Students are required to have 40 hours of volunteering service to graduate from a Florida high school. While volunteering has many benefits, some students find it a hassle, as just another requirement along with many others to graduate.
According to the Florida Department of Education, to gain the standard diploma to graduate, a 2.0 GPA or higher is required, 24 credits, and 40 hours of volunteering. Similarly, those who wish to gain the Bright Futures academic scholarship need a 3.5 GPA, 16 high school credits, a minimum ACT, CLT, or SAT score, and lastly, 100 volunteer service hours.
Trying to reach either requirement can lead to students scrambling for hours throughout the 4 years. Although helping your community is important, some students feel it is extreme for it to be considered a graduation requirement and they should not have to volunteer at all. All this leads to an interesting question: should students have to volunteer?
Should students volunteer? Yes
When asked, History teacher Mrs. Dodge stated, “Well, it definitely teaches them responsibility, giving back to the community,” As the sponsor of Key Club (a service hour- focused club), she states that student volunteering is important and can open doors for students to more opportunities.
However, like many others, she believes the requirement could be difficult to achieve for some. She is aware that young adults have more responsibilities other than school which also require more attention than volunteering.
“A lot of students have afterschool clubs, ya-know some students have jobs, some even multiple jobs so that could make it hard to reach that 40-hour mark” Dodge replies when mentioning this. If the rule could be changed, she explains, 25 to 30 hours would be more manageable for busy schedules.
Should students volunteer? No
Students, on the other hand, who already earned their graduation requirements, hold a different stance. When asked this question past 12th grader Edwina Lundi responded, “Not everyone wants to volunteer, so it should be optional” She recounted the instances when searching for volunteering opportunities and found it to be difficult, and so she believes, volunteering being optional, instead of a requirement would be better.
Ways to volunteer
While past students share this sentiment as well, newer students are finding more ways to volunteer every day. An example of this is when Mrs. Dodge and the PCA (Parkland Horse Association) hosted a horse event allowing students a chance to volunteer. The students helped with clean-up during the event and many left finding it as a rewarding experience, showing that volunteering can be enjoyable when opportunities to do so are eventually found.
Many popular ways students volunteer are through club events, helping at school events, summer programs, and volunteering at local shops such as Petco. One effortless way any student can learn about volunteering opportunities around Coral Springs is to ask teachers and staff members of CSHS.
Final Opinions
In a nutshell, should students have to volunteer? Even with varying answers, the ultimate answer is yes. Volunteering allows students to gain new experiences, and interests and give back to their community. It may be hard to reach the 40 hours for some, but with the many ways teachers and community members offer chances to earn hours, all it takes is effort to look around. Volunteering can be “worth it” if made to be.
