Are mandatory volunteer hours to graduate highschool a good idea or bad?

Question

To graduate highschool at my public highschool you had to do 40 volunteer hours. I didn't well over 40 and did 200 and got a bursary for university. I think it's a good idea to get teens involved but others have disagreed

Accepted Answer

I'm not a fan. If people are only volunteering to meet a requirement, they're in my way while I'm trying to do my actual job. 
I'd rather see it promoted with volunteer fairs and the like to encourage students to get involved with something they actually care about.

Answer

it sounds good in theory, but I don't like it because it's not really fair to students who have to work 40+ hours per week so that their family can have food on the table. 
I think making lots of volunteer opportunities for students and encouraging students to volunteer is a better idea.

Answer

I don't think so, when I was that age (I think you mean around 16?) I worked Saturdays and Sunday, was at school Monday- Friday and also cared for my grandparents, there's no way I'd have had enough time. People have different commitments, it's a lovely idea but very inconvenient for some

Answer

It's not really volunteering if they're forced to do it. If they're only doing it because they HAVE to, and not because they want to, then that defeats the entire purpose. However, I think it's a good opportunity for kids to help in their communities whenever they can. I'm a high school teacher and I find a lot of my kids think "community service" is a negative thing. They don't realize people do it outside of a court mandate. I think they should all experience the joy of helping others at some point during high school and hopefully one day become citizen leaders.

Answer

Mmmm I don't think something like that should be mandatory. It'll make people half ass and get in the way of people who actually enjoy/want to volunteer.

Answer

My high school we had to do 30 hours of community service & 20 hours of school service along with an internship in our dream job field, and a senior project on a topic we're interested with a mentor, along with a portfolio with our resume, letters of recommendation, blog posts about things we learned, etc. I'd say it was a lot but that's what the school is known for, if it were just a requirement at every single high school I'd say it'd be too much because you're not giving them a chance to choose.

Answer

No. If it's not even directly related to something they're choosing to study, absolutely not. You don't know how much some people are already struggling to get through highschool, many kids have responsibilities at home, some that can take up nearly all of their free time, and hell even if they don't? Who cares? They're teens, why not let them relax when they get home if that's what they need. Especially kids doing a uni pathway, they have enough damn homework as it is without compulsory volunteering taking up their time. I mean in highschool I would've just been too bloody depressed to go and do something like that after school so 😂 no thanks? It's not volunteering if you're forced to do it anyway.

Answer

The requirement for hours at my school is what got me into animal rescue. I am now a lot meow heavily involved since I'm an adult with my own home. But doing volunteer because I was required is where I found my passion for animals.
I ended up getting over 500 hours of volunteer work in high school

Answer

It's not volunteering if you're forced to do it to graduate.

Answer

I think some encouragement is great, but requiring it...rubs me the wrong way. I don't really know why though.

Are mandatory volunteer hours to graduate highschool a good idea or bad?

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