Obama to sign public service bill

A kid can earn $500 towards a college education. Parents, grandparents, others $1,000 each. Now, how is that supposed to pay for college? Annie, have you had a look at what a college education costs nowadays? If I read that correctly, it's not cumulative as in you can earn $500 each year, but a one time deal. Just considering how much time is put in to 'earn' that money... 100 service hours plus training camp... It's less than minimum wage.

but they should also get to choose if they do it at all. If not it is just forced labor and not really volunteering. If you getting paid for it is a job not volunteering. volunteering to giving without exspecting to recieve in return. Doing it just because it is a good thing to do...not because someone pays you or forces you. Yes it is a good thing to teach your children to help out in the community. But that is the parents responsibility. Not the schools or governments. This is just another example of both overstepping themselves again. Plus I have issues with tax payer money being used to pay for it. These "volunteers" are now just government employees. Because the government is paying them to do it.

I know you love me annie. I love you too. I do not take anything you say when we disagree as a personal attack. As for what you said....why should the rest of us pay for those kids to go to college? Not my kid, not my responsibility. It may sound cold but it is the truth. There are tons of grants, loans, scholarships...etc... My parents could not afford for me to go to college so I got student loans. I paid them off after I graduated. It took a long time to pay it back. But I did it. There are plenty of opporunities for kids to go to college. If they apply themselves, make good grades and are willing to pay it off when they get out. If people want to do volunteer work thats great. But they should do it because they want to help their community. Not because they want to get money. Then it is not volunteering. Plus it is at the expense of the tax payers. We are footing the bill for all this you know. I do not agree with people being paid for volunteer work AT ALL. I agree with Obama's idea. I just do not agree with how he is going about it. He wants people to volunteer more within their own communities. Ok. Well instead of spending billions of dollars, he could do some commericals about (maybe get a few celebrities to volunteer to do a few commericals too) volunteering. Tell them about how they can volunteer and where to go to do it (talk about his volunteer website). Talk about it in his speeches.Get some of his buddies in the media to talk about it. There...job done. People know about volunteering and where they can go to volunteer. Now I just saved the US tax payer a few billion dollars and Obama still got his idea out to the public. Most of all it should not be mandatory. Not for adult or children. I know some school are already making it a requirement for graduation and I think that is wrong. Volunteering is a choice.

Me too. I am one of those parents that would file the lawsuit too. I am waiting to see what happens sence I could not stop the bill. But I am not about to let the government or the schools dictate what my child is going to do with their time. That is my job. Your right about it being slave labor. My kid can not get a job. It is against child labor laws. Even a 5 hours a month job. SO why should it be required that he do volunteer "work". IT seems child labor laws would apply here too.

Home schooling is all ready a target of the Obama presidency and if they have their way...and they probably will Home schooling will be outlawed to. I am on the fence with home schooling but I don't have children at home anymore either.

Depending on where you live there are places you do not want to send your kids to school because the schools have gotton so dangerous. I'm all for home schooling. I went to several different schools and some were really challenging but most had teachers who didn't care about their students and dumb down the lessons so everyone passed to make themselves look like they could teach. I know I can do a better job with my kids than teachers who don't care. My husband went to a bad school and even something as simple and handwriting skills he didn't get the proper help with and his mother was no help so he still struggles. Home schooled kids get better grades and advance further IF they have the right parent who cares enough to take the time and also takes care to involve them in social activities with other kids like scouts or Vacation Bible school. They should not take this right away from parents. I do think they should do more testing on Home schooled kids because some parents don't do what they should, and in these cases they should check in and not just take the grades the parent says they get.

you are completely right.

I agree.

yep. THey could earn more money actually going out and getting a part time job instead of doing the project.

Wether or not children do community service is up to the child and his or her parents. Not hte government.

you knew there would be one.

why oh why are we paying the tax payer having to pay people to volunteer? And why is it the federal governments job to pay them? Can anyone explain this to me?

Annie, a lot of people get involved without getting paid for it. Now, if you are in it for the money for college, you are better off having your kid work at McDs or something. Just think about it, $500 for 100 hours plus training camp... that's less than minimum wage. Others can earn it for their kids, grandkids... but also only once it seems. Now, where exactly should that help to send people to college? Have you looked at the price of education nowadays? Furthermore, a lot of kids already do public service stuff, but probably not all will fall under this new service bill, such as church related work. Now, kids need that stuff on their college applications. Just saying, it's not like they didn't do anything with their life, but they do it year around using the summer to earn money the conventional way. I think this should be something they should choose to do. As of now it's officially a choice but it's already set in a way that it can be forced by school districts because school district participation is tied to the school district getting federal money. And school districts will find a way to enforce it to get the money.

No is being forced...yet. We will see if they put strings on it for hte public schools to make it mandatory to recieve federal funding. But our tax dollars are going to pay them. Which is not right. I am sorry annie but I do not think I or anyone else should have to pay for someone to do volunteer work. The federal government does not produce anything. All their money comes from us tax payers. So therefore any money they spend is ours. WIth the shape we are in right now....do we really need to spend billions on this? No. THere are plenty of otehr ways for those kids to go to college without robbing the tax payers to do it.

who knows. But I think we will find out soon enough.

Many states have had this in place for over 15 years now but I've never heard anything about any parents fighting back in court so I wish you a lot of luck if you do choose to fight it. I would imagine though that there have been challanges and that those challanges have been defeated. It seems that, just as a school system can require students to do homework, they can require them to perform community service hours. I do agree with you in that it's not volunteering if you're forced into it though.

They don't here. ANd if htey start I will fight them, in court if need be. THe schools are over stepping their bounds. IS community service good. Yes. But it is no longer volunteer when you are forced to do it.

ya but only to make daddy look good.

i agree.