Mandatory volunteering

A well know phrase of Elizabeth Andrew says volunteers don't necessarily have
the time; they just have the heart. It is the real meaning of volunteering; however,
most of schools apply mandatory volunteering as a requirement for many students.
As a result they make of volunteering something annoying and losing the real
meaning of volunteering. So, I strongly believe that volunteering could not be
mandatory, although many people believe and support mandatory volunteering.
First, most of people believe that mandatory volunteering is helpful to encourage
the social and philanthropic awareness of students; although, they will intend to
volunteer just for academic purpose. Mandatory volunteering shows a wrong idea
of what volunteering is. Students should have the intention by themselves of
helping others but not being forced to do it because of an academic requirement.
According to research, "The essence of volunteering is that it is voluntary rather
that contractual" (Hoad, 2002). However, students that volunteer for academic
purposes change the essence of volunteering, so mandatory volunteering is bad
for students.
Second, some people believe that students would not know about the benefits of
volunteering until they do a mandatory volunteering; however, they ignore that
volunteering is a personal choice and students may become resentful with
volunteering in their future. A bad volunteering experience will generate a bad
quality on volunteering service causing more harm than good in the community.
Therefore, a bad volunteering experience will stop students from volunteering
again in the future. So, mandatory volunteering will create a negative impression of
community service for students. It will definitely be harmful to the motivation of
being a volunteer.
Finally, despite the fact that volunteering is better than just sitting around watching
TV or playing video games, students should not be required to do anything after
school except homework. Because many students have busy after-school
schedules helping their families or working, they do not have enough time to
volunteer. Therefore, school starts and ends at set time, and any school-related
activity after those times is extracurricular. Students today are overwhelmed.
As you can see, volunteering service could not be mandatory. Mandatory
volunteering can have more drawbacks than benefits not only for the community
but also for the future of volunteering service. In addition, a bad experience can
develop more problems because volunteering is a personal decision that involves
personal will, time, and devotion. So, is it correct to think in volunteering service as
something forced and mandatory?