I got this message from a friend. And then I had another situation I had wanted to offer up on a blog as well. So… what do you think about the ethics of required parental volunteering in schools?
I’m preparing to go to [[name of private school redacted]] to work a basketball game. I don’t want to go at all but I have to put in so many volunteer hours every school year for my daughter to be able to go see a movie with her class at the end of the year. And nobody wants to be that deadbeat parent whose child has to stay behind because they didn’t volunteer enough. She’s not even playing basketball! They’ve got quite a racket going here: work me for 20 hours for a $20 movie trip.
Apparently, a parent can’t simply pay the movie ticket admission and, say, a bit for gas: they must volunteer or the child isn’t allowed to go on the trip.
A neighbor also told me that her son is on the swim team for the public high school where he attends but she can’t afford all of the fees for him to participate, so the school gave her the option of volunteering 30 hours a semester so her son could participate.
But, on the other hand, students at schools with high volunteer involvement flourish – good grades, fewer discipline problems, etc.; schools without much parental involvement struggle – students with poor grades, more discipline problems, etc., so there is a big incentive by this and other schools to get parents into the school for student events or into the classroom. And this kind of required time better guarantees that happening.
What are your thoughts about the ethics and optics of either of these cases? What about a situation where a parent absolutely cannot volunteer, because of childcare issues, caregiver issues, job issues or lack of transportation? What if a parent has a conviction that precludes him or her from ever volunteering in a school?
Also see:
Comparing schools with high & low volunteer engagement
How schools & small governments should be using social media
Great blog Jayne. My first thoughts:
I am always uncomfortable when I see the words “required” and “volunteering” in the one sentence. To me, it’s the same oxymoron as “paid volunteering” or “mandatory volunteering”.
To punish a child whose parent doesn’t volunteer enough does not sit well with me either. I do believe the parent should have the option to pay for a movie ticket.
I agree that high volunteering rates at schools have some great benefits for many. But schools have a responsibility to make volunteering attractive and meaningful for everyone involved. Why should schools be any different from any other volunteer involving organisation? How good is it for morale to have people volunteering only because they feel they “have to”
In your second example I believe that you raise the right questions. I feel for those parents who may be discriminated against because of the factors you mention and to put it simply I feel the whole concept of volunteering is tainted by these methods.
Ugh. Another wonderful ‘Voluntold’ experience for everyone. I personally have such a bad attitude about these that I worry that I am doing psychological harm to my children and they won’t volunteer as adults.