Read the following passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
Caring for animals, tutoring kids, helping seniors: Volunteer hours are more than a graduation must, they are life lessons.
Vilma Sooknanan cleans cat cages, Max Carroll teaches children how to cook and Michael Rosenthal rolls wheelchairs at a hospital.
What does this have to do with high school education?
Everything.
The three – and almost all other South Florida high school students – have to go outside of the classroom to earn their diplomas, doing what schools call “community service”.
Broward public schools require 40 hours to graduate. Palm Beach County public schools require 20, and most private schools require at least that much.
The purpose: To give students the chance to explore a career and create a habit of volunteering.
“We hope that when they finish high school they’ll continue service,” says Mike Roland, student activities officer for the Broward School District.
About half of U.S. public schools require community service, according to a national study. Broward School Board member Bob Parks says encouraging community service has launched all kinds of new projects, including tutoring and food collections.
Sooknanan, a student at South Broward High School, is part of the Humane Society of Broward County’s volunteer program, which is so popular that even the waiting list is closed. Students work one four-hour shift a week for four months, and leave with 64 volunteer hours.
Sooknanan changes litter boxes and puts down fresh newspaper for about 100 cats.
Combined with her volunteer hours at beach cleanups and helping teachers at school, she’s well on her way toward 250 hours, which she hopes will catch the eye of Nova Southeastern University, where she wants to study marine biology.
Carroll, a junior student at South Plantation High, has connected with FLIPANY, a nonprofit organization that offers cheap physical activity and food to low-income families. He helps teach children about cooking and healthy eating.
“It has been a life-changing experience,” says Carroll, who is now leaning toward a career as a sports trainer. "I want to find a career encouraging people to lead a healthier lifestyle.”
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN 15 WORDS.)
81. How many hours of community service are students required to do to graduate from most U.S. private schools?
Why do some U.S. schools require students to do community service to graduate?
83. The reason Sooknanan take up so many kinds of volunteer work is that ___________.
84. Volunteer work is popular in many high schools in the U.S., not only because ___________,
but also because ___________.
