Some people think that the government is wasting money on the arts and that this money could be better spent elsewhere. Tp what extent do you agree with this view?

It is sometimes argued that secondary school students ought to be engaged in mandatory unpaid

community

service

as part of their school curriculum. Whereas

community

service

has a number of potential drawbacks, I believe, they are both outweighed and outnumbered by the benefits.

This

essay will examine the merits and demerits of

this

phenomenon followed by my personal point of view. On the one hand, compulsory

community

service

in high schools has a number of potential drawbacks; chief among them, diminishing the students’ chance of admission into competitive colleges and universities owing to the fact that it would lead to consuming a considerable portion of the students’ time resulting in a drastic decline in their academic performance. As a consequence, there would be a substantial decrease in their competitiveness and the likelihood to receive admission by the universities of their choice.

This

has been evidenced by a recent study conducted by the University of Toront concluding that the schools that have subjected the students to obligatory

community

service

have seen their students grades and university admission rate fall by 20% and 25% respectively.

On the other

hand

Accept comma addition

hand, however

however

, mandatory

community

service

in high schools has numerous undeniable benefits the most important of which are enhanced academic performance and better career opportunities.

This

is due to the fact that serving the

community

results in a substantial increase in the students’ interaction with the

society contributing

Accept comma addition

society, contributing

to a significant growth in their social intelligence and skill level.

Consequently

, they will be more proficient, experienced and competitive and

therefore

will have a considerably higher chance of success in their future careers which will in turn benefit not only themselves but

also

the society as a whole. Based on a recent survey by the Toronto District School Board, the schools that have adopted

this

policy over the past decade report a noticeable rise/boost in the students’ performance level particularly in social studies. In conclusion, while incorporating unpaid

community

service

into the schools’ mandatory curriculum has several potential demerits

such

as consuming the students’ time and possibly affecting their grades, these disadvantages are undeniably eclipsed by the

merits including

Accept comma addition

merits, including

higher levels of social intelligence as well as increased likelihood of success in their future careers.