Community service helps young people get a sense of pride and allows them to build character. Community service also helps local communities and helps aid in solving issues within a community such as pollution and food insecurity. Mandatory community service is something that is implemented in many schools, including Brentwood High School.  

Although many would argue that community service is beneficial for students to complete, some argue it shouldn’t be mandatory to graduate.  

On one side of the coin, many would say that mandatory community service simply isn’t fair.  An argument supporting this claim is that many students work after school, participate in sports, or have other responsibilities at home to complete (Hayes). To add community service as a requirement to graduate to the laundry list of things students do outside of school would be cruel. Some students, especially at Brentwood High School, take several advanced placement courses. These students are given several hours of homework, and if they have other responsibilities, it gives them very little time to fit other tasks into their schedule (Hayes).  

Another argument against obligatory community service is that serving a noble cause should come from the heart, not because it is required of you (Hayes). Although these are valid talking points, it is evident that community service should be kept as a mandate for graduation.  

On the other side of the coin, certain people would declare that community service is a necessity and should be something students must complete in order to graduate. Community service is seen as something that can help bring awareness to and help solve certain issues that are swept under the rug by society (DeJesus).  

On top of helping bring solutions to forgotten issues, community service also helps students find things they’re interested in. Some schools, such as Archbishop Spalding High school, allow students to pick their community service themselves (Shultz). They host a community service fair where students can find something they’re interested in. This allows students to not only have an option to do something they’re passionate about to get their hours done, but it also permits them to find a new hobby or interest.  

Some schools, such as Brentwood High School, only require students to complete three hours of community service. This is a perfect amount of time to allow students with packed schedules to complete their hours to graduate.  

When making community service mandatory to graduate, it should allow students to have a say in what they want to do and to not overload students with an already busy schedule. Community service should be kept mandatory but should respect the schedules and free-will of the students.  

Works Cited: 

Reaching-Out Community Services hosts its 10th successful dinner benefit by Jaime DeJesus 

Mandatory community service may negatively affect CHS students by Cydney Hayes 

Archbishop Spalding High School hosts Community Service Fair by Sharon P. Shultz