Should community service be mandatory in all high schools?

I've heard a lot on both sides of this argument. What is your opinion?

It was for mine. It seems a little funny when you think about it. Mandatory volunteering? Lol. I don't think it should be mandatory, I think we just need to raise the children less crappy so that they would be more willing to lend someone a helping hand.

Not really. Unless the teachers tells you to do something, you do it.

It already is mandatory community service. Kids spend what 8+ hours a day in school and don't get paid for it so its technically considered community service. Its mandatory cause parents force their kids into it. Without these volunteers called students there would be no school or teachers and we would probably save lots of tax money. It's a real shame they don't run college that way. All colleges should be free and all K12 and below should have fees.

NotJon : I agree.

You do that by making them help and forcing service.

I think having community service being mandatory in high school will just give kids another reason to hate it. I know many programs in the high school I attended required community service to stay in the program, but forcing kids who don't want to do anything in my opinion is wrong. I did like the mandatory community service the bad kids had to do when they were sent to "the hill", but regular students should be free to choose.

warmaker : I wasn't forced to do chore or work as a child. In fact, I pushed myself to do it. I think I wanted my parents to love me more than my sister.

NotJon : Hehe.

I guess not "forced." Society should be such where all children are taught that service to others is important and putting one's self at most important doesn't work well. If everyone had community service, not volunteerism, we would do better as a community. Kids need to see they can succeed and how much they positively effect others.

Volunteering for more and more would be available too.

warmaker : Yes. People tend to be better when we work together. There's only so much that one individual can do.

I think kids should be forced to do at least one community service related thing. Then they can see the impact it has and will encourage them to do more. Of course everyone will complain, but high schoolers do that anyway

NotJon : I agree also with you but I think kids should do some community service thingy so maybe they would realize and encourage them to do more. They might complain though. But like you said raise kids less crappy so they would just lend somebody a helping hand.

Yeah it should be mandatory. And "community service" doesnt have to be volunteering. I understand some of you think "good" kids should automatically wanna do it, but at least one program each being mandatory helps show them what it is and breaks the ice.
Also since many teachers and parents volunteer their spare time helping with extra-curricular activities like the soccer team or cheer squad etc, kids who want to do any of those things should earn it by spending one day a week helping with some community thing for a couple of hours. Also thats a good way to build team spirit too. And often is healthy exercise! Its a win-win!
@JigSaw: Kids shouldn't feel that they're forced to go to school. Unless they want to grow up and not be able to read or write they should value the education. These days in society if someone can't read safety signs, cope with working out how much groceries they can afford to buy, learn about our laws and WHY we have them, heck, even learning basic first aid and how to handle emergencies - then they can't function in society and are just a risk to even be on the street. Schools and Education is doing the kids a favour, even if the kids can't understand that (due to not being sufficiently educated!)

I think that kids should have to do at least one big community service project each year so they can do something for the community and not feel like their being forced to waster their hours.

My school has mandatory community service... But really what it is is picking up garbage around the school to force the kids to pick up their own mess, and so the school doesn't have to pay anyone to clean it, lol. I think it's a good thing to do stuff like that though, since kids these days litter everywhere and are lazy slackers, we should use them for something. The slacker comment includes myself, LOL, so don't be all uppity and say how there's still good kids these days, of course there are, just not many around here.

No, government shouldn't make it mandatory that individuals that are minors are to labor at a zero wage price for the collective.

As a High School student, I am personally against it especially if it's on your own time and a school just decides that your volunteering on a certain weekend and you might have something planned and suddenly you have to cancel. This may sound kind of selfish also, but incentive volunteering might not be a bad idea. Maybe something like, volunteering a certain amount can raise grades, or other various academic incentives so that way no actual funding would have to go into the incentives, and students wouldn't feel forced to do it. After knowing the annoyance of mandatory things and programs, I know that the best way to really come around to appreciating the good of doing something is to do it of your own volition. Forced volunteering in many cases might likely just result in half-hearted unmotivated labor that doesn't really appeal to students on how volunteering helps people, but rather how much of a bother it is that their school is making them do something like this on their free time and might make them anticipate how much longer they have to endure it before they are free of school regulations and never do it again because school volunteering left a terrible impression on them. and btw @jigsaw, going to school is in no way community service. It's quite the opposite of what you said actually. The tax payers pay money to fund teachers to teach students like us how to adapt to modern society so it's really the teachers who are doing the servicing for us, who are usually ungrateful even though schooling is essential to us for a successful life unless you plan to work at Mc Donalds for the rest of your life.

It already is mandatory in most high schools.
You have to have atleast 8 hours
Of community service.

I'm kind of on both sides when it comes to this issue. The reason why it shouldn't be mandatory is because it's called volunteering for a reason. Why force people to volunteer?

On the other hand, most people won't volunteer on their own. So by making it mandatory, students have the chance to see how rewarding community service is.

Hmm...I'm on the fence on this particular controversy...it really depends heavily on how it is integrated. 

I know some schools has mandatory courses where to pass you got to do community service. It is annoying, but it works well enough. The issue is...it is like some of those Remembrance Day contests. Most people does it simply because they have to, and often has no concept of what the point is. The big point behind volunteer work is feeling enriched when you help, but when it is mandatory, it got to be set up the right way or else...all it is then is free labor. 

No I do not think so because , it won't be something free...with all your heart...(can't force people to act in certain way..)