Compulsory volunteerism is an oxymoron

Clivebenss SG

'It encourages students to do something out of fear or because it will be rewarded. Compulsory volunteerism is an oxymoron.'

MR JAMES REEVES: 'As a teacher, I am always supportive when my students suggest we get involved with community work. However, I was disappointed to read Sunday's report ('Community work good for students') about Foreign Minister George Yeo endorsing the compulsory Community Involvement Programme (CIP) . Community work certainly can imbue students with excellent values, but requiring them to put in a minimum number of hours of CIP is exactly the sort of thing that encourages students to do something out of fear that they will be punished if they do not, or because it will be rewarded. Compulsory volunteerism is an oxymoron. Students will alter their behaviour to ensure they secure the requisite number of CIP hours. They will play the system and find the most painless way of meeting that requirement. Surely this does not infuse values that we would like to see in the youth of Singapore.'

the Bear SG

no shit...

Q: why do children do "community work" these days?
A: they get marks and credits at school for them

this instills a cynical point of view in the child as everything is a means to an end... the child learns neither compassion nor charity when they do "community work" not because they want to make things better, but because they feel they will profit from it...

and the world is cynical enough without children being subconsciously programmed to be like that

ShrodingersCat SG

Interestingly, I had a short discussion with a secondary school 'senior' about this.

I expressed my concern that the students were volunteering purely for the CIP points but his response to me was that it may be true that they volunteer for that now - but he hopes that through being 'forced' to give their time to volunteering, they will learn to experience the joy of volunteering and then do it out of passion later.

I felt that what he said does have a grain of truth. It is also true that I find students who had done community work, tend to be more passionate 'volunteers' later in life, than adults who have never done it before.

Also, nowadays we always go the way of trying to repackage something so young people 'like' it and 'want' to do it. Make Chinese cool, make no smoking cool - everything is worked through by making it attractive, appealing

But - there are some things that we need to do, whether it is fun, cool, enjoyable or not. And this discipline to do necessary things - whether they like it or not - is important in their growth to maturity.

So, don't call it volunteerism! Call it community work, call it National Service! Anything to shake the youths out of their apathy and expose them to a life that they are too sheltered to see - You can take away the points though :P

dangerboi SG

...having the thinking that a minimum amount of hours are needed prior to doing something and doing something solely out of goodwill are totally different stuffs

ahtansh SG

Government force "spirit of sacrificing" to be instill into our youth.

Clivebenss SG

I REFER to the letters on Wednesday by Mr Kwan Jin Yao ('Review community scheme in schools') and Mr James Reeves ('Community Involvement Programme').

The National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre believes community service programmes should be part of every school's curriculum. Integral to building values in our youth, service projects connect students to the wider community as well as disadvantaged groups.

While we acknowledge that the mandatory Community Involvement Programme (CIP) is not strictly volunteerism, it is a gateway to more volunteerism today and in the future. Studies in the United States have shown that community service, in conjunction with service learning, is a strong predictor of future volunteering.

In Singapore, there are examples of students who volunteer well beyond their required CIP hours, and its incentives. CIP is not going to change every student, but we hope it can be a transformative experience for many.

Essentially, CIP is a programme run on good intentions, but it has to be followed up with good execution. Here, we acknowledge that CIP has not always been well implemented. Hence, the centre hopes to work with more schools to promote a new approach towards designing community service as a way of life for our students.

For example, we have piloted programmes like iGlocal, jointly run with the Lien Centre for Social Innovation at the Singapore Management University and United World College of South East Asia. The programme is based on the ethos that CIP should be student-initiated, and that community service projects are more meaningful if students take more personal responsibility for them.

Laurence Lien
Chief Executive Officer
National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre

charlize SG

Soon they will have an advert to promote volunteerism among individuals.

Just like the fillial piety ad.

Clivebenss SG

Volunteerism is free that's what they want compulsory or not.

Veggie Bao SG

Why only students need to have volunteerism?

What about adults and older people?

Remember, students and children only constitute a small part of the overall population.

Clivebenss SG

Why only students need to have volunteerism?

What about adults and older people?

Remember, students and children only constitute a small part of the overall population.

Kiasu-ism, whatever free must take.

Veggie Bao SG

I just feel that if students are introduced to volunteerism, then the other parts of society should also be similarly introduced and encouraged to do it.

Not just kids only.

GHoST_18 SG

these kinda things can only happen in "Your Singapore"

Stage SG

HOLIDAY HOMEWORK is an oxymoron as well....

ShrodingersCat SG

Community service does not necessarily have to be 'volunteered'.... the CIP is a community involvement program - there's no mention about being a volunteer to begin with. It is a program that hope to expose students to the different needy communities and allow them to learn through that.

A school shouldn't just focus on academic studies - yet when a school takes the students out for 'community involvement' shouldn't that be a good thing? That students learn from their community and strengthen their roles within it.

The problem lies with what 2nd letter stated: that the intention is good but execution often leaves much to be desired. It's the quantitative approach towards measuring the benefit of a result that end up making the whole thing shallow. The number of hours criteria means busy teachers end up selecting meaningless tasks that does not engage the students just to chalk up the hours.

I have heard of of some students who may start by being 'forced' to do CIP but were involved in projects that truly engage the youths. They end up enjoying the experience through the interaction with beneficieries, and when they leave school, continue to volunteer on their own time.

Clivebenss SG

I REFER to last Friday's letter by Mr Laurence Lien, chief executive officer of the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre ("CIP has shortfalls but it's a vital gateway to volunteerism").

Mr Lien is right when he acknowledges that the mandatory Community Involvement Programme (CIP) is not strictly volunteerism, but he is wrong when he says it is a gateway to more volunteerism now and in the future. Anything that is predicated on duress, especially in volunteerism and charity, is not given freely.

Mr Lien asserts that studies in the United States have shown that community service in conjunction with service learning is a strong predictor of future volunteering. He does not make clear how service learning is obtained.

Given the strong mindset of the Americans on free will, anything that carries a hint of intruding on their free will does not resonate well with them. Were they forced to submit to service learning as the compulsory CIP? Would they accept compulsory CIP?

There is a great difference between giving time freely and being forced to give time. While I do not doubt that the CIP is run on good intentions, the point is not how meaningful it is to be immersed in it. The point in contention is volunteerism, which cannot be predicated on a command to do it. Good intentions do not obliterate the right to the freedom to volunteer. After all, to volunteer means to make a choice and the presence of "mandatory" removes the choice.

Dudley Au

Clivebenss SG

I REFER to the letters by Mr Kwan Jin Yao ('Review community scheme in schools') and Mr James Reeves ('Community Involvement Programme'; both July 14), as well as the reply by National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre chief executive Laurence Lien ('CIP has shortfalls but it's a vital gateway to volunteerism'; July 16).

The National University of Singapore (NUS) Volunteer Network conducted a university-wide study last year to find out key trends and attitudes in undergraduate volunteering. The online survey elicited 3,143 responses from both local and foreign students. Here are some of the results:

Our experience has shown that voluntary service, if carried out in the right spirit, can make a tremendous impact on both the individual and the wider community.

Timothy Lin
Founding Chairman, NUS Volunteer Network
and President, NUS Volunteer Network Alumni