Forced Volunteerism In Schools

On December 6,1865,President Lincoln abated slavery stating that all slaves would be freed and no longer be forced to work for no reward. In our own country today, however, many students across the nation are being forced to do just that,work for no reward. In the article “Required Volunteerism;School Program Tested” by Michael Winerip, It shows that in just two schools alone,175 students are at risk of not graduating because they did not give in to the volunteer program. Didn’t we learn from our mistakes; just because we changed the name, doesn’t mean we changed the game! Volunteering is to go out of your way to help others, but this is just doing what’s required,and therefore, the practice of making kids volunteer for a grade should be stopped.

Ten’s of thousands of kids every year are forced to get a glimpse of what it feels like to be a slave. “175 seniors at… LIberty and Freedom High may not graduate next June because they have failed to enroll in the mandatory… community service program” (Winerip 1). It is unconstitutional to force kids to volunteer. Also, not completing the volunteering should not affect whether or not you graduate. For example “David scored 780 …show more content…
A volunteer is “a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task”(Oxford Dictionary). Freely, is the key word. That is because it is just work and they are not really volunteering. When you take away the freely, you have forced labor. If a student freely chooses to volunteer for extra credit, that’s okay. If it is for a grade, I don't think it is okay because it’s basically modern day slavery. Volunteering is to go out of your way to help others, but this is just doing what’s required,and therefore, the practice of making kids volunteer for a grade should be stopped.Forced volunteering needs to change. Just because you change the name doesn't mean you have changed the