forced volunteering

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I believe the term is "community service" in the USA.

Community service is a soft alternative to jail time in the USA for white collar criminals.

Might not be a bad thing for young students as part of their education- to do something in the community outside of the classroom as part of their education. But if its mandatory then you have to call it something other than "volunteering" like "community service".

Yes, I've heard of mandatory "community service" for which one receives no compensation. I don't think it should be required of anyone.

The problem with volunteering is fewer students will actually do it unless it is mandatory. Apparently we are somehow failing to instill in students the intrinsic value of volunteer work. I think your best volunteer work arises from a necessity for it. Create an environment in which #1 nothing vital gets done without volunteers and #2 individuals are unable to meet their own needs without doing unpaid community work, and you'll get that volunteer spirit back. Unfortunately, it historically has required especially dire circumstances for this to happen--I'm thinking wartime. After all, there is a reason most countries have at times resorted to using conscripts for waging war. Everyone knows that the most effective militaries are highly trained, professional volunteers. You get the best of both worlds: Voluntary service for which all your basic needs are provided along with some monetary compensation besides.

I also think that we as a society tend to place less of a priority on keeping our commitments. I'm compensated for the work I do in church, whereas the same position in most churches is strictly unpaid volunteer. I was willing when I started this gig to work strictly as an unpaid volunteer and would have been just as devoted to it as I am with the money. I've got an orchestra gig that really is strictly volunteer, and I never miss a performance. I'd had a good contact on a nursing home staff who would have my wife and I come in and do programs. I was even encouraged by school administrators to do similar things while I was a teacher because having a teacher working in the community reflected well on the school.

But to make it mandatory, I think calling it "volunteering" is a little dumb. Aside from just taking pride in the community, doing unpaid community service does give the, um, "servant" a few advantages. If you do community service regularly enough, you build your business network by getting to know business and community leaders. It's also a way to build and develop useful skills and practical work experience. You might start out "volunteering," but you end up getting really good at what you do as a volunteer. You can turn that right around and start offering the same or similar service for-profit. You can start your own business that way. Or you say in a job interview, "No, I was never 'hired' to do X, but I gained a lot of experience with X after I got laid off. Because of my work with X, there was a dramatic improvement with Y, and I believe that work speaks for itself. That's why I believe I'm prepared to be the best possible asset to your company...blah, blah, etc."

The only real negative experience I had with volunteering (as an adult) was a former coworker of mine somehow got the impression she could freeload off me by guilting me into doing a couple of free gigs at the nursing home where she worked. I didn't really want to say "no," but I didn't want to play the gig, either. It's not that I have a problem with the occasional free gig every now and then. I just hate being the guy everyone goes to because they think I won't give them a hard time over my fees. My point in bringing that up is that I see potential in requiring unpaid community service of students--just don't call it "volunteering." I just think that it's equally valuable to teach students when and how to draw the line--how to say, "Look, I did you a favor. I did you several favors. I will always do you favors, but I can't help but feel I'm being taken for a ride here. If you really want me to work for you that bad, I'm going to need to see some compensation. It's nothing personal. I just have to put bread on the table just like everyone else."

Forced volunteering is a contradiction in terms. Compulsory community service seems to be useful for young counties looking to engage in the development of civic responsibilities. I can see no good reason to think of it as a necessary component of society however.

In Poland, for a long time something similar to "Comunity Service" but it was abolished in 1989 because, new government deemed too communist

Recently hooligans almost certainly teenagers vandalized monument dedicated to soldiers fighting in World War II. People were angry. Politicians of both right-wing and left-wing advocated the introduction in schools of forced unpaid work for the community, because similar measures exist successfully in Germany, the UK, USA and many other countries.

I have sometimes heard of companies "volunteering" their employees for community projects. The employees get paid for their time as if they were at their regular jobs, and participation is usually not mandatory (though those who don't participate may have to take the day off without pay). In these cases, the company is seen as being charitable, not the individual workers.

I have never heard of that. It must be a regional thing within America.

It is also contrary to the 13th amendment. It is involuntary servitude.

ruveyn

being voluntary in the sense of service to a given thing or cause is quite like someone saying you are in this position for a reason. well, put in another twist of phrase, if you saw someone dying out on the street you wouldn't like look the other way would you, I mean you'd ring 911 or someone in a position to help them, things like volunteering to be an emergency paramedic cant only serve in the way that you're inclined to know something first, I had to learn first aid in a number of situations. I cant even remember all the right safety movements but I know id help that person if no one else was around to say stop them from choking, other matters would need to be looked at as a matter of stringent urgency and resources.
In light of forced labour, as this topic now appears, I think its unsaid to not get involved in a primary pursuit of purpose to a public cause. if it was simply raising awareness of something important to a lot of people, id consider it, but it's have to be alongside doing something id enjoy,. when you thing about it, most people find it life changing when they reach a certain age, and they feel they are giving up something not really attributing all their time, to the placement because of other family commitments.

I am surprised that in America and England forced children to unpaid work.

I wonder if there is fraud, for example, does anyone tried to cheat by lying about worked houers

In Poland there ware only one form of involuntary servitude was conscription to Polish Army, it was Abolished in 2011 because many of my fellow countryman, actively avoided draft, by joining university because university student was exempted from draft during time of studying (students have opportunity instead to join to Officer training curse for student) , "buying" Medical certificate about illness that was disqualifying condition for military service, trying to bribe army medical committee doctors, or even joining to Jehovah Wittiness:-) (because they ware exempted from service because their religion). I was the exception because i wanted to be drafted unfortunately stupid army doctors rejected me

My high school started this with my graduating class. But you couldn't volunteer just anywhere, oh no, they had their list of 'approved' volunteer activities. My years of volunteering at the local science museum didn't count. Made a stink about it & they finally relented Oh, they were so glad to get rid of me.

The "community service" BS was implemented after I got out of school in 2008 on a quasi-nationwide scale. However, we were told that postsecondary institutions wanted students to be involved in some sort of extracurricular activity.

"Community service" (read: legalized slavery) in order to graduate high school is a ludicrous concept. In order to learn, you are supposed to sit in a classroom x number of hours per day listening to a lecture and/or having your nose in a book, and being a slave for someone else is not learning.

For the US Constitution, the 13th Amendment reads:

Section 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.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.



But for some reason, rulings seem to ignore this amendment such as in compulsory volunteerism or conscription into the military.

Technically you can refuse the community service. You won't graduate, but beyond that they can't force you.
(I'm still against it though)

mandatory volunteerism, what an oxymoron

Conscription falls under civic duty, same as serving on juries. Protecting domestic interests is every citizen's concern

Doesn't mean I like the draft. I'm very much against it. But I wouldn't fight it if my number got called. Besides, at the moment we have an excellent volunteer, professional, trained military negating the need for conscripts. I think the only way we could do better would be by requiring everyone to have military training on the same level our volunteers do it for the sake of preparedness. Conscription only hurts the military in that it floods the ranks with inexperienced soldiers who aren't in the least willing to be there. It's self-sabotage.

But it certainly isn't unconstitutional.

I'm not a lawyer, but it does seem that a constitutional argument could be made that public (ie state-funded) schools cannot deny a diploma just because a student refuses to do mandatory volunteering outside of school. Or maybe that's wishful thinking on my part.