thedrifter
12-27-06, 02:17 PM
Public service would prepare students for college, life
Saturday, December 23, 2006
By JOANNE LEVY-PREWITT
Several weeks ago, I heard Jim Lehrer of the "NewsHour" speak. He talked about his career as a journalist and also his time as a proud Marine. He seemed especially nostalgic about serving our country. He spoke of the rich diversity found in the military and of the value of teamwork.
Then Lehrer made an interesting proposal: mandatory public service after high school. Public service is an idea that has been bandied about for years. John F. Kennedy encouraged Americans to participate in voluntary service in his 1961 inaugural speech, and more recently, President Bush encouraged volunteerism and public service by forming the USA Freedom Corps, a national volunteer agency administered by the White House.
Many high schools, public and private, require volunteerism for graduation, and in my practice, I've seen students undertake a variety of volunteer assignments ranging from working at homeless shelters to digging irrigation ditches on other continents. However, with a few exceptions, most students volunteer only because they know it impresses colleges. Unlike Lehrer's experience in the Marines, despite location or duration, these students work with others similar to themselves: affluent and college-bound.
After hearing Lehrer speak, I wondered what it would be like for American high school graduates to work, shoulder-to-shoulder, for an extended time with others who aren't like them -- students from other socioeconomic, cultural, racial and geographic backgrounds. How would the experience of high school change if students knew they would do one or two years of public service before college? Finally, for college-bound students, could mandatory public service calm the frenzy of college admissions?
Gary Yates, president and CEO of the California Wellness Foundation, has a special interest in adolescent health and wellness. Yates also advocates mandatory public service for teens because he thinks it would reduce teen crime and improve their wellness. I see stress among high school students as a wellness issue too, so when I spoke to him, I asked him how he thought mandatory service might reduce the stress of preparing for college by giving students the opportunity to focus on helping others.
Yates expressed concern for high school students, saying that not only would national service give young adults time to consider their options, but that "no matter your economic background or academic record, a year or two to rub elbows with everyone else would make everyone equal."
Yates envisions at least a year of service and thinks participants should receive grants, scholarships or other incentives that could be applied to college. He also says that mandatory national service would help young adults "think more about what we have in common, and less as individuals."
I think a year or two of volunteerism, here or abroad, would be the ultimate preparation for both college and life. Shifting the focus away from college preparation and toward a common purpose would cause high school students to realign their priorities.
If all students were required to complete national service before college, they might think about how their talent and energy could be spent improving the lives of others, while learning about themselves in the process. Students who aren't college-bound could benefit by learning skills or trades that could later be used for employment.
Obviously, there are other considerations: What will happen to our economic workforce if all young adults go into public service between high school and college or work? What about pay or scholarships? What about families who rely on their high school graduate to contribute to the household or work in the family business? On a large scale, how would this affect college admission?
It's possible that if we mandated public service, college admission officers would be deluged with essays recounting tales of feeding, housing and teaching the underserved communities of the world, but it's also possible that colleges would admit more mature, energized students based more on their post-high school growth than their high school transcripts. That might be just the antidote to the admissions frenzy that our students need.
For further reading:
tcwf.org/op-ed_archive/national_service.htm
usafreedomcorps.gov
nces.ed.gov/ssbr/pages/volunteer.asp
Also:
"United We Serve: National Service and the Future of Citizenship," edited by E.J. Dionne, Kayla Meltzer Drogosz and Robert E. Litan; The Brookings Institution, 2003, $18.95
Joanne Levy-Prewitt is an independent college admissions adviser who works with students in the San Francisco area. E-mail her at jklprewitt@gmail.com.
Ellie
Saturday, December 23, 2006
By JOANNE LEVY-PREWITT
Several weeks ago, I heard Jim Lehrer of the "NewsHour" speak. He talked about his career as a journalist and also his time as a proud Marine. He seemed especially nostalgic about serving our country. He spoke of the rich diversity found in the military and of the value of teamwork.
Then Lehrer made an interesting proposal: mandatory public service after high school. Public service is an idea that has been bandied about for years. John F. Kennedy encouraged Americans to participate in voluntary service in his 1961 inaugural speech, and more recently, President Bush encouraged volunteerism and public service by forming the USA Freedom Corps, a national volunteer agency administered by the White House.
Many high schools, public and private, require volunteerism for graduation, and in my practice, I've seen students undertake a variety of volunteer assignments ranging from working at homeless shelters to digging irrigation ditches on other continents. However, with a few exceptions, most students volunteer only because they know it impresses colleges. Unlike Lehrer's experience in the Marines, despite location or duration, these students work with others similar to themselves: affluent and college-bound.
After hearing Lehrer speak, I wondered what it would be like for American high school graduates to work, shoulder-to-shoulder, for an extended time with others who aren't like them -- students from other socioeconomic, cultural, racial and geographic backgrounds. How would the experience of high school change if students knew they would do one or two years of public service before college? Finally, for college-bound students, could mandatory public service calm the frenzy of college admissions?
Gary Yates, president and CEO of the California Wellness Foundation, has a special interest in adolescent health and wellness. Yates also advocates mandatory public service for teens because he thinks it would reduce teen crime and improve their wellness. I see stress among high school students as a wellness issue too, so when I spoke to him, I asked him how he thought mandatory service might reduce the stress of preparing for college by giving students the opportunity to focus on helping others.
Yates expressed concern for high school students, saying that not only would national service give young adults time to consider their options, but that "no matter your economic background or academic record, a year or two to rub elbows with everyone else would make everyone equal."
Yates envisions at least a year of service and thinks participants should receive grants, scholarships or other incentives that could be applied to college. He also says that mandatory national service would help young adults "think more about what we have in common, and less as individuals."
I think a year or two of volunteerism, here or abroad, would be the ultimate preparation for both college and life. Shifting the focus away from college preparation and toward a common purpose would cause high school students to realign their priorities.
If all students were required to complete national service before college, they might think about how their talent and energy could be spent improving the lives of others, while learning about themselves in the process. Students who aren't college-bound could benefit by learning skills or trades that could later be used for employment.
Obviously, there are other considerations: What will happen to our economic workforce if all young adults go into public service between high school and college or work? What about pay or scholarships? What about families who rely on their high school graduate to contribute to the household or work in the family business? On a large scale, how would this affect college admission?
It's possible that if we mandated public service, college admission officers would be deluged with essays recounting tales of feeding, housing and teaching the underserved communities of the world, but it's also possible that colleges would admit more mature, energized students based more on their post-high school growth than their high school transcripts. That might be just the antidote to the admissions frenzy that our students need.
For further reading:
tcwf.org/op-ed_archive/national_service.htm
usafreedomcorps.gov
nces.ed.gov/ssbr/pages/volunteer.asp
Also:
"United We Serve: National Service and the Future of Citizenship," edited by E.J. Dionne, Kayla Meltzer Drogosz and Robert E. Litan; The Brookings Institution, 2003, $18.95
Joanne Levy-Prewitt is an independent college admissions adviser who works with students in the San Francisco area. E-mail her at jklprewitt@gmail.com.
Ellie