The problem with extracurriculars. (nhs-related rant 1 of 2)

Time to complain even more. This is something I would like to address in the midst of National Honor Society applications.

Every time a program or activity tries to appeal to students, what do they say? "It looks grEAt on cOLLEge applicATIOns! ~enthusiasm enthusiasm grin grin~"

Then tons of people join the activity...because it'll look good on college applications.

But is that the point of activities? No.

In my experiences with community service, I feel like programs focused on volunteer work (such as the NHS and Key Club) have acutally somewhat devalued and taken the meaning out of service. It's no longer primarily about the people you're helping, but more about the HOURS and how it will polish up your application. The more HOURS you have, the better off you are. It's almost become a different kind of wealth. How do club presidents get more people to go to events? Lure them in with more HOURS. "Extra HOURS to those who do so-and-so at this event!"

Community service has also become simply an excuse to hang out with friends for some people. Wow, something where students can socialize and get hours at the same time? That's definitely sure to allure people to join. But then what happens if not enough people sign up for a certain event? I often overhear people saying, "I'm not signing up for anything this week because nobody else is going," or "I don't want to go there because nobody I talk to is there." It's one thing if a student has social anxiety, but otherwise, meeting with familiar friends is also not the point of volunteer work. Of course, due to the lack of mention of the true purpose of service and due to all of the emphasis on the superficial aspects of it, the activity only gets buried under more and more other superficial reasoning. 

As a result, lots of community service hours may not necessarily indicate that one is a leader, but probably mean that they are trying to spruce up their credentials. Meanwhile, the people who truly want to help are thrown in the same bucket as those who are doing it for themselves, with barely any differentiation. This system is also consequentially spitting out less considerate, vapid students because it is promoting a practice for the wrong (and selfish) cause. I'm not saying that most students don't care about helping out, but that most are attracted more by the social and application-polishing aspects of it because the actual service aspect is neglected when it is introduced to the students.

There's nothing wrong with community service.

There's just something wrong with the way it's presented to students.