You got nothing out of it?
No insights?
No observations?
No lessons learned?
“You got nothing out of it? No lessons learned”.
I just had to comment on this... yes, they do get something out of it. They get a taste of socialism and I will explain why. When my son (and now daughter) first started to volunteer, they quickly realized that the goal of the school vs what they learned were two different things. The goal is to “help” people, clean up a pond, serve food at a homeless shelter etc.. What they learned was that their time was being mandated to work (with no pay or benefits) to support a non profit organization that the schools okayed. For example, no volunteer hours are permitted for church activities unless it is a soup kitchen that feeds everyone. They learned that since they were non-paid volunteers, they were sometimes asked to do “yucky” things because the paid workers didn’t want to do it. So...yes... they did learn something. They learned that forced labor in the name of “volunteer” work is nothing more than symbolism over substance. If you think that is a bit harsh... think like this> let’s say the government mandated that you volunteered at the same type activities. The list is restricted... no church activities and only not for profit companies. Now, if you don’t do it.. something won’t be granted to you (i.e. your high school degree). From what I hear from a huge group of middle schoolers and high schoolers... they hate the idea.
That’s about right. It did not improve my feelings towards my fellow man in any way as it was assumed to do.
I did learned that it was impossible to correct a child’s language skills when he went home and learned ebonics from his parents nightly.
I was doing this when I was 16,17,18. I had many things on my mind other than service to others. That’s another reason why I got nothing out of it.