Community Service As a Graduation Requirement Essay Text

Jonathan Friesen - Writing Coach

Community service as a graduation requirement a wise person once said, if you light a lamp for someone else, it will also brighten your path. This particular quote has helped me realize that not enough teenagers are helping their community become a more desirable place to live. Implementing community service into the senior project outline as a requirement would ultimately benefit the students and the community. Not only will the students become more aware of the activities that occur in their community, but they will also have a greater sense of self. Many volunteer for the joy of helping others, and some volunteer to seek career opportunities.

Simply volunteering at a place that is related to the career one is interested in will help him determine whether that career is suited for him. Bill jensen, superintendent of curriculum for bartholomew consolidated school corporation, agrees with community service being connected to career choices and provides examples. We’ve seen students that have gone in to help at the hospital and all of a sudden see that the job is something they are really passionate about. Then we see some students that volunteer at the animal shelter and they find that they would never be able to euthanize an animal, so they have to consider finding a different career jensen. Selecting a career is challenging enough, let alone discovering that the career one chose was not the best and having to choose another. Volunteering provides teens with opportunities outside of finding a career that gives them the necessary skills to help them survive the real world. Students will gain knowledge from volunteering that will lead to increasing their communication and interpersonal skills keeler.

It can also help with the confidence of stretching one's wings at work, because he or she has already been taught the necessary skills for that job. Community service would be in the best interest for the students that are seniors in high school, so that they have time to commit to a career before going to college and spending time and money on classes that are not necessary. Meeting new people while participating in community service can help students build a network of individuals who could be valuable resources when deciding a future career. The greater number of people one comes in contact with will increase the possibilities of making a productive contact. Anytime you step out of your comfort zone, you are going to grow as an individual, says mark newell, principal of columbus east high school newell.

While some people are naturally outgoing, others have a hard time meeting new people. Meeting with people on a regular basis that posses the same interests can help with developing social skills _. Finding the confidence within oneself to reach out to different groups will allow a better understanding of the numerous cultures that are present in the community. The diversity in american communities impacts americans’ perception of the world. Americans can observe the countless actions of people from different cultures that differentiate them from the american culture. Since each and every person is unique, americans are taught at a young age not to judge others. Not one person is the same, whether it is the customs between cultures, or just simply looks and personalities.

Each culture has a different way of communicating, and community service can help a person develop the skills to be able to communicate with someone outside of his culture. Finding ways to interpret language into a relatively easy way of understanding is difficult, but it also challenges critical thinking and problem solving skills. People often tend to only think deeply about the issues that involve them, are important to them, or that they are. Several school districts throughout the country are requiring students to complete a certain amount of community service during their own personal time before they graduate high school.

Those who support this program feel that this will help students both to prepare for future jobs and to assist in their communities. However, those who oppose these programs feel that high school students are too busy to complete these requirements and that their spare time is better used pursuing their own interests. Do you feel that it is beneficial to high school students to complete required community service as a requirement for graduation? high school students often have many things going on in their lives. However, we must understand that learning does not only happen within a classroom and knowledge does not come exclusively from books. There are many people who have high levels of intelligence but can barely function within society. Among the many important lessons that we take from high school, i feel that adding a requirement of helping those within our community will benefit students by teaching compassion, providing hands on interactions and helping them to see the consequences of actions taken in one’s youth. It is quite another to travel to a third world nation and look into the eyes of a dying child.

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Most people may understand that there are underprivileged people in the world, but being able to help those in need will provide a whole new level of understanding to students who may still be naive of the ways of the world. Some people may think that students already have too much to do without adding other requirements, but i feel that community service will put everything in perspective for teenagers. Unfortunately, there are many selfish people in the world, and high school is no exception.

By requiring community service, young people can learn that it is quite easy to become the person in need of assistance. They will learn to appreciate the things that they have in life and understanding ways that they can help the world become a better place. One of the main reasons that young people feel frustrated with school is because they feel that their education has no real world application. A person who feels that science is irrelevant can assist in an animal shelter and observe the work of a veterinarian.

A person who feels that reading is useless can help new immigrants learn the english that they need to function in society. By working hands on with people in the community, students can turn the abstract ideas they learn in school to real life skills. Many students may even find their calling through these community service activities. They may not make the connection between their actions now and how they will impact the future.

Students that take part in risky behaviors may be ‘scared straight’ by visiting and assisting in homeless shelters with recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. Students who are considering dropping out of school can talk to unemployed people who wish they had a second chance at getting an education. By seeing the hardships that could be their own future, students can learn the importance of working hard in school and avoiding risky and inappropriate behaviors. The world is much larger than high school, although many young people may have trouble seeing that while caught up in events such as graduation and prom. Young people need to get out in the world and get their hands a little dirty in order to learn all of the lessons they will need to become successful and well rounded adults. Completing community service will give students the perspective that they need to truly achieve a complete education. I think that students should be required to do a community service project before they graduate.

Besides their graduation project, i think that it would be great to see students give back to the community. They could clean up roadsides, help out at the humane society, or help raise money for a good cause like breast cancer research there are a lot of things that a student could do. I also think that it can give the students good work ethics even though they won't receive money for the good things that they do. It might even give them a glimpse of what they might want to do with their lives. Community service should absolutely be necessary in order to graduate high school. Most students already do community service outside of school or for school related functions so getting it done would not pose a significant problem.