Should community service be mandatory to graduate high school?

What do you think about it being mandated that a high school student must serve a minimum of twenty hours of community service over the course of their four years in order to be eligible to graduate?

Mandatory? No. But I do think schools should give out credit for it....and I think they do.

Marc™ wrote:Mandatory? No. But I do think schools should give out credit for it....and I think they do.

^^^This.

(pssst!....you graduate "from" high school....sorry, pet peeve)

I think it should be mandatory. I think that kids have to be creative in some instances in what venues they find, and I think that is a lesson in finding solutions and thinking outside the box. It is a good experience for them when many times they do something that they may not relate to any future career goals, but gives them a chance to see what something outside their taste is like.

Encouraged maybe, but not mandatory.

^^^^ Yep.

20 hours over 3 or 4 years is nothing. I don't think it would hurt them, so yes.

Marc wrote:Mandatory? No. But I do think schools should give out credit for it....and I think they do.

I don't think it's a bad idea, really. Everyone takes from society in some way or another, so why not teach kids that giving back sometime is the right thing to do. And 20 hours over 4 years, like Impact said, is piddly. That's five hours every year. Would it kill them?

20 hours over 4 or 5 years is nothing. I think it's a great way to get kids out and involved and contributing to society, rather than just taking from it. Even 20 hours a year would be fine.