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Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high

school programmes (for example working for a charity, improving the neighbourhood or
teaching sports to younger children).
To what extent do you agree or disagree?
It has long been a priority of educational authorities to widen and improve the overall
experience of pupils. To that end, a recent suggestion has been made that children should be
involved in community service tasks such as charity work or neighbourhood improvement as a
mandatory part of their schooling. While this could be seen as a waste of school time, there
are clear benefits which can not be ignored.
It could be argued that children today do not spend enough time learning, and that
compulsory extra-curricular activities would only further decrease study time. Although
community work is important, homework and self-study time would have a more direct
benefit on the education and exam results of a child, in turn providing the opportunity for
academic advancement to university. Alternatively, this time could be spent on physical
exercise and team sports as a way of combatting the increase in free time activities which
promote laziness, such as computer-based gaming or chatting. Moreover, neighbourhood tasks
should be being undertaken by council employees, rather than being forced upon the younger
members of a community. These issues could therefore form a valid argument against the
incorporation of such activities in to school curricula.
However, the importance of children learning social values through experiencing and
contributing to community spirit should not be ignored. Charity work would teach them to
support one another in later life, and any activity related to improvement would teach them
the importance of contribution to ones own local area, thereby simultaneously discouraging
anti-social or criminal behaviour. Furthermore, becoming involved in mentoring younger
children would arguably promote a stronger sense of team spirit than merely engaging in
competitive sport with age-group segregation. Therefore, it would be an excellent idea to
consider some kind of monitored social activity to encourage personal growth in teenage
pupils.
In conclusion, while it is understandable that the idea of community service may cause
concern due to a perceived lack of educating, I strongly believe that these activities would
teach children at high school level to be more rounded as individuals, as well as better able
to positively contribute to society in later life.

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