Current Requirements for Graduation: Today’s high school students are required to do and achieve more than ever before in order to receive their high school diploma. Originally students simply had to earn an established number of credits over four years in order to graduate. Then different state legislatures began to require students to pass either “End-of-Course” exams or state exams in addition to earning a certain number of credits. At first the required “end-of-course” or state exams needed to graduate were just math and reading, and the tests were written at an eighth-grade level. But now, in this era of high-stakes testing, students are sometimes required to take and pass up to five different subject exams, often written at an eleventh grade level. Given how many hoops students have to jump through just to walk across the stage in a cap-and-gown, it seems ludicrous to suggest yet another graduation requirement, but that is precisely what I am advocating. In addition to all the academic requirements placed upon a student, I propose that students also be required to complete a set number of volunteer or service hours during the course of their high school career. Reasons Why Requiring Service Hours for High School Graduates is a Good Idea: There are many good reasons for why requiring service-hours from every American high school student is a good idea for the future. First of all, by requiring service hours, schools can break the bubble of unreality that often surrounds students in high school. High school is so often criticized as not being directly related to the “real world”; service hours would bring students into direct contact with reality! High school students today are also accused of extreme apathy, not caring or being invested in any activities whatsoever. Requiring students to step out of their indifferent disinterest would cause students to begin to feel passionate about their world and their influence in it. Requiring service hours would also be a good move for high school’s reputation among the community. Instead of being a place where students go and hide all day, high schools would be active, vibrant contributors to the good of the community as a whole. Teachers could integrate service projects into their curriculum making the question so often heard in classrooms (“Why do we have to learn this?”) irrelevant. Right now, many high schools are filled with clubs that require service hours, so making service hours a school-wide requirement would take all these separate efforts and make them into one powerful, unified effort to improve the community. Think of how much more good work could be done! Reasons Why Opposing a High School Service Hour Requirement is a Bad Idea: Now I know many people out there are opposed to any new graduation requirements, so let me dismiss any objections to this so-called “unnecessary burden.” Some selfish people don’t want this additional requirement simply because they don’t want people to help or serve other people! Don’t they see that students who are required to serve others as a volunteer will become more kind and considerate people in their real life? People who oppose this requirement don’t understand that if we don’t start making service-hours a requirement that in the future, charities will run out of volunteers and stop serving those in need—possibly resulting in a rise in our nation’s crime rate! It is vital that we keep this from happening by making students learn to serve others now while they are still young and impressionable. I would also ask people who oppose a service-hour requirement for graduation to realize that doing service hours also increases a student’s GPA over time! The Logical Decision: In short, there are no real downfalls to requiring service hours as a graduation requirement. All it will require is a willingness from school administrators to keep track of all the hours students serve and to make connections between the high school and various service organizations outside the school that will be beneficial to both students and the community at large. We all know that changing the way schools currently work is a big challenge, but it’s not one that we can’t tackle successfully if we use all our energy to make both our schools and the outside world a better place! The fact that students often ask teachers “Why do we have to learn this?” suggests what? A) Teenagers are whiny and don’t like to work. B) High school seems disconnected from reality. C) High school is a place where questions should be asked. D) Teenagers are curious and look to their teachers for answers.