There has been a controversial issue in terms of making volunteer work mandatory for high school students. Some people argue that high school students should concentrate on entering good universities, while I believe participating in community service could be very helpful for high school students in a long-term perspective.
First of all, students can develop consideration by participating in community activities and helping others voluntarily. Adolescence is a very important period not only for the acquisition of knowledge but also for the growth of character. However, the majority of high school students tend to be negligent in nurturing caring others as they emphasize studies for college entrance. For example, my high school teacher recommended that our class should go to a nursing home once a week and do volunteer work. In retrospect, I feel I was able to grow more through volunteer work than reading textbooks.
On top of that, students can get out of the pressure of studying by forcing them to participate in community service. High school students usually get stressed out and suffer physical and mental pain while studying at their desks almost all day long. In a sense, forcing them to volunteer might be a break time for them. For instance, I have a friend who works as a teacher at a nursery school, and she sometimes meets high school students who come to work for volunteering. It is said that high school students enjoy the time even though they are working because they can escape from study pressures only at that time.
In conclusion, I strongly agree that high school students should be forced to join in unpaid community activities. As I mentioned above, developing consideration to others and taking a break from academic pressures are the main reasons for my argument.
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