Requiring volunteers
Categories: Teens & tweens, In the news, Education
A school district in southern Maine has generated some debate by proposing that students complete ten hours of community service a year in order to graduate. Some are saying that forced volunteerism is not volunteerism at all and will not do the kids any good. "I think it's stupid," said fourteen-year-old Kristie Hansen. "It's not volunteer work if they're forcing people to do it."School committee member Mike Duffy, however, disagrees. "I'm in favor of it, if it's done right," he said. "I don't just want someone to say, I picked up three sticks; I want them to find something that they're interested in." The plan would be phased in with current seniors completing ten hours of service before graduating, juniors doing twenty hours, and so on until all students are completing a full forty hours of service over the course of their four years.
I see a lot of high-school aged volunteers at the nursing home where I hang out a lot, but I don't know if they're just trying to bolster their chances at getting into the college they want or if it's actually required. Either way, I think it's a good idea because it gets kids used to the idea of volunteering and lets them understand that not only is it not a big deal, it is actually very rewarding.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
LS 4-09-2008 @ 4:28PM
I agree with the "if it's done right" idea. Also, they should make allowances for those students who already do volunteer work. For example, if the school has assembled a list of "acceptable" volunteer opportunites, and activities through Church, Boy Scouts, 4H (or whatever) are not on that list, kids should be allowed to count that work.
I would be completely behind a program like this at my son's school, providing the list of "approved" volunteer opportunies was extensive enough to allow plenty of choice.
Does that make sense? For some reason I've got a disconnect going in my brain. I'll shut up now...
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Meagan 4-09-2008 @ 10:52PM
I got turned off of forced volunteering for exactly this issue... (ok not exactly but close). We were told we had to have a certain number of volunteer numbers to graduate and I was actually pretty excited. I wanted to volunteer at at Sylvan Learning Center, tutoring kids with learning disabilities. I was told that this was unacceptable because the children at Sylvan were not an "in need" group. The explanation was that because parents pay for Sylvan, volunteering there wasn't real volunteering... or something. That still makes me bitter and I'm 26!
RobMonroe 4-09-2008 @ 4:38PM
Most (if not all) of the school districts in the DC metro are require this of graduating students. A lot of students volunteer already, so this is not more work for them except to have the form filled out. It is motivation for others to get involved. I think it's a good idea.
BTW - there are a a ton of things included in what counts as volunteering in the system.
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jessica 4-09-2008 @ 5:16PM
We had forced volunteering in high school. It was an awful experience, mostly because the school was new and disorganized, and while they knew I was doing the hours and said they could count, the next fall "Well. you didn't get them preapproved." What the heck, they knew I was doing them and were alright with it, but then tell me AFTER that they had to be "preapproved". I threw a fit, and by the time I had graduated I'd done 1000 hours instead of the required 50(?).
I did learn that I was not at all into the medical field like I thought I was, so that is a plus for forced volunteering.
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CLM 4-09-2008 @ 5:36PM
I think "forced" volunteerism is perfectly fine. My parents made me volunteer at our church's soup kitchen when I was a teen. Not something I would have thought of doing on my own, but I ended up loving it and later volunteered for a meals on wheels program after I got my license. Kids can be fairly myopic and it can be a good thing to jostle their world view.
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Jenni 4-09-2008 @ 5:41PM
We had two choices: do volunteer on our own (we had to have it documented) or there was a volunteer class we could take. The class was good for those who didn't really have a volunteer interest and helped find that interest. Local buisnesses (mostly elementary schools) had different opportunities during school hours that we got to choose to go to. I volunteered in a special needs classroom for a semester. We volunteered once a week, the other four days we did classroom work discussing our experiences.
I am all for mandated volunteer experiences...if they are done the right way. As I said, my high school did it the right way. My college didn't. There we were required to complete volunteer time from a specific class. As a busy college student, this was somewhat unreasonable; especially since you had to do it at the places they specified; even if you (I was) did other volunteer time. This was also time IN ADDITION to class time, not in place of.
I think it builds a certain work and life ethic!
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the goddess anna 4-09-2008 @ 8:14PM
I, personally, am against 'forced volunteerism.' I salute those who volunteer to do volunteer work; they do so because they choose to. But forcing kids to do volunteer work is against the spirit of volunteering: not everybody enjoys giving their time/effort away against their will.
Besides, forcing a kid to labor against his/her will is not going to encourage more volunteerism in the future if the kid is not into it. In my case, it has made me very reluctant to volunteer at all.
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Jen Henry 4-09-2008 @ 9:10PM
We had this as a graduation requirement when I was in school so it's definitely not a new thing. As a previous commenter mentioned. People had the option of logging their hours individually if they were already involved in volunteer activities, OR the entire senior class (we were a small school...only 30 kids in our class!) would do volunteer activities together. Perhaps on a Saturday the senior class would rake the cemetery, pick up litter, mentor students in the elementary classrooms, deliver groceries to senior citizens etc.
I never minded it. I'm not sure about the other kids in the class though ;)
Jen
http://furoreandfrenzy.com
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SKL 4-09-2008 @ 10:43PM
There is no such thing as forced volunteerism.
Let's call it forced community service.
Basically it's a tax. If everyone is required to perform the same amount of community service work, that's fair, relevant, and educational. But it's not volunteering.
I feel it cheapens actual volunteer work.
When I was a kid (and always to this day), I did tons and tons of volunteer work, and it was never "required" by any school I attended. But if someone had told me that what I was doing was fulfilling a requirement set by someone else, it would take away the good feelings and replace them with rebellious ones. (That's the kind of kid I was, and I wasn't the only one by a long shot.) You know, kinda like I am happy to increase my donation to a 501(c)(3) charity, but I hate to hear of a tax increase in exactly the same amount, even if they say my tax money will go to support my pet volunteer project.
The blessings of volunteering are very sensitive to negativity. If you are doing something out of true love and caring, you feel good and, more importantly, the recipient feels your love coming through. If you instead have feelings of resentment, judgment, superiority, etc., the recipient of your "charity" receives your negative vibes, and is actually worse off for your act "charity." As you also are.
Forcing "volunteerism" would be like me putting my 18-month-old on an exercise regimen. I'm pretty sure she would wind up a fat couch potato if I did that. For these and other reasons, forced "volunteerism" is a bad idea.
Volunteerism can be encouraged by giving young people information, access, and time for volunteering, modeling charity and volunteer work, sharing classics and biographies that reflect the true spirit of charity, etc. Anyone who doesn't choose to volunteer despite all that shouldn't be volunteering. They are not ready to benefit from it, and some of them never will be.
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Meagan 4-09-2008 @ 10:56PM
Good distinction... and from my perspective that make it easier to support. I can't see any negatives to requiring community service, but I roll my eyes at forced "volunteering."
jes 4-10-2008 @ 1:42PM
"Forcing "volunteerism" would be like me putting my 18-month-old on an exercise regimen. I'm pretty sure she would wind up a fat couch potato if I did that. "
HUH? This doesn't make a whole lot of sense, which is uncommon for you.
SKL 4-10-2008 @ 2:30PM
Jes, I mean that my 18-month-old is in constant motion (like most her age) and gets more than enough exercise, but if I stopped her from following her heart's desire and told her she needs to instead do 20 situps, etc., she would balk and end up doing a lot less exercise than if I just let her be. Because doing the right thing in this respect comes naturally.
I feel the same is true of volunteerism. When a person is ready and has the resources, she'll naturally pursue a course of kindness and responsibility, while if you tell her she "has" to and impose external criteria, she'll balk and only do it half-assed if at all.
I noticed only half of my thought made it into my first comment. I figured it wasn't important enough to post a correction.
SKL 4-09-2008 @ 10:44PM
I want to clarify that when I said "it cheapens actual volunteer work" the "it" I was talking about was forced "volunteerism," not community service.
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W. H. Heydt 4-09-2008 @ 10:48PM
Count me on the "anti" side. If it's a requirement--it's NOT "voluntary". It smacks of the old joke about the Army, where the Seargeant says, "I need three volunteers. You, you, and you come here."
If it is going to be done, though, then they school should let just about any unpaid work count. So long as the student can come in with a note signed by an adult that they'd volunteered and done so many hours, those hours should count.
This whole idea reminds me of the time I worked for a company that--at the executive level--very gung ho about "voluntary donations" to the United Way. Decling to make a "voluntary donation" was strongly discouraged and one was asked repeatedly to do so, even if one gave solid reasons for not wishing to do so. I knew a number of people who would "agree" to pledge a "donation" just avoid the pressure, and after the campaign period (and before any deduction was taken) tell payroll to cancel the deduction.
What I think the policy of mandatory "volunteering" is doing is telling the kids that if you *have* to do it, you're not really a volunteer, and that avoiding volunteering is the way to go if you can get away with it. This does a disservice to both the kids and the organizations that need volunteers.
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isisaquaria 4-10-2008 @ 9:30AM
They have attempted this is the past at various schools, one of which I attended. When it became a requirement, my parents wrote some of the same things said here.
Volunteering is a choice and to force that choice on someone is wrong. End of discussion. My parents were quick to point out that the school wanted us to get good grades, which for some required more time and effort, the school had sports teams-which required practices, games and travel for the team, cheer, band etc. The school had a band and choir-practices and competitions. Then you add FFA and FHA, student councils, and UIL for those that have them-when are the kids allowed to be kids?
The school dropped the forced volunteering idea.
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SKL 4-10-2008 @ 11:05AM
Isis, I find it sad that, from the way it sounds in your post, a big reason for your school to drop the volunteering program was that kids were so busy doing things for their own benefit, they didn't have time to do anything for anyone else. Sad that the parents would encourage that kind of thinking.
I agree with the outcome but not that part of the rationale.
While most people I know give (time and money) within reasonable practical limits, there are those who adamantly won't give because they feel an extremely strong need to protect what they have. This is not the path to riches, either material or spiritual. The truth is, the more you give (with the right attitude), the more you get, in all respects. It takes guts to allow this to play out, but it works.
isisaquaria 4-10-2008 @ 11:28AM
Actually, the school required that every student do at least one sport related and one fine art related extra. Everyone was in either FFA or FHA, not by choice--the school forced alot on kids-remember from earlier post, my school had like 38 SRS the yr I graduated--in order to be involved in things-everyone had to do multiple things.
SKL 4-10-2008 @ 12:05PM
If my school were forcing on my kids so many "self-improvement" activities that they didn't have time to do community service (volunteer or otherwise), I would attack the school for the excess of "self-improvement" activities, not the community service requirement. An excessive focus on "being the best" does NOT build character.
jen 4-15-2008 @ 4:01PM
I attended a private catholic high school and part of the graduation requirements were a certain number of volunteer hours. Each year you had to do them and submit them to the school. It was a very good experience. One I hope that my kids will get to do one day. I think it is a good idea.
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christinedahll 4-24-2008 @ 8:26PM
While I think it's a good idea, I hesitate at making it mandatory. When I went to school it was a time where it was natural for a girl to do "candystriper" work at a hospital or nursing home. I was blessed with even being part of a group who went to a large Mental Health Hosptial in California working with babies and children as well as adults. It really was an experience that has been with me all my life. But there are so many things a child "HAS" to do as part of growing up do we need to add more "have to's"?
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