Dear Principal,

There has been a lot of conflict about whether you should make students perform community service, or whether you should let them have a choice to do it or not.

I think that all students should have a choice. Some students have sports after school, or babysitting their siblings, or they might just have a lot of homework. I will give you my reasons on why it is a matter of choice and not a matter of force.

My first reason is that my peers and I have a lot going on after school. Some kids have to go home and watch their younger brothers and sisters, or some have a sport that they are obligated to go to, some even have tutors that they have to meet with to go over school work that they don't understand. If you forced them to do community service, it could throw off their entire schedules and maybe even cause them to miss out on help for actual school work. Also, if the students do not have anything going on after school, then they can help out if they choose to.

My second reason is that our school cannot make people do things that they don't want to do outside of school. When teachers assign homework, it pertains to school. But, when teachers assign community service outside of school, it has nothing to do with what we're learning. Like I said before, if students want to help out than that is their choice, but teachers and principals can't force them to do something they don't want to do.

My third reason is that some parents may not want their children to do community service. Some parents have busy work schedules and they may not get to see their children that much on the weekends, so they spend time with them on weekdays after school. Or, some parents might share custody of their kids and they might want to go see a movie with them or get something to eat after school when it's their day to be with them. If schools started making them do things after school, the parent could miss quality time with the child.

These are my reasons on why schools around the globe shouldn't make their students perform after community service activities. When people force you to do something, it can usually make you less willing to do it. If students do not have anything going on after school, and they actually want to participate in community service, then let them! But, if students have a busy schedule with parents, homework, sports or tutoring then you shouldn't wreck it.

Sincerely,

STUDENT_NAME