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The intent is good but you can't force this on children because we all know that it will ultimately be mismanaged and used to help special interests.
Have the schools offer an incentive for the kids to volunteer at a place of their choice. After they accumulate x amount of hours, they get rewarded (free ice cream, day off, school supplies, etc).
Does that mean that you're willing to give away the future generations freedoms to pay for it?
What freedom is sacrificed? Increasingly, schools are requiring children to do some community service as part of their educational requirements, including the school district my child attends. Only now it reeks of communism because Obama plans to reward children for their service?
You can make a stand for our children's right to do nothing for their community but at what cost? The end result is fewer of our kids will have the opportunity to continue their education and we will continue our academic decline that imperils our nation's future. We can't afford to let this trend continue.
By all means you should stand up for your principles, but not so much that it interferes with progress. IMO, to successfully shelf this idea would be a phyrric victory, at best.
Certainly nothing wrong with encouraging and is a noble cause however requiring is truly beyond belief.
I see nothing wrong with the "require" aspect. Maybe these kids will gain a sense of ownership in their communities as a result and won't be so quick to tear them down.
Maybe the real problem is that we need to even consider the need to "require" people to be active in their communities. Shouldn't they "want" to be involved or did we lose that attribute somewhere along the line?
What freedom is sacrificed? Increasingly, schools are requiring children to do some community service as part of their educational requirements, including the school district my child attends. Only now it reeks of communism because Obama plans to reward children for their service?
You can make a stand for our children's right to do nothing for their community but at what cost? The end result is fewer of our kids will have the opportunity to continue their education and we will continue our academic decline that imperils our nation's future. We can't afford to let this trend continue.
By all means you should stand up for your principles, but not so much that it interferes with progress. IMO, to successfully shelf this idea would be a phyrric victory, at best.
The freedom of choice. When you lose that you'll lose your progress.
I'm not saying that parents shouldn't encourage their children to engage in some type of community service. We need to be more self reliant and less regulated by the government. Why should we need the government to require it?
Would all of you that believe the requirement is a good thing for children, be willing to be required to do the same amount of community service yourself as well?
What freedom is sacrificed? Increasingly, schools are requiring children to do some community service as part of their educational requirements, including the school district my child attends. Only now it reeks of communism because Obama plans to reward children for their service?
You can make a stand for our children's right to do nothing for their community but at what cost? The end result is fewer of our kids will have the opportunity to continue their education and we will continue our academic decline that imperils our nation's future. We can't afford to let this trend continue.
By all means you should stand up for your principles, but not so much that it interferes with progress. IMO, to successfully shelf this idea would be a phyrric victory, at best.
If it's "government" mandated, then personal freedoms are sacrificed. That's just the way it works. Encourage them? Fine. But mandate? Leave that to parents.
It should be a requirement for graduation. After all these students enjoy the greatest free education in the great country of the USA. The least they can do is give a little back to the country that gives them so damn much.
Wow... uhhh... greatest free education? Most of our public school systems are extremely wasteful and grossly ineffective expensive disasters!
Do you have any idea how bad our schools are? NOT ONE SINGLE STATE educates 50% or more of their students to grade-level proficiency.
Nationwide, student achievement is actually much lower than many people realize. States are allowed to construct their own standards tests and set their own 'passing' scores. This has resulted in manipulations that make it look like schools are getting better, when in reality the majority of students in many states are far below acceptable levels of proficiency. In some cases, there's as much as a 70 percentage point difference in proficiency levels between state achievement tests and the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) tests.
Lake Wobegon, U.S.A. -- where all the children are above average
(Pay particular attention to the college prof's comment at the bottom of the above linked article. ) The article has been updated to include Bush's administration's proposal to require schools to include NAEP results on their school report cards so that parents can see if their states have been manipulating their standards tests and passing scores to deliberately mislead the public into thinking that their children are getting a better education in the public schools than they actually are.
If you want to see your state's reported proficiency level vs. the NAEP proficiency level (to see if your public schools are being honest about providing an adequate education), check here: NAEP Researchcenter - NAEP and State Equivalent Percent Table
For each grade level, the first column lists the percentage of students scoring as proficient (meets or exceeds state standards) on the state test; the second column lists the percentage of students scoring as proficient on the NAEP (National test).
The freedom of choice. When you lose that you'll lose your progress.
Do we have the choice not to educate our children? No, it's a law.
Do we have the freedom to not vaccinate our children against highly contagious diseases? No, it's the law if they are to attend school.
Do we have the freedom to refuse medical treatment for our children when it could imperil their lives? No. Regardless of religious beliefs, parents will be criminally charged.
Sorry, I believe in standing up for freedom but not when it interferes with the well being and betterment of our children's futures.
I try to let common sense prevail over fear and I pick my battles wisely.
Certainly nothing wrong with encouraging and is a noble cause however requiring is truly beyond belief.
Well, you have to beat "working for the greater good" into them while they are young.
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) The article has been updated to include Bush's administration's proposal to require schools to include NAEP results on their school report cards so that parents can see if their states have been manipulating their standards tests and passing scores to deliberately mislead the public into thinking that their children are getting a better education in the public schools than they actually are. 
