Three high school students have taken the community service requirement to court. Recent years have found to bring about the requirement of community service for high school graduation. Responses this has been a mixed bag. Sarah Sparks arguing in the article, Community Service Requirements Seen to Reduce Volunteering, that community service reduces long term volunteering. Whereas Robert Grimm and Suzanne Goldsmith, in the articles, The Health Benefits of Volunteering, and, The Community Is Their Textbook: Maryland's Experiment with Mandatory Service for Students, they argue for community service. Suzanne Goldsmith pointing out that community service builds on classroom learning, and supports those who are falling through the cracks (The Community
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Studies have shown, “…that age does matter when it comes to the positive effects of volunteering on physical and mental health,” (Grimm). Therefore, high school age student can reap the rewards of community service. These benefits help the students by preparing them for a day’s schoolwork. Moreover, students receive health benefits such as, "…lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression…”, (Grimm). General health is crucial, because it impacts both inside and outside of school. A student who is suffering from depression is going to have a harder time at school than those without. Often, this is true for life outside of school. In a job, someone who is depressed is going to have a hard time being motivated, thus may not move up or even get fired. To better prepare students for life, the community service requirement can be enacted, as their well-being contributes to whether they …show more content…
Community service takes up time that could be used for the already rigorous school requirements. However, an average teen spends 2.3 hours a day on their phones/media, and 1.4 hours a day doing leisurely activities (US Department of Health and Human Services). Since most schools require up to 25 hours a year, a student who has about 3 hours of extra time per day, could knock out their requirement in about 9 days. Thus, there is plenty of extra time to spend only an hour every other week doing community service. So, instead of wasting their time on social media, sending silly pictures, etc., teens could be doing community service, which actually makes an
Studies have shown, “…that age does matter when it comes to the positive effects of volunteering on physical and mental health,” (Grimm). Therefore, high school age student can reap the rewards of community service. These benefits help the students by preparing them for a day’s schoolwork. Moreover, students receive health benefits such as, "…lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression…”, (Grimm). General health is crucial, because it impacts both inside and outside of school. A student who is suffering from depression is going to have a harder time at school than those without. Often, this is true for life outside of school. In a job, someone who is depressed is going to have a hard time being motivated, thus may not move up or even get fired. To better prepare students for life, the community service requirement can be enacted, as their well-being contributes to whether they …show more content…
Community service takes up time that could be used for the already rigorous school requirements. However, an average teen spends 2.3 hours a day on their phones/media, and 1.4 hours a day doing leisurely activities (US Department of Health and Human Services). Since most schools require up to 25 hours a year, a student who has about 3 hours of extra time per day, could knock out their requirement in about 9 days. Thus, there is plenty of extra time to spend only an hour every other week doing community service. So, instead of wasting their time on social media, sending silly pictures, etc., teens could be doing community service, which actually makes an