The provincial government’s experiment to produce more civic-minded youth through 40 hours of mandatory volunteer work is a step in the right direction. It’s unfortunate that the step is small and unstructured and will likely result in some students not being granted diplomas.
Recent media attention to the sheer volume of youth who have not completed or registered their hours has led some to believe many students won’t graduate. Much of the hype as been brushed off as teenagers leaving everything to the last minute and a no-excuses policy of “they’ve known they had to do this since Grade 9.”
Grade 12 students might have a difficult time finding volunteer opportunities at the last minute if they have to compete with fellow procrastinators. Hospitals and blood donor clinics often have waiting lists already for volunteers.
Forty hours over four years is not a lot to ask, even with part-time jobs and other extracurricular activities. But every other activity the school requires of the student is structured. The province should take its good idea and make it a better one. Incorporate volunteering into a class and give them credit for it. Teach a broader sense of community values by giving lessons on the history of their community and testing on news in the community newspaper. Assign 20 hours of volunteer work and help students choose a place that suits them.
It would be a class that puts youths in touch with their communities. It would be an optional class, and no student would stare it down with resentment (except during tests and assignments). Volunteering is supposed to be voluntary. Withholding a diploma clearly makes it mandatory, which negates the voluntary concept.
It must be taken into account that students under the volunteering program are also the lab rats under the new school curriculum. Students can no longer opt out of OAC level schooling, thus increasing their number of prerequisites. For Grade 12 students there is the added pressure of competing with the double cohort entering university. The added demand of volunteering is feasible, although ill-timed for this year’s graduates.
Now schools are left playing parent with increasing reminders for students to complete their community service or not complete high school. Students have complained that they are not even sure what constitutes volunteer work. For example, certain school-related activities can be registered as valid community service hours.
Forty hours of generosity is a highly worthwhile endeavour. There is no harm in giving youth a taste of it. To maximize the value of the program, changes will have to be made.
It needs structure and clear rules. Schools should look to unpaid internships through university as an example. When dealing with large numbers of people, a great deal of paperwork exists before anyone goes anywhere, not just after. If schools want to run this program they should stick their nose in it a little more. After all, it’s their business.
—Laura Aiken