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Illinois’ governor wants mandated public service from the state’s youth

Driving across the state last week and listening to numerous news reports and interviews regarding Governor Rod Blagojevich’s proposal that high school students should, by law, complete community service as a prerequisite for a high school diploma, I was stirred enough to address this contentious issue.

I agree with the governor’s statement last month that “Pubic service of the state’s school children will instill solid values.” That, my friends, is a no-brainer.
I think it is ridiculous, though, to mandate such activities.

As an American citizen, I CHOOSE to be involved in community service, just as I did when I was in school. If helping out in your community is mandated, it certainly loses its’ appeal to the average teen-ager. It loses its’ appeal to me.

Instead of thinking “it sure makes me feel good to go to the children’s ward in the hospital with other members of my 4-H Club to make balloon animals and read stories for these sick kids,” I might think “I am being forced to spend 2 hours on a Saturday reading to a bunch of sick kids when I could be spending time with my friends.” If you force these young people to be involved in public service, I am willing to bet there will be fewer of them that join those youth organizations that promote and carry out community service.

I helped with the “Send a mouse to college” campaign for the American Cancer Society at my grade school and knocked on doors collecting money for The American Heart Association. I picked up litter along the highway outside of town and went Christmas caroling at the local nursing home. I did this because I wanted to do it. It made me feel good.

I truly believe if government begins dictating the number of hours a 15-year old has to spend doing nice things for his or her community, it will backfire. Let these young people decide for themselves! Let teachers, parents and community volunteers do what they have always done with community youth – dip their noses in it and see what happens!

The government’s view of what constitutes community service could be very different from what each individual community needs from its younger generation. Just because it works in Chicago, doesn’t mean it will work in Hillsboro or Olney or Cairo.

A carload of 16-year olds in my community was recently picked up for illegal consumption and transportation of alcohol. The sentence? 60 hours of community service for each. If you tell me that my child in public school must complete 60 hours of community service before receiving his or her high school diploma, I will pull said student out of public school and pay for them to go to a private school. The private school could very well include community service in its’ curriculum, but in a private school my child can pray and proudly recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

We live in a democratic society. There will always be a handful of people that fly “under the radar screen.” They go to church, but you will not see them delivering meals to the needy or donating soap and razors for kits for the homeless. There are people that live in the community that pay taxes and spend money locally but never sit on the school board or bake cookies for the PTA. Not everyone should have to commit to public service.

When I am interviewing someone for a position on my staff, I ask them about their extra-curricular activities. I want to know about their hobbies. A well-rounded person makes a well-rounded employee. I would much rather hire someone for my team that is involved in helping their community. It’s called separating the wheat from the chaff. It’s the difference between an $18,000 a year job and a $40,000 a year job. But if that community service is just another prerequisite for the diploma, it loses its value.

Over the years, I cannot count the number of FFA and 4-H awards I have judged. Whether it’s an application for a scholarship for the National Association of Farm Broadcasters, or a county fair queen pageant, all participants know that to excel in that particular competition, they need to have a commitment to community service to get ahead.

And what would it cost to implement this community service mandate in the pubic school system? I shudder to think of it.

Wouldn’t you rather have a diverse society in which we choose to be helpful instead of a society of robots mandated to do good things?