Volunteer work in High Schools (C1 CAE Writing)

Write paragraphs to answer the question: about volunteer work

Some high schools have a requirement that students must complete a certain amount of volunteer work in order to graduate. What do you think about this type of requirement? Give details to support your opinion.

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(ANSWER)

The competition between high schools to reach the top scores is becoming more intense along the years. In this sense, the image projected to the world plays a key role attracting better students, even though this picture goes beyond what is real. That is the case of "volunteer work". It is written between quotes, as this is paradoxically a mandatory requirement to get graduated. Despite the obvious hypocrisy behind this practice, we should think about whether they are useful for pregraduated students.

Students, at certain ages, should understand how importantly is cooperation in society. In this way, volunteering (though it be forced) could be an interesting tool to take into account, in order to make young people participate in their neighborhood's life.

Nevertheless, those kinds of tasks are short, and students are rather more focus on passing their final exams than in collaborating. That is the reason why, most cases this experiences will remain for them as a recollection for being told, rather than in a moral lesson.

All in all, I consider that volunteer work like a subject at high schools is useless and it doesn't seem, generally, to have a great effect into students' life. In fact, it seems to be more useful for universities' reputation.