Obama and REQUIRED community service

[Bindare_Dundat]

http://www.change.gov/americaserves

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Yes, weyou can will!

[timfogarty]

when I was a child, the fear mongering going through my grade school was that the new president was going to make us go to school 12 months a year.

[Hugo Chavez]

I think this is probably missing details...  It can't possibly be what it says.

Ok, the site was obviously put together really fast, on another page it says: Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama and Biden will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that is worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.

I'm wondering about "require"

[Bindare_Dundat]

I think this is probably missing details...  It can't possibly be what it says.

Ok, the site was obviously put together really fast, on another page it says: Require 100 Hours of Service in College: Obama and Biden will establish a new American Opportunity Tax Credit that is worth $4,000 a year in exchange for 100 hours of public service a year.

I'm wondering about "require"

link

[24KT]

http://www.change.gov/americaserves

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Yes, weyou can will!

{giggle}

it's not as bad as it seems.
The problem is that in your society... community service has always been seen as some form of punishment.
If you can get past that mindset, ...perhaps you'll see what an incredible opportunity that would be for youth to really understand what's taking place around them. considering these are the ones who will indeed be setting the policies of tomorrow, ...their having a firm grasp on reality and an understanding of the lives of others is a good thing.

Community service in order to receive financial aid or college tuition isn't a bad thing at all.
Up here in Ontario, seniors in highschool are required to complete a certain amount of hours of community service just to graduate from highschool. It builds character, as well as a sense of UNselfishness that is sorely lacking in todays kids. It gets them out in the world meeting and interacting with other people who may not be just like them. Through exposure and interaction, walls long fortified by fear & ignorance come tumbling down.

This is a good thing.

[Hugo Chavez]

link

http://www.change.gov/agenda/service/

[Hugo Chavez]

it is 40 bucks an hour or up to I guess... rich kids will be pissed

[Bindare_Dundat]

http://www.change.gov/agenda/service/

Thanks

[Wiggs]

http://www.change.gov/americaserves

The Obama Administration will call on Americans to serve in order to meet the nation’s challenges. President-Elect Obama will expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps and will create a new Classroom Corps to help teachers in underserved schools, as well as a new Health Corps, Clean Energy Corps, and Veterans Corps. Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year. Obama will encourage retiring Americans to serve by improving programs available for individuals over age 55, while at the same time promoting youth programs such as Youth Build and Head Start.

Yes, weyou can will!

And  

[Hedgehog]

It may not be a dumb idea after all. But very hard to put to work though.
I think the best gain from something like this would actually be how it helps instill some character in high school kids.
Ghetto kids getting to work and meet adults and see role models - I think that may actually work.
As for what services they will provide - I don't know.
I just know that many parents - too many fail at parenting.
And if kids were to do community service it would probably build their character and as a bonus - their patriotism as well.     

[Eyeball Chambers]

Required?  Obama can't be fucking up this soon?

[tonymctones]

Required?  Obama can't be fucking up this soon?

ya i like the idea but i dont think he should/could make it required maybe something like helping out with college or like it was said tax credits or something shit id volunteer for tax credits.

[Hugo Chavez]

I don't know what level of required we're talking about and for who, but I know one thing for sure.  If all of the people are required in some way to get us out of the shithole, perhaps the people will be more willing to scrutinize bullshit steps that get us into shit in the first place.  The one thing I do know is there has been no shortage of people who just don't give a fuck and that apathy is partly to blame.  When we all have to sacrifice, maybe people will start giving a shit next time the psychos move to screw us.

[Hedgehog]

ya i like the idea but i dont think he should/could make it required maybe something like helping out with college or like it was said tax credits or something shit id volunteer for tax credits.

It clearly states that it is only those in grad and high school and college (probably those with student loans - may get much better terms though) that this would be mandatory for.
And I don't even know if it will be mandatory for these groups.
But it would build much needed character in lots of ghetto kids.
As for the general public, the idea is probably to re-build the communities that has been a solid foundation previously.
Interesting idea, but a very huge project to undertake. 

[Al Doggity]

I guess they've refined it even further. There is no mention of "required" and the basic gist of the item seems to be that it is just an initiative, like physical fitness or reading challenges.

For the record, this isn't all that unusual. I went to a Catholic high school in Ohio and all of the schools in the diocese were required to put in so many hours of community service.

[Hugo Chavez]

yup, they did change the wording.  As it was worded, it sounded like citizens of all ages would be required.  Like I said, that entire site was put up very fast and I kinda figured this wasn't what it sounded like.

[CQ]

For the record, this isn't all that unusual. I went to a Catholic high school in Ohio and all of the schools in the diocese were required to put in so many hours of community service.

Same here, you can't graduate from any high school in the country unless you do XX hours of community service.

Of course we are tiny so logistics make it easy, but I think it's a good policy and it works very well for us.

[io856]

most of us did community service in high school anyway

[Hedgehog]

I think it should be required for all high school kids.
Military service in Israel is mandatory for all, men 4 years and women 2 years.
You can say what you want about Israel, but no country comes close to having such community spirit.
Perhaps some 50 hours per year seems bleak in comparison.
But it will probably have effect.

The biggest problem is to getting this done and to explain the positives of it.
I'm sure there will be plenty of white and black thrash who will oppose this 'nobody ain't tellin' me nothin' how to raise ma kidz!'.
Since we can't neuter these bozo's, giving their kids a helping hand to become upstanding fcuking citizens seems like a plan. 

[CQ]

I think it should be required for all high school kids.
Military service in Israel is mandatory for all, men 4 years and women 2 years.
You can say what you want about Israel, but no country comes close to having such community spirit.
Perhaps some 50 hours per year seems bleak in comparison.

Exactly. I said it as a joke but I was serious - people seem to think Patrotism means waving some flag while hating other countries. All useless, totally useless.

Doing something to uplift your nation is true patrotism, but per usual people prefer rhetoric and talk over actual action.

[Cap]

it is 40 bucks an hour or up to I guess... rich kids will be pissed

It'll be half, look at his campaign workers.  Lol

[drkaje]

So community service for a tax credit makes no sense? Seems to me like a stay at home mom that files jointly, part time employees and college students could make out like a bandits.

[Cap]

So community service for a tax credit makes no sense? Seems to me like a stay at home mom that files jointly, part time employees and college students could make out like a bandits.

I think the idea is cool but I think you'd have a lot of people doing it and I doubt the funds would be available. I don't know how many kids go to college a year but even if 200k students got $4k you are talking almost one billion dollars.  I bet the top four universities in the country total 200k, so I'm sure there are a lot more. 

Community service is a great idea but there are drawbacks to the plan itself.

[Hedgehog]

I think the idea is cool but I think you'd have a lot of people doing it and I doubt the funds would be available. I don't know how many kids go to college a year but even if 200k students got $4k you are talking almost one billion dollars.  I bet the top four universities in the country total 200k, so I'm sure there are a lot more. 

Community service is a great idea but there are drawbacks to the plan itself.

I agree.
Funding of this will be a tough one.
There may be some smart solution where the reform sort of finances itself, eg that expenses for teen crime drops et al.
But regardless - a key matter.

[drkaje]

I think the idea is cool but I think you'd have a lot of people doing it and I doubt the funds would be available. I don't know how many kids go to college a year but even if 200k students got $4k you are talking almost one billion dollars.  I bet the top four universities in the country total 200k, so I'm sure there are a lot more. 

Community service is a great idea but there are drawbacks to the plan itself.

We were just bamboozled into giving $700B to fucking millionaires!!!

$1B/yr in tax credits to college students or working families isn't a huge deal. Someone like me, who is divorced, would be helped too because child support isn't tax deductible.