it feels to be fit.

'eing pushed to volunteer ensures that all students get a chance to )now how gratifying thate*perience is. / am sure many students will blow it off, but / am also sure that some studentswho would not have ta)en time to volunteer will be more li)ely to in the future.

:olunteerismSubmitted byindy


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Two thoughts on this matter.

%irst, as a teacher in aryland / was assaulted by a student. aryland at the time had acommunity service requirement for students to graduate high school.


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day or two in a people job, in an alone job, in an outside job, in an inside job, in a physicaljob, in a mental job, in a service job, in a sales job, etc.They would learn to not only appreciate all wor), they would treat other better because theycould not only empathiDe with but would have e*perience what that person is dealing with thatday. They would better understand wor)ing as a team, showing up on time, dressingappropriately, dealing with both bosses and peers, etc. 8s teachers we need to realiDe thatmuch of what our students need to )now cannot be learned in a classroom

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/!m not buying the idea thatSubmitted by arj "not verified& on ?anuary 1A, 1334 - 53726.

/!m not buying the idea that this does can do more harm then good. Every ethical philosophy,whether based in religion or not, stresses stewardship of the earth or helping our fellow man.

/ went to a atholic grade school and a ?esuit university for undergrad. The service we did asa mandatory part of both of those institutions gave me incredibly valuable s)ills, opened mymind, taught me a lot about the (real world( before / entered it. Bn a purely pragmatic level,

it gave me e*periences that made me competitive when it was time to loo) for a job. There isNB downside to volunteering, especially when given even a small choice for how onevolunteers.

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ould be more harm than good.Submitted by Ernest #odson "not verified& on ?anuary 1A, 1334 - 3;716.

The worst thing that could happen is having someone being forced to volunteer. Bn the otherhand if a child volunteered to go to a place that was inline with their career goal that would bea beautiful thing.

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es, yes and yes. /t isSubmitted by lebenheimer "not verified& on ?anuary 11, 1334 - 5@73@.

es, yes and yes. /t is amaDing how little some students )now of the world and this givesthem the opportunity to e*perience some of it. / have wor)ed where community service canalso be considered for attending local government meetings. /!ve seen students open up to thepossiblities and what is happening after just a couple of hours

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ommunity ServiceSubmitted byTim Schott"not verified& on ?anuary 11, 1334 - 52722.

/!m an Electrical-Electronics Trades J Technology /nstructor at the Fent areer Tech enter in=rand 0apids, /. /!m also a past $resident of the =rand 0apids ?aycees and $ar)inson!s8ssociation of


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assisting at local Special Blympics events, raising money, clothing and food for those lessfortunate than themselves and volunteering at homeless shelters. / can!t list all of the trulyheartwarming stories from my students, but / do )now that students today will rise beyondyour e*pectations if you!ll let them. Those of us servants in education )now all themetaphors... (/f you build it, they will come...( ($lant a seed and watch it grow...( / canhonestly say, without reservation, that / believe 8OO students will respond positively to thechallenges that face their community.


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)ids, community service gives them an opportunity to give of themselves and help others. /thelps them networ), perhaps discover job opportunities and feel good about their ability tochange the world. /f they are getting started on the wrong trac) they can be turned around byservice. Some of these )ids came to our food ban) where they were both volunteers andclients. ost of our volunteers were both and we accepted anyone willing to help.

iddle class and wealthy children often need the grounding that $resident and ichelle Bbamaare giving their children. Service reminds them that they have more than others and that theyshould be grateful but not arrogant about it. /t shows them that there are many things moreimportant than nice clothes and technology. /t might lead them away from being a greedyEB. Then if they are in a well paid and powerful position they would be more li)ely to paytheir employees fairly and provide e*cellent benefits instead of sending the jobs overseas orcontracting so they don!t have to provide company benefits.


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8pparently, there is a wide variance in college students. / also teach at a college, aidwestern private school. Bur students are more often still children in their middle 13!s. Theyappear to be planning on e*tending adolescence well into their A3s. / suspect this is thedifference between top layer schools with strong science programs and liberal arts secondaryfacilities that cater to those who canPt "or who donPt try to& get into the top schools and morerelevant programs. Not only are many of our students content with or below grades, ouradministrators are happy to let them continue in our programs with sub-standard =$8s.

/ donPt thin) there is a shortage of opportunities for slac)ers. / suspect that the suicide ratescould be e*plained by other factors than community service requirements or highe*pectations.

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=iving bac) to the communitySubmitted by tom siembor "not verified& on ?anuary 11, 1334 - 3@75;.

=iving bac) to the community implies that there is debt to the community at large- publiceducation is free, but it!s not a free ride. Nor should it be. itiDenship must be taught,

modeled, and nurtured. Bur future leaders will be poorly trained if we don!t emphasiDe theimportance of participation in a free society.

/n response to 'ryan


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%irst of all, community service does not have to be organiDed by the teachers. /f it needs adulthands, the $T8 could do it. They can also find their own volunteer wor) to do and the schoolshould accept almost anything that is not strictly a religious activity. 8ll the )ids have to do ista)e the form to whatever organiDation they wor)ed with. Second, if they do the projectthrough the school, why would the teachers have to plan it+ /t is good hands-on learning. Cowhard is it do do an Bperation hristmas hild bo*+ Students should not have their learningspoonfed and they also should not have their community service requirements planned for

them. They are not stupid. Even pre-Fs can pac) groceries or supplies for the elderly. Buryoungest volunteer for food ban) was 2 when she started. The first year she helped wrap andgive out the Toys for Tots. She also came with her parents on bagging night and helped pac)the groceries. 'y the time we closed down she could have been a temporary manager. Shewas 55 by then.

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Bne more thing for teachers to do+Submitted by 0honda "not verified& on ?anuary 11, 1334 - 52714.

%irst of all, community service does not have to be organiDed by the teachers. /f it needs adulthands, the $T8 could do it. They can also find their own volunteer wor) to do and the school

should accept almost anything that is not strictly a religious activity. 8ll the )ids have to do ista)e the form to whatever organiDation they wor)ed with. Second, if they do the projectthrough the school, why would the teachers have to plan it+ /t is good hands-on learning. Cowhard is it do do an Bperation hristmas hild bo*+ Students should not have their learningspoonfed and they also should not have their community service requirements planned forthem. They are not stupid. Even pre-Fs can pac) groceries or supplies for the elderly. Buryoungest volunteer for food ban) was 2 when she started. The first year she helped wrap andgive out the Toys for Tots. She also came with her parents on bagging night and helped pac)the groceries. 'y the time we closed down she could have been a temporary manager. Shewas 55 by then.

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Volunteerism Project 2