Several charitable organizations in Pleasantville provide opportunities for teenagers to engage in community service. These organizations have a great need for volunteers, but in recent years, the number of teenage volunteers has significantly declined.Th

In recent years several charitable organizations in Pleasantville have seen a drop in the number of teenage volunteers. As these organizations have a great need for volunteers, the Pleasantville School Board feels they should implement a requirement of 40 hours of community service prior to graduation. Although, this is a noble concept for the school board to take on, it is not their responsibility to force their students to commit to community service.

While it is important for students to engage in community service and to understand the importance of giving back to their community, not all students can commit to this 40 hours of volunteer work. Given that 40 hours is not a lot of time in the four years of high school, it might be to students who come from poor economic background. The time that they spent volunteering could be the time that they use to work minimum wage jobs to help provide an extra income for their families.

For a school to put in kind of pressure on their students is unwise, especially to those that do not have the extra time to commit to community service. Instead of enforcing students to volunteering, the school board may want to consider adding volunteer work as an elective class that a student can take. Not only will it not take the extra time out of their day, it will also teach them the value of providing assistance to their community.

Giving the option that this can be taken as an elective, this will appeal more to students who do not wish to spend their time sitting in the classroom. The school can team up with local charities to allow students provide assistance during their last period. This will maximize the time of volunteer work and class time, because the students do not have to return to school after volunteering is over. Also, the students will have the option to extent their volunteer hours if they wished to.

The school could see this option as an on hand teaching hour, where students apply what they learn in school into real life situation. Also, this will not take the time out of improverished students after school hour. By giving students a conscious options to make, it allows them to exercise their rights to choose and teach them the value of making the right choice. I believe if given this option, many students will not hesitate to volunteer, and soon local charities will not have to worry about shortage of volunteers.