SPLIT: Ethics of servcie hours for Catholic students

[curlycool89]

Maybe a little carrot would help. Does your school require it’s students to complete service hours? Can they earn service hours by serving at Mass? I have seen this work in two different schools - they earn hours by serving at school Mass but not at parish Masses.

If it’s really desperate this might help, but I know that there are many people (including myself) who very much disapprove of giving service hours for prayer or Mass.

 

[superamazingman]

If it’s really desperate this might help, but I know that there are many people (including myself) who very much disapprove of giving service hours for prayer or Mass.

Why?

 

[Corki]

If it’s really desperate this might help, but I know that there are many people (including myself) who very much disapprove of giving service hours for prayer or Mass.

Sorry to hear that. In our area all the Catholic schools are pretty committed to service hours. Of course you don’t give hours for prayer but we try to get students to serve a variety of populations, including their parish and school. The idea is to form them young to be good stewards in their parishes when they are older.

 

[curlycool89]

Why?

Sorry to hear that. In our area all the Catholic schools are pretty committed to service hours. Of course you don’t give hours for prayer but we try to get students to serve a variety of populations, including their parish and school. The idea is to form them young to be good stewards in their parishes when they are older.

Because you shouldn’t give service hours out for something they should already be doing anyways. Young men should already be volunteering to be alter servers and teens should be volunteering in their parish. It shouldn’t be something that should need incentives, it should be assumed to be part of your duty as a Catholic.

If feels far too much like bribing people to do it or enabling the idea that you should get a reward for doing everything. Giving service hours doesn’t raise people who get into volunteering, it raises people who believe they shouldn’t do something unless there something in it for them.

 

[Corki]

Because you shouldn’t give service hours out for something they should already be doing anyways. Young men should already be volunteering to be alter servers and teens should be volunteering in their parish. It shouldn’t be something that should need incentives, it should be assumed to be part of your duty as a Catholic.

If feels far too much like bribing people to do it or enabling the idea that you should get a reward for doing everything. Giving service hours doesn’t raise people who get into volunteering, it raises people who believe they shouldn’t do something unless there something in it for them.

So, what DO you give service hour credit for? By your logic, you wouldn’t give service credit for working a soup kitchen or helping Habitat for Humanity either since they should already be serving the poor.

(PS, the OP is writing about an all girls school so your point about young men being altar servers is irrelevant)

The school I am most familiar with has a hefty service hour requirement each year. Only 5 hours can be earned at the school, including altar serving. Yet the young men who sign up continue to serve long after their 5 hours are up and even year-to-year. It’s a “carrot” to get them to consider a particular stewardship avenue, not a bribe for ongoing participation.

 

[Jean_Anthony]

aaa

 

[curlycool89]

So, what DO you give service hour credit for? By your logic, you wouldn’t give service credit for working a soup kitchen or helping Habitat for Humanity either since they should already be serving the poor.

Well, we can split hairs on this one. You should at the very least be volunteering in your parish, while other acts of charity are very good (morally praiseworthy) to do if you have time.

(PS, the OP is writing about an all girls school so your point about young men being altar servers is irrelevant)

Oops.

Change that then to if nobody is volunteering then the girls should be stepping up

The school I am most familiar with has a hefty service hour requirement each year. Only 5 hours can be earned at the school, including altar serving. Yet the young men who sign up continue to serve long after their 5 hours are up and even year-to-year. It’s a “carrot” to get them to consider a particular stewardship avenue, not a bribe for ongoing participation.

Sure, it could work, I never said it couldn’t.

I’m just concerned that we’re training them to only do thing when they get rewards out of them.

 

[Baelor]

Well, we can split hairs on this one. You should at the very least be volunteering in your parish, while other acts of charity are very good (morally praiseworthy) to do if you have time.

Not everyone may feel called to help at their parishes.

I’m just concerned that we’re training them to only do thing when they get rewards out of them.

Then there should be no community service requirement since that statement could be applied to anything.

 

[Et_Cetera]

I over-estimated the amount of leaves that I raked for neighbors. But I was a great student and generally nice. I think that service should be more sincere.