Mandatory Volunteering In High Schools

The Need to Serve Sharon started volunteering when she was 16 years old with her church group to the Ronald McDonald House. She finally was able to understand the meaning of doing something for others that day. She has volunteered there ever since. Sharon helped care for a man who was in a terrible car accident and still keeps in touch with him. She helped him through stories, laughter, compassion, and companionship. Sharon said, “Nothing brightens my day more than to be able to make someone who’s going through something beyond my understanding smile” (“Do-Gooder, Listener, Healer”). Community service has many benefits and can help the population of America in many different ways. High schools in America need to require community service for its students to provide people with the many benefits of service, allow teenagers to give back, and to leave an

Many believe that volunteering should be by the students choice and they should not be forced into mandatory volunteering. Mandatory volunteering still has many benefits in the students’ lives as well in their academic ability. The way education should word is that the student learns the material in the classroom and then applies the skills someway in that field. This would help the students to learn more about the field they may be entering by being able to experience the career before pursuing it. Peter R. Sawyer said “We do know that any skills learned in the classroom and not readily applied to the real world will not persist. Theory and practice are tied together, a concept developed by John Dewey and one that is generally accepted by educators. It is really at the heart of service learning.” Sawyer also believes that applying the materials learned in the classroom is a very important part of learning as well as a college experience. While some people may believe that it’s important to choose to volunteer, mandatory volunteering still has many aspects that can benefit every student that is involved