government mandated slavery

[ASTalumna06]

I can't see community service as a mandatory requirement for graduation at high schools across the country being a good idea... at least not right now.

I went to a public high school. At the time, it was the only one in a city of close to 100,000 people. We were hovering at around 3,500 students, and that didn't even include the 9th grade (as there was no room for more students in the building).

I started my freshmen year (still in the junior high, but considered my first year of high school) with a class of approximately 1200 students. By the time I was nearing the end of my senior year, we had just under 900 students. On graduation day, there were about 600 students present.

There is already a ridiculously high number of students in this country that don't graduate. Why not focus on encouraging them to do better in school, instead of making it mandatory that everyone do extra work on top of classes and homework?

Personally, I would much rather have my taxes go toward things like new books, more counselors, and programs to assist those who need help in raising their grades.

To start, I think that community service should simply be MENTIONED to middle school and high school students. I know that I never volunteered until one of my teachers in high school talked about a program called Penny Pickers, a locally run community service project. Three of my friends and I signed up and participated. But I probably never would have done it otherwise.

The point is, to make this mandatory when the majority of the schools in this country don't even make it a point to offer any community service ideas or opportunities to students, seems like a pretty big jump.

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I can't see community service as a mandatory requirement for graduation at high schools across the country being a good idea... at least not right now.

I went to a public high school. At the time, it was the only one in a city of close to 100,000 people. We were hovering at around 3,500 students, and that didn't even include the 9th grade (as there was no room for more students in the building).

I started my freshmen year (still in the junior high, but considered my first year of high school) with a class of approximately 1200 students. By the time I was nearing the end of my senior year, we had just under 900 students. On graduation day, there were about 600 students present.

There is already a ridiculously high number of students in this country that don't graduate. Why not focus on encouraging them to do better in school, instead of making it mandatory that everyone do extra work on top of classes and homework?

Personally, I would much rather have my taxes go toward things like new books, more counselors, and programs to assist those who need help in raising their grades.

To start, I think that community service should simply be MENTIONED to middle school and high school students. I know that I never volunteered until one of my teachers in high school talked about a program called Penny Pickers, a locally run community service project. Three of my friends and I signed up and participated. But I probably never would have done it otherwise.

The point is, to make this mandatory when the majority of the schools in this country don't even make it a point to offer any community service ideas or opportunities to students, seems like a pretty big jump.

Did you hear about programs that are paying students to get better grades....?

http://www.cbs46.com/news/15116950/d...=lnta&psp=news

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Did you hear about programs that are paying students to get better grades....?

www.cbs46.com/news/15116950/detail.html?rss=lnta&psp=news

Um.. yea.. I don't know about all that.

But take my brother, for instance. Growing up, he hated school. HATED it. He would lie any which way he could so that he wouldn't have to go. When he was there, he wouldn't pay attention. Homework was rarely done, and to see him study would be a very rare occurrence (if it happened at all).

But he's not a dumb kid by any means.

In his junior year of high school, he looked into joining the military. He requested information and took the basic entrance exam. He told my parents that's what he wanted to do, and he dropped out of school. He also never joined the military. He worked as a front-end manager at a grocery store, and then he worked at Wendy's. After two years, he kind of realized that there wasn't much else he could do beyond that with the limited education that he had. Basically, it was a huge wake up call for him.

He eventually got his GED, and he enrolled in community college. He's been there for two years now, and he's been on the Dean's List every semester. He studies all the time, and asks his girlfriend for help when he needs it. This January, he's starting at UMass.

There are a ridiculous amount of students that fall through the cracks because nobody takes the time to talk with them and make them realize how important school truly is. Paying them doesn't help the cause, but making them understand their potential does. Also, with the way some schools in this country are falling apart, I'd rather put money into those communities so that the basic education that is happening everywhere else, can be provided to everyone.

[AOII_LB93]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

I can't see community service as a mandatory requirement for graduation at high schools across the country being a good idea... at least not right now.

I went to a public high school. At the time, it was the only one in a city of close to 100,000 people. We were hovering at around 3,500 students, and that didn't even include the 9th grade (as there was no room for more students in the building).

I started my freshmen year (still in the junior high, but considered my first year of high school) with a class of approximately 1200 students. By the time I was nearing the end of my senior year, we had just under 900 students. On graduation day, there were about 600 students present.

There is already a ridiculously high number of students in this country that don't graduate. Why not focus on encouraging them to do better in school, instead of making it mandatory that everyone do extra work on top of classes and homework?

Personally, I would much rather have my taxes go toward things like new books, more counselors, and programs to assist those who need help in raising their grades.

To start, I think that community service should simply be MENTIONED to middle school and high school students. I know that I never volunteered until one of my teachers in high school talked about a program called Penny Pickers, a locally run community service project. Three of my friends and I signed up and participated. But I probably never would have done it otherwise.

The point is, to make this mandatory when the majority of the schools in this country don't even make it a point to offer any community service ideas or opportunities to students, seems like a pretty big jump.

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.