Pro/Con: Should Student Service Learning Hours Be Mandatory

Many schools require students to participate in community service, but I think this is a good idea. Many schools do not require students to volunteer in community service. I agree that students should have to volunteer to graduate. I think that students should be forced to volunteer for community service sometime in their high school career as it makes people work and shows them what work really is. It also gets people off there lazy tail.

High school administrations care about the well being of their students. They aim to guide the students in a way that will prepare them for the future ahead of each student. Thus administrations of high school have certain requirements that students must finish before graduating. There is one requirement that is commonly debated by high school administration and students, this topic being community service. Community service should not be required in order to graduate from high school since forcing students to volunteer leads to false information on their records, forcing students to do so does not mean that they will continue doing community service after they graduate, and it does not mean the student will mature.

In "Serve or Fail," Dave Eggers argues that college should consider instituting a service requirement for graduation. Eggers gives us some purpose of college education to link with volunteering that help students getting beneficial effects. He gave some good points in terms of helping others out. He explains that college is too short to sit back and become the best foosball player and waste your time with no commitments to any after school obligations, etc. I think that everyone should be able to give some of their time to volunteer and put a smile on someone's face because they think that you care. I find Dave Eggers writing “Serve or Fail” very persuasive for the following reasons.

Although community service is a great way to give back to the community, it has been tainted by its use as a requirement for high school graduates. Forcing volunteer work should be recognized for more than just a bare minimum, is unfair to those who have other obligations and provides no lasting benefit to the students. Many people and schools believe that making community service not optional for receiving a diploma could only benefit the students it’s required of but in a way it’s more harmful than helpful.

Community service is about helping people who are in need. we should pick if we want to help, not be forced to do it because we need it to graduate. That is not the point of helping people. Community service takes a lot of time. Students already have to much to do. Community service will take time away form more important things. Although some people have argued that community service should be required, closer examination will show that it should be the students choice and students all ready have enough things to do. High schools should not require community service to graduate.

Students should not be required to complete 100 hours of community service to graduate high school for many reasons. Some of which include the lack of extra free time, inability to go somewhere, and the potential to have a higher dropout rate.

Many high schools around the country have made community service hours mandatory in order for the seniors to graduate. Not everyone agrees that this should be a requirement because seniors already have enough on their plate. When seniors are about to graduate, it does not matter how many tasks they have to complete as a requirement if they do not feel like doing it and they have no motivation they will not complete

A continuous debate that is currently receiving much attention is whether community service should be a mandatory graduation requirement. Preparing students to effectively function in the real world is an important aspect of our education system. Today more than ever, there is an emphasis on having experience before beginning work. Most jobs are now focused on looking past your resume to see what you have given back to the community. Nevertheless, it is important that schools focus on preparing college students for the work force by mandating that they receive all of the necessary exposure and experience. Numerous schools across the country have mandated that in order for their students to graduate, they must complete a predetermined amount of community service. In Maryland, high school students are required to complete a minimum of 75 hours of service in order to graduate. However, this decision has resulted in a lot of mixed responses. Advocates of this decision stress that mandatory community service opens doors for students, while the opponents feel that it takes away valuable time from students who need to focus on their education. I believe that gaining experience outside of school is critical for future success in life. To ensure that students are prepared to transition smoothly from school to work, they need to be involved with the community while in school in order to build the leadership skills that are necessary to succeed.

Should community service be a requirement to graduate high school ? While many high schools have made it mandatory to complete a certain amount of community service hours, many high schools don’t find it necessary and put it as optional. Students may find it as absurd or completely unnecessary to complete their community service hours while others find it rewarding. In my opinion, I don’t believe having a certain amount of community service hours should be a requirement to graduate high school.

My high school requires twenty-five service hours each year of high school in order to graduate, plus an additional fifteen to be involved in National Honor Society. While this may make all of the community services I have participated in sound like a mere school requirement, it is actually the complete opposite of that. Without those school requirements, I am not sure how involved I would be in my community. But due to them, I am always involved in some way.

Community service is not required in most colleges or universities. Volunteer work is a great way to help out the community, but many students already have a lot on their plates if they want to graduate on time. Many students do not have enough time due to the countless hours doing excessive school work. Many colleges give students enough requirements in order to graduate, and requiring students to do 50 hours of volunteer work is pushing it. Many students have lives outside of school that comes first. Some students have jobs that take up most of their time before or after school, which gives them not enough time to do their school work. Some students have families at home that are more important. Some students are in clubs and sports. Requiring students to serve would just take away from their achievements in other areas. A lot of time is taken away from them because of extra requirements. Louisiana College should not require 50 hours of community service in order for students to graduate.

“Community Service is important for many reasons. Taking part and volunteering teaches compassion and understanding. You can volunteer for something you really believe and have an interest in, and can volunteer as much or as little as you'd like or have time for.” Community service is really easy to get into. I mean, it is not like you have to put out an application and have an interview in order to do it. It is really easy to get into, and is really fun. It is things you wouldn’t even think are considered, like:

Having to plan throughout the years of High School when and how you are going to get community service hours in can be very stressful in many ways. High School is when people really start buckling down and making sure to get everything done, from homework to studying for big tests. Being forced to do the extra three hours or so of work everyday could build a great deal of stress for students by taking away the time to do those things. It could also cut into the time to ready for the upcoming sports that many students take part in.

As an 18-year-old tennager, I was forced by my parents to participate a summer volunteer program in my freshman year. Even though I felt that I was a victim of “tyranny” in the beginning, I realized that I actually enjoyed the process of helping people in the middle of the program. Now, I participate that program every year as an active member, and I have gained the personal enrichment that I am unable to learn from other sources such as math club or SAT preparatory class. There is no doubt that community service can bring essential benefits in helping students develop their moral value and future interest, and it should be mandatory because some students attempt to utilize community service as a tool for their own profit without the school supervision.

Nowadays, it is very difficult to get a job without a College Diploma. Our ever-increasing demands on student’s academic performances have insured well-educated adults, but what we have failed to focus on is the vital component of volunteerism as an integral part of rearing well-rounded adults. College students should be required to complete a year of community service/volunteer work before they can graduate, in order to create mature and caring adults and versatile future leaders. By mandating all College students across the United States of America to add another year to their studies and use this year for community service/volunteer work only, we will be able to increase their knowledge of community need, civic responsibility, and allow