Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts | 501 S. Sapodilla Ave, WPB, FL 33401

THE MUSE

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  • March 27No School because of Good Friday on 3/29/24
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  • March 27Scholarship Night on 3/27/24 at 6 p.m. in Meyer Hall
  • March 27Dual Enrollment Meeting on 3/27/24 at 11:19 a.m. in the Cafeteria
Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts | 501 S. Sapodilla Ave, WPB, FL 33401

THE MUSE

Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts | 501 S. Sapodilla Ave, WPB, FL 33401

THE MUSE

Donate to Graduate

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Soup kitchens, toy drives and nonprofit organizations all have one thing in common: they can help you get into college. These kinds of nonprofit activities provide students with the opportunity to receive volunteer community service hours; however, students have become so obsessed with doing only what is necessary to fulfill their graduation requirements that they completely miss the point, which is to help out the community.

The average student attends school 180 days out of the year for seven hours a day. In addition to those 1,260 hours, they also put in time for studying, participating in extracurricular activities and planning out how to get into college. All of this time is spent centered on ourselves rather than focusing on the greater good of the community.

All students in Florida high schools are required to have at least 20 hours of community service before they graduate. It’s embarrassing that the school district thinks that high school students are only capable of completing the bare minimum of 20 hours. But what’s even more embarrassing is when a student can’t even meet that low standard or when students only do the work because they have to.

The concept of mandatory community service hours was introduced only a few years ago. Although the original goal of it was a good one, students totally overlook the purpose. The necessary 20 hours have become more of an obstacle rather than an opportunity to help those in need. Instead of starting the work with the objective of helping others, students want to get it done and over with.

The required hours should be bumped up to at least 40, or a rule should be made that a student must turn in 20 hours per year while at Dreyfoos. This would increase the amount of time students spend helping the community and give students a better feel of the atmosphere for volunteer work.

Community service is there for a reason. It brings a community together by helping those in need. The fact that it has become a graduation requirement is not a punishment; it is supposed to spark a love of helping inside a student. The original purpose of getting young, impressionable students to work for the greater good as a community is an honorable one, but the thought behind it has become twisted so that service hours have become like Pokémon. Gotta catch ‘em all.

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About the Contributor
Mackenzie White, News Editor
Communications student Mackenzie White is the News Editor of The Muse as well as the Assistant Floor Director for TV Production. She enjoys reading and writing and is a big fan of films and television. White has a 15-year-old sister who is currently a theater freshman along with a 29-year-old brother who is a Dreyfoos Alumnus Class of 2003. She interns weekly for Senator Bill Nelson in his West Palm Beach office and has a strong passion for politics and social activism. Her dream for college is to attend University of Virginia as a political science and history major. White looks forward to finishing up her wonderful experience as a student at Dreyfoos.
Donate to THE MUSE
$450
$10000
Contributed
Our Goal