Thank you. Your post speaks volumes when students in this country are now less likely to graduate than their parents. Shouldn't we worry about closing the educational gaps in our system, stop promoting those who don't deserve to go to the next grade, and ensure that students actually receive a viable education so that when they graduate they can do more than work the fry machine at the local burger joint?

I really would like it if politicians would actually collaborate and listen to educators and couselors instead of making new crap up when we still haven't gotten everyone up to snuff.

I also agree with Soror AKA_Monet. Some folks in here are making it seem as though community service is the worst thing in the world!

I think that community service should be mandatory and I think that there is a great need for it in almost every community. I'm not sure where most of you grew up, but I know that there is a need for a lot of help within the community where I'm from. As long as there are people in need in this country, there will always be room for volunteers. Soup kitchens, Habitat for Humanity, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. They could even spend an extra hour at school twice a week and plant flowers, scrape gum off of desks, clean graffiti off lockers, and other things that can help beautify. There is ALWAYS something to be done.

Yes, teens lie, but that's why there should be (and probably will be) a system of checks and balances. It's very simple to contact the org. that the student alleges he/she spent time with and find out. Hell, I'd sign up for that job in the Obama administration! (I'm sure there was at least one person that's asking "Who's really going to do that?") I'd be a phone-calling, fact-checking chica! If our (MINE included) tax dollars are going toward funding something and it would take me volunteering my time to check up on some other folks, I'd do it.

Lastly, while I understand that someone stated more time should be dedicated to helping students improve grades (and I agree with the sentiment), I also think that community service will serve to help with the problem also. Students may have to opportunity to volunteer with people and orgs. that will help them see life from a different perspective. For me, volunteering on campaigns helped me to gain focus in pursuing a career in law and (eventually) politics. Students can volunteer at vets, reading academies, libraries, hospitals, etc. and gain more insight into what it takes to pursue their dream careers. They may be around positive role models that they might not otherwise have the opportunity to see.

^^^Veterans alone need help. I was told by a worker at the VA saying they are severely understaffed and other veterans from previous wars are aging and need more assistance... And let us not forget about the mental health debilitation these vets face.

Personally, if they serve this country and fight for it, they DESERVE to get all the healthcare they need!!!

I just remembered another program that our schools do. The marching band students who choose to can do kindergarten mentoring. They are trained in how to handle the kids, how to read to them, how to do crafts with them, etc. and meet with their kindergarteners once a week after school to serve as their mentors. It's fun for the high school kids and fun for the 5 year olds. My daughter is doing that this year too.

Logistical nightmare? Please. The school were I previously taught had around 3,000 kids. All managed to complete their 50 hours easily and it was far from a logistical nightmare. Heres how it went: Kids get paper. Kids have paper signed by person supervising their community service hours. Kids hand in paper to homeroom teacher. Homeroom teacher enters into a spreadsheet. Community service representative for the grade level removed the kid's name from the list when service was complete. Done.

Currently, I'm teaching in a international baccalaureate school and part of the program requires kids to do 150 hours of CAS (creativity, action, service) over two years. There are only 300 kids in the program, but the same basic method as above applies. No problems.

Community service is great for kids, particuarly those who are high risk. I can't even count the number of kids who were on their way to dropping out, joining gangs, or worse who after their required "forced labor" turned their lives around and became productive students and members of society.

Encouraging people to volunteer is one thing. Requiring it is another story. Many of us (raises hand) are just not that good at locating and finding the places to volunteer at. There may be a transportation issue. Or a family issue. It is probably easier here in the USA, but in my old hometown it would have been a complete and total nightmare. I remember in my secondary school there was an excess of tutors and a dearth of pupils. I remember how tough it was at times to complete hours. I remember one time they called me wanting to get me to volunteer at the girls orphanage- I was home alone and there were no cars (nor did I have a license), yet they persisted. Another time they wanted me to cancel a dental appointment with little notice so that I could attend some service project- I said no.

This whole idea just makes me shudder. I'm pretty sure it would go smoother here where I now live given the opportunities- but back there given people's attitudes and the bureaucracy and disorganization and rampant nepotism, it would have been a complete and total catastrophe.

I believe the people here who are against mandatory community service don’t think it’s a bad thing (otherwise I don’t think they’d be Greek!). Personally, I don’t think that it should be MANDATORY right now when there haven’t been any mass efforts to include community service in the national educational system up to this point. And while it might be completely feasible for one community to have programs like this, for another, the schools have books that haven’t been updated since the first President Bush was in office. Why put money toward an extra program when they’re not even up-to-date with the basics?

If you want to include community service in the process of learning, why not have community service-based field trips? Food drives? Small daily contributions from students to a local charity? A “buddy system” where freshmen are paired with upperclassmen who guide them through their first year at school?

Some students have so many extra-curriculars that they already have too much going on. Some students aren’t able to venture too far from home after school because of transportation issues. Some students are already too unmotivated to do school work. There are numerous reasons why making community service mandatory on a national level might not be the best idea right now.

And if you really want to get technical, the national government can’t make programs like this mandatory. They shouldn’t have a hand in education at all, but that’s a different argument for another day.

If you want to provide the option and offer incentives, I think that sounds like a marvelous idea. With the ‘$4000/100 hours community service’ program, you could also offer this to high school students in order to help them pay for college. Or you could have a plan where 100 hours in high school will get you $3000, and an additional 50 hours in college will get you another $1000. Whatever it happens to be, it doesn’t much matter… it should be an OPTION.

Because I know that I’d probably be one of those extremely busy high school kids adding on a few extra hours for each activity I did, since I can pretty much guarantee that there wouldn’t be a whole lot of people like RedefinedDiva to check up on my progress.

Which is why a lot of juvenile rehabilitation/correction programs use community service in this manner. The best way to learn responsibility is to be responsible for someone else (I may have posted this before...can't remember).

That's where the schools come in. As I stated previously, students can dedicate hours to helping to beautify the campus. High school students can also volunteer at the primary/elementary school(s) in the area to help with reading, cleaning, after-school care, etc. Students can also help their elderly/disabled neighbors care for their lawns, fold clothes, carrying groceries, etc.

There are SEVERAL things that can be considered community service which would not require travel outside of the neighborhood or school district.

I agree, and especially like what's bolded. I wish people would just stop with all the beating around the bush and say what's really on their minds. This passive aggressive crap is for the birds, especially when everybody knows what's really being said, anyway. :rolleyes:

That doesn't mean he flip flopped. The first draft could have been put up prematurely before it was given final approval, or something. Geez, some of you act like Obama doesn't have people (who make mistakes) working for him. He's not doing all of this stuff himself. Get real. Please.

That was hilarious!!

Accounts Receivable (black guy): You're gonna have to wear a dashiki now. Do you know what a dashiki is?
Accounts Payable (white guy): Some kind of weird mustache (crying)
Accounts Receivable: Yeah, whatever scares you the most.

I agree with you, but unfortunately that's not the case in practice. In order for Veterans to get health care via the VA, they have to have served for at least 24 months. I served for over a year in the military before I had to be discharged, and even though I got an Honorable Discharge and was never in trouble, because I didn't make it 24 months, I can't be seen at the VA hospitals or clinics.

Besides getting to use the GI Bill funds I'd paid into that system up until I got out (which wasn't much money), I have not received any other benefit from my military service. Not a thing because of the 24 month rule. Basically, the time I served counts for nothing and my contribution means nothing because it fell short of some arbitrary number. It's ironic that I saw this thread and am posting on Veteran's Day. :cool:

Pay her no attention. She's still a little upset because a house fell on her sister.

You always have the best lines! LOL :D