In order to graduate students should be required to earn at least twenty hours of community service.
We have always been told that High School is where we start to plan out our futures, given exposure to Science, Math, History and all the other graduation requirements that are supposed to start paving that path. Where some of those futures may require learning and understanding these subjects, some may need more. Making community service a graduation requirement can be one of the greatest exposure for high school students as they start to plan for the road ahead, from forming connections with the groups or associations where they earn their hours, to receiving awards for their dedicated service times. It is also an impactful way of getting students to give back to the community.
According to an article in the New York Times by Stewart Ain, a High School senior stated “If it wasn’t mandatory, I never would have looked into doing it, But once I started, I liked it. And I have continued doing it because I realize how important it is to help other people. It has been very fulfilling for me.”
Making this transition would be fairly easy for Triton, according to Mrs. Karol, advisor of the active community service club for the school “ As it is… Triton High School, a quarter of our population is already doing thirty plus hours a year, with a minimum of eight hours per quarter to be considered an active member in the club.” Having a decently small student body, and having over 170 students actively involved in the club would make the required twenty hours an easy goal to reach.
Other members of the club believe that making that transition would also be highly beneficial for students, and achieving the twenty required hours would also be an achievable goal as starter, “Twenty hours in four years is really nothing,” said Walsh “ that’s just a few hours each year, so there’s really no excuse for people not to able to obtain twenty hours in four years.”
Walsh pointed out that the majority of the student body participated in the club and were very successful with getting their hours, “it’s the largest club in the school,” said Walsh “ students are doing it whether it’s a part of a club, NHS, for their church and some people do over 100 hours every year.”
Making community service a requirement would be beneficial in more ways than others, many neighboring schools in the area as had that requirement set and running for years and during an interview with Elizabeth Deacon, a senior from Amesbury High School, I got a minor insight on their graduation requirements, “Like every school in Massachusetts we are required four years of Math and English, said Deacon, “three years of Science, Physical Education, with the difference of 60 hours of community service compared to some schools.”
With community service requiring extra hours out of student’s days, it may also be a challenge for some if it were to become a requirement, “having to force someone to volunteer would take out the meaning out of it,” said Triton senior Reaghan DeLisi, “and there are students who already don’t want to be in school it would just be harder on advisors, having to chase after them to get it done.”
“There are also three season student athletes and students with after school jobs,” said DeLisi, “ or students who do both and it can be challenging for them to figure out a time to fit those extra hours in.”
Setting a community service requirement for students here at Triton should definitely be taken into consideration, after all school is a place to learn and where giving may be natural for some, for others it is something that maybe needs to be taught.
