Educational community service Secondary education Some educational
jurisdictions in the United States require students to perform community service hours to graduate from
high school. In some high schools in
Washington, for example, students must finish 200 hours of community service to get a
diploma. Some school districts in Washington, including
Seattle Public Schools, differentiate between community service and "
service learning", requiring students to demonstrate that their work has contributed to their education. If a student in high school is taking an
Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) course, community service is often needed. Whether American public schools could require volunteer hours for high school graduation was challenged in
Immediato v. Rye Neck School District, but the court found no violation. Many other high schools do not require community service hours for graduation, but still see an impressive number of students get involved in their communities. For example, in
Palo Alto, California, students at
Palo Alto High School log about 45,000 hours of community service every year. As a result, the school's College and Career Center awards 250–300 students the
President's Volunteer Service Award every year for their hard work. Starting in 2010, Danish high school students receive a special diploma if they complete at least 20 hours of voluntary work. The
International Baccalaureate program formerly required 50 hours of community service, together with a written reflection on the service performed, to fulfill the requirement of 150 hours of CAS (creativity, action, and service) and receive an IB diploma.
Higher education Though not technically considered a requirement, many colleges include community service as an unofficial requirement for acceptance. However, some colleges prefer work experience over community service, and some require that their students also continue community service for some specific number of hours to graduate. Some schools also offer unique "community service" courses, awarding credit to students who complete a certain number of community service hours. Some academic honor societies, along with some
fraternities and sororities in North America, require community service to
join and others require each member to
continue doing community service. Many student organizations exist for the purpose of community service, the largest of which is
Alpha Phi Omega. Community service projects are also done by
sororities and
fraternities. Beginning in the 1980s, colleges began using
service-learning as a pedagogy. A partnership of college presidents began in 1985 with the initiative of boosting community service in their colleges. This alliance called
Campus Compact, led the way for many other schools to adopt service-learning courses and activities. Service-learning courses vary widely in time span, quality, and in the balance of "service" and "learning" stressed in the course. A typical service-learning course, however, has these factors in common: • A
service component where the student spends time serving in the community meeting actual needs • A
learning component where students seek out or are taught information—often both interpersonal and academic—that they integrate into their service • A
reflection component that ties service and learning together Reflection is sometimes symbolized by the hyphen in the term "service-learning" to indicate that it has a central role in learning by serving. Reflection is simply a scheduled consideration of one's own experiences and thoughts. This can take many forms, including journals, blogs, and discussions. Service-learning courses present learning the material in context, meaning that students often learn effectively and tend to apply what was learned. As the book ''Where's the Learning in Service-Learning?'' notes, "Students engaged in service-learning are engaged in authentic situations; they get to know real people whose lives are affected by these issues... As a result, they have lots of questions—real questions that they want to have answered." Thus, students become interested and motivated to learn the materials to resolve their questions. Community service learning strives to connect or re-connect students with serving their community after they finish their course. It creates a bridge for the lack of community service found among college-age people in the United States.
Community service-learning The one serving may be able to take something away from the experience and be able to use any newfound knowledge or interpersonal discoveries to improve their future servitude and the people around them. To gain the most from community service requires balancing learning with serving. Learning and serving at the same time improves a student's community while teaching life lessons and building character. Community service-learning is "about leadership development as well as traditional information and skill acquisition". Therefore, the combination of people doing service and learning at the same time teaches them how to be effective and how to be effective regarding what is important to them. It can improve their overall experience and application opportunities they gain from it. By adding service to learning, and balancing the two, community service can become more than just the act of serving. The goal of service-learning is to achieve large change through small actions. By being a classroom, a hands-on learning experience, and an opportunity to change the community, people are able to not only serve, but impact themselves as well.
Definition According to
Fayetteville State University, "service learning is a process of involving students in community service activities combined with facilitated means for applying the experience to their academic and
personal development. It is a form of
experiential education aimed at enhancing and enriching student learning in course material. When compared to other forms of experiential learning like internships and
cooperative education, it is similar in that it is student-centered, hands-on and directly applicable to the curriculum." Professor Freddy Cardoza defines community service-learning as "a pedagogy (or a specific teaching-learning approach) that has few lectures, and is a more interactive hands on educational strategy which provides students with instruction while leading them through meaningful community service experiences and engaging them in personal reflection on those experiences in order to build character and to teach problem-solving skills and civic responsibility." Cardoza stressed that it was important for a student take some time and reflect on what they are experiencing, seeing, doing, and what problems they are encountering and how they are going to apply what they have been learning to solve these problems. In other words, service-learning aims to link the personal and interpersonal development with cognitive development, as well as equipping the student with critical knowledge to help them understand the world. Character.org defines service-learning as "different than community service in several key ways. Service learning includes student leadership, reflective and academic components, and chances for celebration once the service activity has been successfully completed. Students reflect on community needs, ways to help, and once their service has been completed, they can internalise how their efforts have helped, while learning more about academics such as geography, math, or science."
Critical service learning For community service to be effective, a different sector of community service learning; critical service, emerged in colleges throughout nations. The emergence of critical service learning in colleges had to do with solving the question of how students can create longstanding, effective change in the services they do for their communities. Critical service learning is centered around teaching and learning methods that focus on the transformation of power and deconstructions of systemic inequalities through community engagement by students. According to Mitchell, there are three different approaches required to achieve a critical learning service status. These are: redistributing power to marginalized groups of people; developing meaningful partnerships with community members/partners and those in the classroom; and, approaching service learning through the lens of making impactful social change. The ultimate goal of this sector is to connect students' services to their learning discourses. Students then ask themselves how their services create political and social change in these communities. Meeting individual needs in relation to poverty is not the main focus for critical service learning. Instead it is to address how students can become agents of social change and dismantle the institutions that allow for inequalities to exist in the communities they serve in the first place. Community and Critical service brings an opportunity of change for students and for the communities they serve.
Court-ordered service People convicted of a crime may be required to perform community service or to work for agencies in the sentencing jurisdiction either entirely or partially as a substitution of other
judicial remedies and sanctions, such as
incarceration or
fines. For instance, a fine may be reduced in exchange for a prescribed number of hours of community service. The court may allow the defendant to choose their community service, which must then be
documented by "credible agencies", such as non-profit organizations, or may mandate a specific service. Sometimes the sentencing is specifically targeted to the defendant's crime, for example, a litterer may have to clean a park or roadside, or a drunk driver might appear before school groups to explain why drunk driving is a crime. Also, a sentence allowing for a broader choice may prohibit certain services that the offender would reasonably be expected to perform anyway. In the United Kingdom, community service is now officially referred to by the
Home Office as more straightforward
compulsory unpaid work. Compulsory unpaid work includes up to 300 hours of activities, such as conservation work, cleaning up graffiti, or working with a charity. The
Howard League for Penal Reform (the world's oldest
prison reform organization) is a prominent advocate for increased community sentencing to reduce prison population and improve
rehabilitation.
Community service for institutions Many institutions require and/or give incentives to students or employees alike to volunteer their time to community service programs. From volunteering to participating in such charity events like walks or runs, institutes continue the practice or require their employees or students to grow in camaraderie while giving back to various communities. Many institutions also provide opportunities for employees and students to work together, and most student groups participate in their own form of community service. Each is unique in its own right; all are incredibly popular with employees; and in all of these programs, human resources plays an integral role. One such program,
Johns Hopkins University, under the leadership of Johns Hopkins University president
Ronald J. Daniels and the chief executive officer of
Baltimore City Schools, the university's human resources and community affairs departments worked with the school system to develop the Johns Hopkins Takes Time for Schools program in 2009, launching it on March 3, 2010. The program is a service partnership aimed at providing support and assistance to Baltimore City Schools (BCS) while providing faculty and staff an avenue for community service, offering their talents to the city's youth and improving the administrative and educational capacities of the area's school system. In addition, approximately 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer
volunteer grant programs where companies provide monetary donations to nonprofit organizations in recognition of their employee's volunteerism (e.g. $500 volunteer grant after 25 hours of community service).
Religious reasons for serving Religion is one of the greatest motivating forces behind community service. "Although beneficence and good works are also important secular goals, religion remains one of the major motivating forces behind community service." All the major religious groups emphasize values of charity, compassion, and community. Beyond required community service, some religious groups emphasize serving one's community. These groups and churches reach out by holding
Vacation Bible Schools for children, hosting
Red Cross blood drives, having fall carnivals, or offering free meals. Through these services, churches are able to benefit neighborhoods and families. Some churches create non-profit organizations that can help the public. Crisis pregnancy centers are often run by religious groups to promote pro-life values in local families. To meet impoverished people's needs, some churches provide a food pantry or start a
homeless shelter. Also, certain churches provide daycare so that busy parents can work. == Personal benefits of serving ==