IndexIntroductionWhy Community Service Shouldn't Be MandatoryMy ProposalWorks CitedIntroductionComing into high school I believed I would be more involved through school spirit and helping the community through joining more clubs; however, this was not the case when I participated in multiple extracurriculars and Advance Placement. Although I have been absent in regards to community participation, I continue to understand and appreciate the importance of community service. Community service during high school was an important aspect towards success and developing good character. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay There are often correlations between involvement within the community and even success in college. Many people like me in high school don't participate in clubs that help our community, so people question the structure and ideology of community service, wanting it to be mandatory for all high school students. A system of mandatory community service for high school students will only destroy its purpose, essentially forcing young people into compulsory labor and demoralizing students from community service. Why Community Service Should Not Be Mandatory The only intention of community service in our current generation is to volunteer out of our own will and help the community because we want it. Reforming our school system and making community service mandatory would only alter the way we look at it and defeat its purpose. Authors Arthur Stukas, Mark Snyder, and Gil Clary elaborate on the influence of mandatory volunteering and the effects of implementing a mandatory system. “Two studies suggest that community service requirements can have negative effects on students; intentions to volunteer freely". In essence, the authors argue that community service requirements will only create a bad image of community service for high school students. The purpose of community service is to show your leadership as an individual and express your passion for helping the community and those in need. This is why the value of community service is so high for people who dedicate their time to helping the community. When a mandatory system is implemented, it has no value because people are forced to help the community. There is no way to distinguish between those who want to help and those who are forced to help. Therefore community service and volunteering will be devalued and worsen in quality. Many argue that the reason for community service is to help the community and it is not about the benefits that come from it. Our current generation and society has sculpted the way we look at community service because of the importance of universities. Because of the stall in academic success across the nation, colleges see involvement in clubs and dedication to helping one's community as a way to show one's leadership as an individual. If we were to mandate community service for all high school students, this would be just another traffic jam, making it harder for colleges to choose among students. More importantly, it also reduces the amount of participation for the community because its value has decreased. By implementing reforms and making community service mandatory, you not only devalue community servicecommunity, but it also prevents students from wanting to help our community. When we as individuals volunteer and help with our free will, it makes it more special and encourages us to continue. However, being forced to do something will only make us want to stop and we won't like it. The same psychological principle also applies to community service. Over 60% of students are unfavorable to the idea of ​​requiring community service. Since high school students are between the ages of 15 and 17, if they have an unfavorable attitude towards community service, they will not do their best. With a bad community service experience in the beginning, they will only be demoralized from serving the community in the future. Instead of creating a system of mandatory community service, we should simply keep the system as it is and let students have access to community service through their own efforts. There are many reasons why people cannot participate in community service, so we should respect their decisions and not impose them on them. If requirements for community service were to be enacted, it would only cause people to fight the system and neglect community service. The main reason why people have proposed the idea of ​​outsourcing the service to the community is because many individuals are not exposed to it. Although some high school students would be grateful to have experienced the joy of helping the community, the loss of value of community service prevails. the value of helping students gain experience. If community service were to become mandatory, high school students would not experience the joy and satisfaction of helping their community because they are forced to, rather than wanting to. This will only increase the number of students who despise community service. because it is mandatory, but also because they have no emotional rewards for completing such tasks. The best way to prolong the ideology of community service is to make it optional rather than mandatory. By creating a mandatory community service system, it would defeat the purpose of community service and also demoralize individuals from wanting to participate in helping the community. Furthermore, if we make community service mandatory, it essentially becomes a form of compulsory labor. If we created requirements for community service, the ideology of community service would date back to the mid-1900s. Instead of getting the satisfaction of helping our nation, we would be forced to work for the government for free. Authors Neil Howe and William Strauss write, "The Boomers had eliminated mandatory civic duty for their subsequent cohorts and the generation that would follow." This is an example of how we have overcome the idea of ​​“compulsory work” through the social terms of “community service”. Instead of progressing and evolving as a society, we will eliminate the purpose of community service and force millions of high school students to help the community. Not only is this similar to the previous example of community service in the 1940s, but it also ruins the vast majority of opportunities for the unemployed. If our community requires volunteer labor, instead of forcing millions of high school students to do the task, we should create jobs from these requirements for those who are unemployed. This will help many citizens who need jobs and adequate financial support. On the other hand, we would not defeat the purpose of community service or demoralize high school students into wanting to participate, 52(1), 83-110.