Mandated Community Service: A Needed Part of the Modern Curriculum

Over the past ten years, countless school districts across the country have instituted programs that require each student to complete a predetermined number of community services hours to meet graduation requirements. The experiences, generally selected from a list generated and deemed safe and appropriate by the individual school district, must occur after school, on the weekends, or during summer vacations, and each student must document and reflect upon the value of the service in writing.

Some critics, however, argue that forcing a teenage student to enter into an agreement he wishes not to exists as an unconstitutional action that defies basic human rights and can, in a way, represent a detriment to the individual student. Opponents believe that the Thirteenth Amendment, which prohibits involuntary servitude, disallows districts from "enslaving" students. They continue to make the case that if a student must partake in an activity outside the school environment, especially one that he feels disinclined to perform, he must receive compensation for his efforts and time invested.

However, despite staunch opposition and heavy legal involvement, courts have dismissed the claims and upheld a school district's right to fabricate and impose such programs. In The Constitutionality of Mandatory Community Service Programs in Public Schools, Scott Minden recounts courts on multiple levels found that for a district to violate the constitutionality of the amendment they would have to physically or legally punish the students who refused to participate. Because no such punitive arrangements have surfaced, and because students who feel the available list from which to choose is insufficient can, in fact, design their own service opportunity, the idea of mandatory volunteerism has started to entrench itself in American education.

Although oxymoronic on the surface, mandated volunteering holds a significant place in the high school curriculum. While the rare student, who has instilled in him the need to serve and give, already offers personal time to hospitals, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc., the majority of current teenage students do not actively engage themselves in their community. Whether they simply have no interest in helping others, or they have such a busy lifestyle between academics, extracurriculars, and familial responsibilities, an overwhelming majority of current high school students can do more to better the community that supports them.

Unfortunately, many students do not understand the need for the service, nor do they recognize just how many avenues exist for them to follow. A school-based program would not only help students to see the direct need for volunteering, done through discussion sessions, presentations, and guidance departments, but it would also provide them with a listing of quality organizations that need assistance. Thus, it is quite possible that the mere existence of an established program could motivate reluctant or ill-informed teenagers to get involved. The mandate that surrounds it only opens doors to people who would not have bothered to open them had the requirement not been present. While understanding that not all students will fall in love with the idea, a strong general assumption is that many will extract a significant amount of personal gain, and, as a result, begin to perceive the service as beneficial rather than cumbersome.

The number of intrinsic individual rewards that volunteer programs offer seems endless, all of which can enhance a teenager's life. Students, who invest themselves in a program, getting to know others on personal levels and developing relationships they would never have thought to take on, will begin to take on a far greater sense of pride and self-worth. The enhancement of self-esteem plays a vital role in the overall development of a student; therefore, any educational opportunity that encourages a student to push himself in new ways and to broaden his sense and understanding of life and its intricacies can only benefit him in the long run. Most high school mission statements revolve around not only academics, but also the creation of people who are fully prepared to enter the world as quality, capable citizens. Therefore, if the school wishes to fully succeed in its said goal, it must provide its students with the chances to become strong, involved people.

Furthermore, in a results-oriented academic arena that the national high school scene has morphed into, with No Child Left Behind and standardized scores ruling virtually every decision made on curriculum and instruction, the idea of educating a child's character has seemingly become an invisible need. With countless students from broken and disturbed homes, the school system often takes on the role of the primary instiller of morals and values, so infusing a community service program can aid the district in making young people more aware of what a good person should be. Communities must begin to understand that the education of a student does not end with content information, but rather it must include an acute awareness of the world and its needs, and there exists no better place to begin that for a young person than in his own hometown environment.

In addition to the individual student, the school itself stands to benefit from having its clients involved in philanthropic tasks. As part of countless high school accreditation evaluations, many suggestions for improvement revolve around the increased need for a better bridge between the community and the school. Some schools have tackled this issue by developing internship programs or child care facilities, both of which offer serious merit in terms of accomplishing an alternative form of education while at the same time injecting the school's goals into the community.

Likewise, mandating that all students complete a stint of service within the borders of the community will strengthen the bond between the generations living within the town or city. Common perception sometimes presents our country's youth as uninvolved and less serious, but this type of program will encourage the real kindness and generosity these kids have to come out, which, in turn, will permit those adults in the community to see them in a far different way. Meshing the old and the young within a community can generate a sense of cohesion, a rebirth in the belief of humanity's kindness, and a mutual appreciation for one another. Thus, in the end, the school itself will become a more viable place for the community.

The community, in the same way as the individual student and the school, can profit greatly. Rather than relying solely upon those same volunteers and organizations for virtually all of its extra needs, the city or town can now inject new participants into programs or projects. Community leaders can work in concert with school administration and guidance to address concerns and how volunteers from the school can help. Under-funded or discarded programs will receive new life, and existing jobs will be strengthened. Also, if students have the chance to voice their opinions about community concerns and needs, they will have a vested interest in participating and seeing their visions come to fruition.

In the end, opponents to such a program will say it is unconstitutional, or they will make claims about the sheer difficulty of aligning such a massive undertaking. They may even say that it goes against the true purpose of the public school and that imposing character-based activities oversteps the bounds of the educational system and invades the family. For whatever reason, however, these are nothing but excuses. If a strong school system elects to make this a cornerstone of its educational philosophy, then any issue can be overcome. The nation's youth need a reason to get involved, and if mandating it as part of a graduation requirement is the only way to get most of them to become better people, then so be it. Schools are told repeatedly to hold students to highest of academic standards, so why can we not do the same when it comes to being quality people? A community needs its youth, and the youth need their community. There is no better way to create, nurture, and develop that link than to have a mandated volunteerism program as part of the everyday curriculum.