Dear Principal,

Students should not be forced to do community service, because if they strongly dislike community service work they might resent it when they are older and prevent their children that might like community service to do some work for the community. On the other hand, a child might like the work they are required to do, so I suggest that you gradually encourage students to help the community, but not involuntarily force your students to do community service work.

I have known from some friends that they loathe having to be forced to work for the community. It does not help the school or the place they are volunteering either that the dislike the work, and will do a terrible job or even make the condition of the place worst by misplacing the position of objects or supplies. The group of friends fee that it takes would take up their whole day as they could have done something enjoyable for themselves like going to the mall or trying to finish a project (s)he has procrastinated on and is due very soon.

However, I have had a class discussion on this topic, and most of the answers said were that, service should not be forced on to a person, but rather have a slow buildup to have the student enjoy their work to help improve their community. I, myself have enjoyed helping my school clearing out fallen leaves, or other trash around my school. It gave a feeling of a sense of accomplishment to me.

I have read a book that is more of a extreme conditions for involuntarily servitude, called The House of the Scorpion, it focuses on a boy that is a clone of El Paso, the drug lord. The boy at first is treated like dirt, but as he is found out about that he is the clone of the powerful El Paso the people are forced to serve the boy first treated like dirt. As the book progresses the boy has to leave his home, and runs away to a salt mine, where he is forced to work eatting only plankton. This leaves him to resent the place and ultimately he escapes and goes to the local nunnery where he is reports this place to the Head Nun. The salt mine is quickly shut down and the boy raids the home of the drug lord only to find out that El Paso died so the boy frees all the slaves and shuts it down forever.

I agree with both sides. Requiring community service can positively and negatively affect a student, depending on their grounds of helping others.

The principal should compromise, instead so that the students will not forever hate helping others, but they will have something that will encourage their own kids to do it. Such as, for everyone that completes the minimal amount of hours they have to do the student will be rewarded some sort of prize, like a homework pass or something like a day just for the students so they can have a entertaining day.