When I wrote in September about Barack Obama's plan to mandate fifty hours of community service for high school students, I had to pull together two different documents to make the case. One was the national service plan (PDF) on his campaign Website, which said that "Schools that require service as part of the educational experience create improved learning environments and serve as resources for their communities." The other was a speech he gave in December 2007, promising that "[a]t the middle and high school level, we'll make federal assistance conditional on school districts developing service programs, and give schools resources to offer new service opportunities."
I thought the overall policy direction contained there was painfully clear, and so did editors at the Providence Journal and the East Valley Tribune, who ran versions of that column. But I got some flack from people who found wiggle room in the need to draw a line between those two statements.
Well, no more. On the president-elect's official transition Website, Change.gov, the "America Serves" page now contains the following language [Note: The page was changed, removing the explicit "require" language, after the publication of this article. The original is still in the Google cache here]:
The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.
No extrapolation needed, thank you. The policy intent is now written out plain to see.
Yes, I'm aware that fifty hours of mandatory community service hardly rises to the level of a military draft. It's not even the mandatory universal citizen service his new chief of staff wants to inflict on everybody between the ages of 18 and 25. But it is a top-down mandate by the federal government that students perform state-approved labor.
I personally object to such requirements even when they come from the local school district. I want my kid to learn to volunteer and to contribute to the community, but that means volunteer, and for causes he picks, to the extent that he believes is appropriate, with a little nudging from within the family, not from bureaucrats. Government mandates destroy the whole idea of volunteerism, and the inevitable insistence that service be performed for an approved organization or cause (which is the case with most existing service requirements) is, frankly, a bit totalitarian.
Our children, as well as ourselves, are independent individuals. We are not resources to be drawn upon by politicians. Nor do we owe our labor to the government.
We've had enough of authoritarianism under the Bush administration. We don't need to begin the Obama administration with a dose of involuntary servitude.
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Comments
Genuinely, I have no objection to the requirement to graduate including community service. It was a requirement at the school I attended, in the program I was a part of. If anything, it opened my eyes and gave me a broader perspective of what goes on in my community, in my city.
Kids nowadays are too damn sheltered as it is.
Besides, fifty hours through 6 years? I did more than that in a semester volunteering at my community hospital. 100 in college? Cut back on the partying and the binge drinking. The average person spends how much time in college?
The fact of seeking community help through volunteers is all well and good. It has never hurt anybody to pitch in and help a little. The operative word here is VOLUNTEER! The comment from Johnathan F. makes it painfully obvious he just doesn't get it! The end does not justify the means. Wake up and smell the coffee people. I suggest everyone looks back into history and examine what things were like in nazi Germany allowing Adolph Hitler to swoon the people into doing his will.
Obama gives good speeches, well so did Hitler! Then came the nazi youth camps, more & more mandatory orders from the Wehrmacht for the common good of the fatherland. Does anyone see a pattern here????
If you don't stop it here & now it will be implemented and never get changed.
I can appreciate the arguement for the emphasis on "Volunteer". However, I would have to respectfully disagree in this case.
What aer kids doing now? They generally do nothing for their home as well as their community these days. It is a sad sign that public service messages have to be broadcasted urging children to get 60 minutes of excercise everday. In addition, schools are moving away from physical education as a part of the ciriculum. As a result, we have kids at a young age diagnosed with type 2 diabities. Kids with idle minds and idle bodies does not help society which ultimately drives up the cost of services.
I did not vote for Obama, but I have to be honest and agree with him this time. Tom, let's slow down and take this one step at a time before we start concluding the children will be wearing riding britches and jackboots goosestepping down main street. This proposal, by itself, is not unreasonable.
I would have to agree in the notion that Americans and their children have the right to "choose" and have the freedom to decide whether or not they would like to volunteer in these service opportunities. I think the idea is proactive on providing education and skills in certain disastrous circumstances that this country needs to be aware of and learn how to deal with, but I do NOT feel, however, that the govt. should be "totalitarian" and control this issue making it a "requirement." 100 hours for each college year? That's A LOT! In the meantime, our children are focusing on work, families, building a possible career path, and developing who they are, amidst 100 hours of community service each college year...that's a bit much. I hope Obama can explain this, and I'm confident he will decide the guidelines for this looking through ALL perspectives.
Goooooo OBAMA!
"Johnathan Fii: Besides, fifty hours through 6 years? I did more than that in a semester volunteering at my community hospital. 100 in college? Cut back on the partying and the binge drinking. The average person spends how much time in college?"
Johnathan, the 13th Amendment prohibits involuntary servitude.
Amendment 13 - Slavery Abolished. Ratified 12/6/1865.
1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Even though I agree that the ends of serving your fellow man are important and beneficial, the ends do not justify the means, the means being slavery.
Johnathan, you suggest that 100 hours is not much and can be easily satisfied by not partying as much. Well, what if the requirement was 500 hours, or 1000? Just give me an idea of how much slavery is too much for you, Johnathan, and I'm sure the Obama administration will cap it at that amount!
@Johnathan Fil: It is not the responsibility of the state to force service upon anybody. Unless the state you are living in happens to be a authoritarian dictatorship. If your kid is a delinquient...who's fault is that? It's yours as a parent! Americans don't take responsibility for themselves anymore...so we stupidly cede our responsibilities and soon to follow, our liberty and freedom to the state. Wake up, damnit!
Good God!
the point here is we shouldn't be forced to do this. some people work 2 jobs to pay the bills AND go to school (i do this!). i'm not partying or anything. i'm trying to get by and live and pay rent AND go to college. i can't afford to dedicate 100 hours a year to volunteer when i would need to be working to buy food!
DON'T LET OBAMA BRING BACK THE SO-CALLED "ASSAULT WEAPON" BAN!!!
Write your representative today and every day. Let them know we do not want a return of the AWB!!!
The percentage of volunteerism in this country suck. Selfishness is rampant. It won't kill anyone to do something good for others. I'm sure they're will be some wiggle room for preferences of charities. Asking everyone to pitch in is a good idea. Quit seeing the world through The Bush Years eyes. It's over now.
@David: Selfishness is caused from "lack." If people "lack" then they certainly won't volunteer. We must take care of ourselves first before we take care of others. And year after year, it becomes increasingly harder to provide for oneself, let alone a family. You ever wonder why the divide between the middle class and the wealthy gets wider year after year? Its by no accident or natural condition of the economy...Do you think this current Fed bailout will actually help you and the millions of American middle class families? You need to quit seeing the world through "Obama eyes." There was a period and place in the 20th century that the conditions were quite similar to today's. I believe it was Pre WWII Nazi Germany.
There will be plenty of charity to go around when the government stops their program of wealth management, aka Socialism.
Mandatory Community service is what the courts give to criminals. If you want to Volunteer great, BUT Mandatory service smacks of Hitler Youth. Sorry its my Freedom, my children, my life and end of discussion. I will choose their activities not the Government.
America is the MOST giving charitable country in thw world, hands down. In socialized countries they volunterism is virtually non existant as service is covered by and paid for by the system.
I was under the assumption that slavery was abolished a long time ago. Evidently I was mistaken and pres. elect obama hasn`t heard of it either...
As an entering college student, I would love to see this sort of change made in America. Today's youth are lazy and apathetic towards their communities. This sort of program not only build personal character, but breeds community involvement and better human beings. My high school had mandatory community service, most high schools do as part of their American govt. requirements, but this is just the beginning, want to get into a UC? Well pile on more community service or have a 4.0 (coincidentally, in my experience, most people who do have a 4.0 participate in community service projects) I you dont want YOUR kids to be involved and actually learn something about the world then send them to private school, no money, well it's only 7 years (6th-12th grade), and after that, if you don't want your precious kids to be involved in their communities, then by all means keep them out of public colleges and universities, self absorbed sons and daughters of self righteous parents aren't the peers that I like to associate with, and certainly aren't the leaders of tomorrow.
"Our children, as well as ourselves, are independent individuals. We are not resources to be drawn upon by politicians. Nor do we owe our labor to the government."
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will they have to take a math class?
Go to school assembly. Gosh... what's THAT about.
lots of schools already require community service. Just as they require math, english, etc.
Graduate... then don't EVER do it again.
if that's how you feel.
Stupid issue to waste time on.
This has been studied and tested for years by educators. As Obama has put education high on his list, I suppose he's already looked at the value and the test studies. have you?
As for those of you comparing required community service to "nazi youth camps", you folks are the scary ones.
Volunteer at a museum (yeah... they do take kids)
Volunteer at a library
Volunteer at a hospital
Volunteer to tutor
Volunteer at a Park
Volunteer at an Animal Shelter
Volunteer for the "best buddy" program
Volunteer at a Historical Society
Do you have ANY idea how many examples there are.
What's the problem here?
Their rights? I mean they have to go to school... i'm pretty sure some aren't thrilled with that.
You say you, as parents, will choose their activities. Good. Get involved and help them choose what interests them the most. Art programs? Ecology Programs? Astrology Programs? Health Programs? History programs?
You as parents don't want their rights taken away? How on earth would this harm them? Of course many of you don't want evolution taught either. If it's part of the curriculum, how would their rights be violated?
Part of a curriculum is NOT slavery. Stupid to compare.
You folks take the cake.
ok, if Obama is making volunteer work MANDATORY it isn''t volunteer work. Am I right? So quit waving around the word Volunteer since it would not be volunteering at all.
By the way... the volunteerism issue was mccain's pet project too.
"For his part, McCain had long been sympathetic to national service; he and Moskos had first met at a 1988 luncheon to celebrate the release of the professor's book A Call to Civic Service. While Timothy Noah was interviewing the senator about another topic in 1987, the conversation turned to a piece that Noah had written a year earlier for The Washington Monthly calling for a draft: "McCain said very straightforwardly that he believed in compulsory national service," Noah recalls. As the de facto leader of national-greatness conservatism, McCain began to sound themes in his 2000 election campaign that led advocates of national service to believe that they might have a new ally in their corner."
also...same article...
"That first gathering brought the outlines of what would become the McCain-Bayh "call to service" bill into focus: quintupling the size of AmeriCorps over the next nine years, creating a new 18-month military enlistment option, and providing incentives for college students to perform community service. The group continued to meet; by the summer, the bill was almost ready."
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1464920/Suddenly-serviceable-is-this-the.html
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In other words, BOTH CANDIDATES WANTED IT. Details may have been different. But, same basic ideology.
America is one of the hardest working countries as it is. We get what, two weeks of paid vacation. Then we work to get things done at home that require attention as well. Just where does he think we're going to come up with the time to volunteer our time. We're already stressed out and prone to heart failure due to stress and being overwhelmed. I'll be damned if I let him take what little free time I have and volunteer. Pay my bills Obama and and I'll be glad to volunteer my time. And that's because I'll have the time and energy to put into it. Get a clue!!!!
F~@/ Obama and his minions. I won't be participating. Try and force me - please!
.....and we march toward revolution. I am ready.
Sus, you're a moron. It's called "involuntary servitude" and is strictly forbidden by the Constitution. My children won't be participating and I will enFORCE that decision.
Obama and his minions could care less about our rights under the Constitution with regard to "forced service"....they better be careful.
Does anyone get the feeling that this election might just have fractured this nation? I mean, there is our side and Obama's side, and the lines are clearly drawn.
Sus, you're a moron. It's called "involuntary servitude" and is strictly forbidden by the Constitution. My children won't be participating and I will enFORCE that decision.
Sus: Serving or not serving one's country is not the issue here. Freedom of choice is the issue. Forcing servitude, whether outright or through passive ways such as withholding federal funding, is unconstitutional. It infringes on our rights as Americans to freely choose when, where, how, and IF we want to serve. I freely chose to serve in the United States Marine Corps to ensure that those rights are not infringed on. This country is as great as it is because it was built on the backs of VOLUNTEERS. The very fact that Obama and his cronies call into question the American citizens' willingness to serve is preposterous and it speaks to more subversive plotting than I think we are aware of. Keep your eyes and ears open Patriots!
The page has changed. The previous language used such as "require" has been eliminated and now reads:
"Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by setting a goal that all middle school and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year and by developing a plan so that all college students who conduct 100 hours of community service receive a universal and fully refundable tax credit ensuring that the first $4,000 of their college education is completely free. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start."
Sus: Most conservatives saw through McCain as well. He is Democrat/Socialist light. So, of course alot of his policies mirror Obama's. So, when you say that forced service was his policy too, you are preaching what we already knew. McCain lost the election because he did not secure the conservative base of the party. Why do you think the media is trashing Sarah Palin? She represents a more true picture of conservative values and they are afraid of her return in the future.
Changing the clothing doesn't hide the wolf.
Hasn't anyone clicked on the "America Serves" link and noticed a slight change in wording? Took out "require". Interesting huh? Joe--subversive plotting indeed!!!!
By the way... the volunteerism issue was mccain's pet project too.
"For his part, McCain had long been sympathetic to national service; he and Moskos had first met at a 1988 luncheon to celebrate the release of the professor's book A Call to Civic Service. While Timothy Noah was interviewing the senator about another topic in 1987, the conversation turned to a piece that Noah had written a year earlier for The Washington Monthly calling for a draft: "McCain said very straightforwardly that he believed in compulsory national service," Noah recalls. As the de facto leader of national-greatness conservatism, McCain began to sound themes in his 2000 election campaign that led advocates of national service to believe that they might have a new ally in their corner."
also...same article...
"That first gathering brought the outlines of what would become the McCain-Bayh "call to service" bill into focus: quintupling the size of AmeriCorps over the next nine years, creating a new 18-month military enlistment option, and providing incentives for college students to perform community service. The group continued to meet; by the summer, the bill was almost ready."
http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1464920/Suddenly-serviceable-is-this-the.html
==============
In other words, BOTH CANDIDATES WANTED IT. Details may have been different. But, same basic ideology.
First, forced service and now this!:
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/obama_to_re_appoint_pro_fairness_doctrine_commissioner_to_the_fcc/
Hasn't anyone clicked on the "America Serves" link and noticed a slight change in wording? Took out "require". Interesting huh? Joe--subversive plotting indeed!!!!
The fact that McCain wanted it too, does not make it any more right, Sus. So, I don't know why you are bringing him up. He lost the election. Obama and his cronies are in the White House. Our concern is with them. You would do well to get out of last weeks news and join us in the present.
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/television/who_got_to_ask_questions_at_the_obama_presser_100032.asp
Next New Programs: Child Labor Corps and Active Retirement Program.
Child Labor Corps - America's Youth(10-14 years of age) are lazy and don't spend their pre-teen years "productively". Instead of spending their time in front of the Television or on the Playground they could be gaining vital work experience for the future competitive job market. No I am not talking about newspaper delivery routes or cutting the grass for grandma. I mean proving themselves to be more productive than Indonesian or Chinese children that work in Coal Mines and Textile Mills. These are the industries that made America great and strong in the early 20th Century. Irish and Italian children used to dream about coming to America to haul coal buckets through 3 foot wide tunnels and breath in large doses of methane gas and coal dust. There were always positions available. This is the America that we lost after the "Progressives" came to power. Made it illegal to give children an eye opening and arm severing experience earning their way through grade school. This is the mistake that the Obama Administration should fix.
Active Retirement Program - The next drain on the Economy are the 35% of the population that sit around all day waiting to receive a check from the Government. These freeloaders spend much of their time playing Bingo and watching old re-runs of "Hawaii Five-O" when they could be spending their time working in highly productive manual labor positions like tilling fields by hand, building roads, removing asbestos, and working in a quarry or mineshaft with a pick-axe. And if they work as Contractors, Employers won't have their profits affected because they won't have to pay health insurance. This program will allow Senior Citizens to earn their way through retirement with a competitive monthly salary of about $500. This will allow the Government to invest Social Security Funds into programs such as Pain Rays and Public Monitoring Systems. (Note: this program will only affect the Lower to Middle Income Senior Citizens)
The "Classroom Corps" and the "Youth Build" will merge into the "Youth Corps" which will have educational programs such as "Introduction to Firearms" and "Modern Urban Warfare" with qualified educators with the rank of Staff Sergeant. America's teenagers need to prepare to make the World "safe" for America's Global Manifest Destiny.
This whole plan sounds eerily familiar to what they do in Israel, and I would not be surprised if it is pushed by the new Israeli Chief of Staff(Rahm Emanuel). In Israel this kind of program became a national Army Conscription program.
Understand, this would be just the beginning. Remember, the maximum "income tax" bracket in 1913 was 8%, on what would be over $200,000 today, when adjusted for inflation.
These things always grow, they are intended too. And not to mention this Fascist plan is UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
Hey, I have an idea. Since Obama thinks we all have all this free time, maybe he should volunteer as Pres.to not tax the s#!t out of businesses so they can create more jobs. This way, all these fresh high school and college grads can actually find a much needed job. An employed citizen is a productive one. If our country needs vollunteers so bad and needs somone to indoctrinate then why not capture all the illegals and force them into servitude since our Constituion doesn't apply to them. The ones who will learn to press one for English and NEVER get caught carrying/displaying a FOREIGN FLAG or plotting sedition don't get deported. Pretty simple.
I find this comical since outside of his studies, it seemed like Obama never did earn an honest wage.
I came from a modest family and with modest jobs, I managed to put myself through college. During that time, I didn't volunteer because I didn't have the time, but I did have enough left over and yes I did give to orphan charities and animal shelters.
Others join the military and get themselves through that way. A lot of universities may already give credit for some kind of community service. Often enough, it is more affordable to have qualified students perform radiology, medicine or dentistry on patients. It was great when the universities gave us students discounts for these services.
Then there are a few kids who do have wealthier families, or they believe that they have to emulate a wealthier upbringing that could use a character builder. And there are a few who choose not to go to college, but to some other type of institution or none at all.
Churches too often provide opportunities to do volunteer work.
But it's not up to me to decide that for them. A one size fits all community service bill will not be the answer. A few kids do more than what they already should just to have an education as it is. Juvies should be the first one to do these things.
Congress and the Senate and the presidential candidate should be the first to volunteer as politicians for our country. Their special interests already privatized most of their pay, why should our taxes be used to pay their salaries? THey all get to be the 1st to share the wealth.
Hey, I have an idea. Since Obama thinks we all have all this free time, maybe he should volunteer as Pres.to not tax the s#!t out of businesses so they can create more jobs. This way, all these fresh high school and college grads can actually find a much needed job. An employed citizen is a productive one. If our country needs vollunteers so bad and needs somone to indoctrinate then why not capture all the illegals and force them into servitude since our Constituion doesn't apply to them. The ones who will learn to press one for English and NEVER get caught carrying/displaying a FOREIGN FLAG or plotting sedition don't get deported. Pretty simple.
Hey, I have an idea. Since Obama thinks we all have all this free time, maybe he should volunteer as Pres.to not tax the s#!t out of businesses so they can create more jobs. This way, all these fresh high school and college grads can actually find a much needed job. An employed citizen is a productive one. If our country needs vollunteers so bad and needs somone to indoctrinate then why not capture all the illegals and force them into servitude since our Constituion doesn't apply to them. The ones who will learn to press one for English and NEVER get caught carrying/displaying a FOREIGN FLAG or plotting sedition don't get deported. Pretty simple.
WOW...you know, I was once faced with needing government assistance. My husband and I were in our early 20's. My husband came into the a ready made family. I had a 2 year old son at the time. We were living in Missouri and tried to get government assistance. Just Medicaid and help with food. We both made right at minimum wage at part time jobs, we only worked about 30 hours a week each. He was a mechanic and I was a daycare teacher.Keep in mind this was the early to mid 90's. There we were at the family services offices, me, my son and husband. We filled out all the paper work, and met with a counsler. She then proceeded to tell us that we made too much money and that we didn't qualify for help. At this time the only thing we had in our frig was kool aid and on the counter a jar of unpopped popcorn. We tried to plead our case. We didn't do drugs, we both wanted to work and just needed some help to get on our feet. The lady sitting across the desk from us, looked at us square in the eyes and said, "if you need help, your better off getting divorced and be a stay at home mom, I can guarantee you can get help then." We both sat there in amazement, this lady actually encouraged us to be lazy and live off the government. WHat kind of role model would we have been to our son if we did that? I told this woman, that she was out of her mind and I refused to be just another moocher. We got up and walked out and never once received any type of assistance. We struggled and struggled, many times being on the verge of eviction. It is now 17 years later, my son is Marine, and started working at 14. Because of that lady, we always told him, work for what you want, because when you really need the help, don't count on your government. Where was "mine?" when I truly needed it? HOw in this "presidents" right mind does he think he is going to "require" anyone to get up off their butts and do anything when you have "civilian service" people encouraging you not to work? ALL these people that are currently on assistance are not going to start working. If he threatens to take their assistance away, they are going to rebel and it will be complete anarchy... who is he trying to kid? GOOD LUCK OBAMANITES!
"Schools that require service as part of the educational experience create improved learning environments and serve as resources for their communities."
I would like to see data to support that.
This is crazy. History really does repeat itself. Adolf Hitler has been reincarnated as a "Mutt"(Hussien's reference to himself) it serves him right. Shame on you "Blessed One" (the meaning of Barack)You just aren't smart enough to realize that you are about to cause a civil war. We only elected you because you are not Republican. Don't mistake that as a mandate for socialism.
compulsary service is like slave trade, wher is the pursuit of happiness in all this ???????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6ZIHbFQAzU
goldieshouse.piczo.com
As a college student, I don't have the time to complete 100 hours of service. I'm studying for this thing called a degree? You know, the whole reason I went to college?
This is absolutely off the wall. The Federal Government has no right to require this or enforce it.
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