Community Service On Educational Institutions: Obligation Or A Willingly Deed?
I should ask you first If you have ever been through those common social duties during school because maybe you are among the few lucky ones who were not placed into the usual clean-up programs.
Particularly, during my studying years in school and even at the University, I was subjected to these programs. And I'm not diminishing the value of giving a helping hand to some places that lack of personnel. But I don't favor how it is sold to us.
This is obviously an issue that has political connotations. And it's not my intention to waddle on that swampy terrain in this entry. Instead, I want to focus on how students react to these rigid programs.
They see it more like a punishment, as if it was a sentence from a judge who send them to do some community service hours for a crime they've committed.
And teachers are ware of it. They know their students question the programs, and they cannot do anything about it because they are also subjected to the established norms and are supervised by individuals that have minimal concepts about real community service.
And I'm telling you this because when someone comes up with a new idea of offering help through their best skills, it is outright suppressed. I've seen it and experienced those situations.
Meanwhile, most students continue on disqualifying these activities because they barely represent something meaningful. They complain or accept it without knowing there can be other alternatives.
Freedom
The liberty that is supposed to exist in the these social labors is disguised. Any activity to help community first needs to be voluntary. And I understand that this might be a way out for some students, but that's not the main reason why they dislike community service. The cause lies in the activity itself. It's a fact we excel in those things we willingly do.
When students have the freedom to propose, they're immersing in the collaborative participation as an active member. They wouldn't feel like a pawn anymore being pushed to complete the community service hours.
Participation from all the members
Typically, during the community service programs, all the work is usually left to the students. But teachers must also be an active presence. They should generate confidence and support the student's contributions.
The educational board committee also has to take in part in the students' projects. Regularly this doesn't occur because, as I have implied above, they hand it like bureaucratic duties to satisfy the mere inclusion of social programs in the curriculum.
Projects based on fresh ideas
Programs are to emphasize what the students are working in class, specially IF college pupils are involved. Helping a community doesn't have to do solely in manual labor of some sort.
It has to transcend. We're talking about future professionals that hopefully will create new ideas and paradigms. So, their role cannot be typecast and limited to certain areas.
The contributions of prepared individuals in societies is what have made them evolve. It brings wisdom and innovation. Two characteristics that make people's lives full and complete.
There are more activities than just clean-up ideas
IF educators are going to propose something that will help the community, why don't they organize something in the field they have expertise? I mean they're professionals in some capacity. I mean they hold the necessary abilities to apply their knowledge in communities for social purposes.
In other words, when you have an electric problem in your house, you call an electrician because, besides being a specialist, he approaches the issue with a wider standpoint. He knows ins and outs. And if something comes up, he counts with a variety of tools to proceed.
I'm quite aware of that clean-up and some other similar activities are great of necessities in some communities, but I also think that the contribution must be focused on something more profound. Something that relates with the students' knowledge.
That's a great opportunity to give significant meaning to the community service work. And at the same time, it provides a good insight to the collectivity.
This is another entry in the teaching series from a teacher's angle. Below are my previous posts from this series.
Previous Posts From This Series
