The kids doing this certainly deserve our thanks.
However I question this push for “service learning”. My son has a “service learning requirement” (an oxymoron) at his school. It is said to be essential for college application.
Why are kids being conditioned to provide free labor for the state?
Why is the work almost always menial (garbage collection)?
Why does the work typically involve some eco-component?
Why at the same time is paid employment at useful work so regulated and discouraged, such that a small business man would never want to employ teen workers?
Or am I just being an old coot, and should get along with the program?
Not sure, but there are probably a lot of youth groups that help clean the lake, some of which are entirely voluntary.
Community labor is either voluntary or unionized government workers. Take your pick.
Why is the work almost always menial (garbage collection)?
Please list the alternative skills that these kids can perform.
Why does the work typically involve some eco-component?
If you are a Christian, how about Genesis 1:28? If not, I think teaching kids to care for land beats the hell out of teaching them to leave it alone. Then there's teaching them to despise the people who litter.
Why at the same time is paid employment at useful work so regulated and discouraged, such that a small business man would never want to employ teen workers?
To force small business (usually Republicans) out of business. That makes big business very happy. It's the Democrat way.
Or am I just being an old coot, and should get along with the program?
Neither. You're a bit paranoid in that you can't see the good along with what might be problematic.
My kids were under the same requirement their senior year.
One of my daughters volunteered down at the pro-life unwed mother shelter here in town.
The lady running it also wrote her a nice recommendation to go with her college application.
Check your FR-mail for some ideas.
About 31 or 32 years ago I worked 5
or 6 kids my sons age in the summer. this went on for 5 or 6
years. You could pick the ones that would do well business
wise very shortly. Regs & insurance made it to bothersome to
continue.