Reply to Almost a quarter of seniors don't have enough SSL to graduate at our HS

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "Almost a quarter of seniors don't have enough SSL to graduate at our HS"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Both my kids had done over 130 hours by the end of 7th grade.

It is pathetic that this has not been completed by so many high school students.

There are still about 4 or 5 states where this is mandatory. [/quote]

Great for you.  But you also have free time to waste on DCUM so presumably you’ve got time and income to spare.  A lot of MCPS parents don’t have the resources to shuffle their kids around to get SSL hours or to pay to get them done at summer camp.  Check your privilege.[/quote]

+1 not sure exactly how one’s kids get 130 hours so “easily” in middle school.  Do enlighten us but I suspect it involves quite a bit of parental chauffeuring for an activity the kid was already involved in or some major money for SSL approved camps [/quote]

I would also like to know.  —middle school mom debating whether to risk the storm so her kid can get 1 SSL hour volunteering this evening a half hour away from where we live. [/quote]

I wonder if the opportunities or norms are different across the schools?  I haven't read the whole threads but was surprised to see this comment.  I had three kids go through and all three got all SSLs in MS and I wasn't involved in almost any of it.  Two of them asked their 4th and 5th grade teachers if they could help out after school (which they walked to once a week).  I kind of recall them helping with earlier grades in the days before school began (putting up bulletin boards and such.)   They seemed to get a lot AT school (They told me they got them for, like I think Outdoor Ed?  And some things like that?0. I think, like reshelving books in the library or something?  honestly, I don't know).  One did some educational programs online (this was during Covid so not sure if those opportunities are still available-- I think it was like watching videos and taking quizzes about MLK or something like that?)  The one time I was slightly involved, it was just driving one of them to a CIT gig in the summer-- she didn't do it for the reason of getting SSLs but did get them, and it added up to a lot over 2 weeks.

Honestly, even with 3 kids going through, I don't even know how many they needed or how they got them.  They just took care of it, themselves.   That's what makes me think that some schools are kind of more set up for kids to earn them (like, advertise the opportunities and have things available in or near the building) than others are?

[/quote]

You’re proving the point of those who say SSL hours are difficult for many to access.  Your kids asked prior teachers to create an SSL opportunity for them that didn’t exist and wasn’t advertised to anyone.  CIT jobs usually go to kids who have been campers in the past or kids whose parents pay for them to be campers.  And great that your kids live within walking distance from their school so you didn’t need to drive them, but that isn’t the case for a lot of families.  [/quote]

I'm not sure why you're saying the ES opportunities didn't exist.  You're right that they weren't posted on a website, but they didn't have some special relationship with the ES teachers.  They just asked 'hey, do you need after school help' and the teachers said, 'sure!'  Lots of kids at their ES did the same thing.  But it's quite possibly true that there are different norms across elementary schools-- some might expect the volunteers or even mention it to the fifth graders as they finished up and others might find it unusual/not like to participate.

But if you're looking for posted opportunities, I just did a search on the SSL website and about a dozen virtual opportunities came up.  Writing letters to cancer patients.  [b]Attending a virtual leadership academy, etc.  [/b][/quote]

How is this community service? I'm really asking, not trying to be a jerk.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics