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 neighborhood or teaching sports to younger children). Ċ Do you agree or disagree?

It is argued that unsalaried volunteer work like charity, sports lectures and taking care of the immediate surroundings ought to be made mandatory in secondary schools curriculum. I am in complete disagreement with this statement as will be explained in this essay. Ċ Admittedly, there are some basic benefits of undertaking volunteer unpaid jobs in college. One of which is that it makes the youngsters responsible. In other words, the students are able to think of others rather than themselves as they take responsibility for other people's needs. For instance, in the UK, a lot of college undergraduates are taking up care work because it enables these youngsters to support others and give them a sense of worth. Moreover, the young adults could attend, support, and be empathetic to other people's needs as well as their welfare too. Ċ However, despite the minor benefits associated with youngsters engaging in compulsory voluntary activities without pay, I believe that making community support compulsory is detrimental to the youth. One major problem is that it leads to distraction. The students will lose focus on their studies. That is, they get distracted and are not able to attend to their coursework effectively. This will result in the undergraduates having poor grades as they attend more to the voluntary job rather than their courses. These courses would assist them in the future to acquire profitable employment. For example, my neighbour's son, James, had to repeat his Senior Secondary School Examination because he volunteered to work for a Non-Governmental Organization, which took most of his study time and as such he failed three critical subjects. Ċ In conclusion, despite the minor upside associated with doing unsalaried volunteer employment, I strongly disagree that it should be part of the school's courses as it can lead to distraction. Therefore, the relevant authorities should make it not mandatory for high schools.