Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 44 - 50.
In an effort to rekindle the dying embers of a once strong communal spirit, selected high schools are piloting a community service scheme. This service directive requires students to complete a predetermined number of field hours, sometimes as many as 60, to graduate. Those advocating it perceive it as a unique opportunity to help young adults look beyond their personal needs, and concern themselves with the needs of other less fortunate members of their community. Active involvement, albeit compulsory, in community affairs is considered by them to be a good way to create awareness of social issues and promote communal values and ideals. Rather than existing as isolated individuals, we need to form a dynamic group and pool our valuable resources to create a community that is proactive and highly responsive to its needs. To do this we need to, once again, foster an interest in the general well-being of our communities.
Our children need to be taught the significance of civic responsibility within a real-world context. It is not enough to teach children about social issues prevalent in our societies today. This information is as good as lost when taught in a static classroom. A practical, hands-on approach, on the other hand, where children come into contact with real events and circumstances, will go a long way in broadening their understanding of how people, regardless of background, are affected by them. This insight has the potential to spawn feelings of altruism and empathy, which are the foundations of a strong social fabric and important indicators of a collective conscience.
This incentive has been piloted by different districts with varying degrees of success. While nobody doubts the value of community service, there are those who question the legitimacy of making it compulsory. They are of the opinion that where it has failed it has done so because people, notwithstanding age, cannot be forced to contribute. The crucial factor is interest which needs to be generated so that involvement is voluntary, not forced.
