FCPS Community Service Requirement for 6th Graders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school doesn't do this unless it's a very recent change.

Our two elementaries do not either, unless it is new.

I would be very put off by it too OP and my kids volunteer and do other things that would fulfill the requirement.

It would irritate me in the same way mandatory reading logs irritate me (my kids read for pleasure).

I don't look at service requirements like reading logs. They are, or can be, requirements, part of the required curriculum. Many high schools require service hours. Along with civics classes, service requirements should be a requirement to get a diploma, as part of learning to be a good citizen.

I think parents should teach values as they see fit. Not schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school doesn't do this unless it's a very recent change.

Our two elementaries do not either, unless it is new.

I would be very put off by it too OP and my kids volunteer and do other things that would fulfill the requirement.

It would irritate me in the same way mandatory reading logs irritate me (my kids read for pleasure).

I don't look at service requirements like reading logs. They are, or can be, requirements, part of the required curriculum. Many high schools require service hours. Along with civics classes, service requirements should be a requirement to get a diploma, as part of learning to be a good citizen.

I respectfully disagree.

[Anonymous]

Your objection makes no sense. If you already have your child involved, then you have nothing to even think about. I am sure they monitor it somehow - maybe some kind of sign off sheet.

My child's school has a similar requirement. We already volunteer. My only thought was "great! got that covered"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school doesn't do this unless it's a very recent change.

Are you FCPS? We are being told it's a FCPS requirement.

My son is a junior this year and he had to do 15 hours of community service for his honors civics class in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

^we also did regular volunteering through their activities throughout elementary school.

[Anonymous]

You have a right to be left alone, to not be involved. Seems very coerced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have a right to be left alone, to not be involved. Seems very coerced.

Everything involved in attending public school is coercive, if you take that view. You have a right to homeschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have a right to be left alone, to not be involved. Seems very coerced.

Yeah, you have the right to resist doing a lot of things. Pick your battles I guess.

[Anonymous]

Your kid can volunteer through a church, a political campaign, helping neighbors (shoveling snow or mowing grass for an elderly or disabled neighbor), Volunteer Fairfax, helping out at the school. They are supposed to earn 5 hours in 6th, 15 in 8th (when they take civics), and 40 during HS. There are additional hours for NJHS, NHS, and IB diploma. There are very few limits on how your kid gets involved-- they just have to do something. It connects FCPS to the broader community, and teaches kids to recognize need in their communities and help.

That said-- the penalty for no participation is generally small. ES got a certificate sent home. 8th grade civics, it was part of the 4th quarter grade-- but a small part. They are not flunking kids or holding them back for not participating (except IB diploma-- that's a firm limit).

Only on DCUM would an average of 1-3 hours of community service per quarter be controversial. FCPS has real problems. Find one and gripe about that.

[Anonymous]

I loved putting down religious service on the FCPS form - I'm sure they hate that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have a right to be left alone, to not be involved. Seems very coerced.

School is pretty coercive. You might have the right not to do your math, or your community service, or dress out for PE, but you don't have the right to still pass the grade if you make those choices.

[Anonymous]

MCPS requires 75 hours of community service for graduation.

I can't believe there are people who actually find this objectionable???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I loved putting down religious service on the FCPS form - I'm sure they hate that.

In MCPS, that generally won't count unless it serves a broader community. If the youth group works at a food pantry or the church hosts a Red Cross blood drive, that counts, but serving as an usher or acolyte or an aide in a religious education class would not.

[Anonymous]

I don't find this requirement specifically objectionable. Just like I don't find the Family life classes specifically objectionable.

What I do find completely unacceptable is the FCPS loss of focus on education. My 4th and 5th graders have 15.5 hours a week of academics. The rest is "other" stuff. I wish they'd go back to education and leave the other stuff to the family. I have no desire for teachers to be social workers or surrogate parents.

It's not bad stuff, not at all, but our kids get way to little instruction in academics. That's the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved putting down religious service on the FCPS form - I'm sure they hate that.

In MCPS, that generally won't count unless it serves a broader community. If the youth group works at a food pantry or the church hosts a Red Cross blood drive, that counts, but serving as an usher or acolyte or an aide in a religious education class would not.

That is ridiculous.