Prompt: Some people believe that unpaid community service should be a compulsory part of high school programmes (for example working for a charity, improving the neighbourhood or teaching sports for younger children).  To what extent do you agree or disagree?

It is true that unpaid community service is very popular in high school extracurricular activities. Although this service is useful for our society, I personally believe that we should not force students to do it. Ċ We all know that there are many important subjects in high school including maths, science and literature, and the primary purpose of high school students is learning. These subjects will build enough necessary knowledge for the preparation of tertiary education. Extracurricular activities therefore are only appropriate when high school students have free time because these activities take a lot of time and if they are compulsory, students' study can be adversely affected. In addition, if this kind of activity is compulsory in curriculum, it will be difficult to assess students' mark. For instance, for activity like teaching younger students, the assessment of efficiency can be time-consuming and there are no standard criteria for this. Ċ On the other hand, most of high school students will not happy if they are forced to work without payment. Unhappy students therefore cannot focus on given tasks, resulting in poor quality service. In addition, I think that some students are not ready or available for unpaid community service. For example, if students come from needy families, it is likely they have to work to earn money and activities like working for a charity is not for them. Another example is students with health problems. It seems to be impossible for them to teach younger students to play sports. Ċ In conclusion, although unpaid community service should be encouraged for its benefits, it should not be compulsory part of high school programmes.