1. National service programs and proposals
China
Bao Yongjian
Consultant, Student Unions in Shanghai
The Youth Service in China (YSC) presently includes some 900,000 young men and women who are working or attending college. They work on a wide variety of projects and serve either full-time for a few weeks or part-time for a longer period.
The Problem. Recent studies of college students who have been in the YSC suggest that although the majority bring a sense of idealism into YSC, they would not want to rejoin under current conditions. Conditions for rejoining included the following: "If I am not supervised by a political instructor" (29%), "If I have the discretionary resources to do things in my way, not in the current political way" (24%), and "If I didn't attend social service, I could still have equal chances for a job assignment and promotion" (10%). It is clear that these motivations could belong more to the realm of negative factors such as survival and privilege seeking than among positive factors such as personal growth and productivity. The attitude of the average YSC member may be summed up in the statement "You pretend to praise me. I pretend to do good."
The Proposal. Successful reform of YSC must include a change in the conditions of YSC so that participants are well motivated to serve and to develop an independent sense of citizenship. With this change, YSC will be transformed from an instrument of social control to one that fosters both service to others and personal growth. The design of a reformed YSC is suggested by theory, by a review of youth service programs elsewhere, and by the recent testing of different youth service models in China. Experience to date suggests that it contain the following features: Projects would be designed, planned, and organized by the participants. Responsibilities would be assigned primarily to those who volunteer for them. Professional staff members would be regarded more as consultants than as supervisors.
Informal group entertainment would be encouraged strongly under suitable circumstances.
The following steps would be taken in a project of about two months' duration: Participant is recruited by interview.
Participant writes down expectations for time in YSC and is trained in the YSC process.
Project group discusses available resources and possible projects. Participants volunteer for various responsibilities and agree on implementation plan.
Group charts each activity needed to complete project, selects a head person, and develops a plan for cooperation.
Group conducts evaluation and offers entertainment halfway through program. Group makes final appraisal of the project.
This approach has been tested three times in recent years. The majority of participants found the experience substantially more fulfilling than the typical YSC activity. One-third of the members, however, reported evidence of manipulation. Although more testing and refining are needed before this experimental model is applied universally, it appears to be a substantial improvement over the present YSC.
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