flyingswoosh Wrote:but it's obvious that the point of school, is for you to learn something for yourself.
I have to disagree with that. I think there's a little more to public schooling than just the giving the gift of learning for mere individual gain. The government wouldn't provide free schooling (at a pretty penny, too) unless they didn't want/expect for it to help society as a whole in the long run.
Now, of course education benefits individuals. But, it just so happens that by helping students individually, they are helping society as a whole.
It could be argued that mandatory community service requirement is just a more direct way doing that.
And, then, there's also the opinion of the school system that they're teaching students humility, community involvement, etc. with the whole requirement. So, they
do feel like students are learning something for themselves. Whether they are or not is another matter (just like whether they learn in English class is another matter).
It's all semantics, maybe, when you break it down. But -- then again -- so is this entire discussion.
-JD