National Youth Service :
A Global Perspective
Contents
Introduction
1: National Service Programs and Proposals
Profiles of National Service
2: Aspects of National Youth Service
Appendix A: Global Conference Participants, June 18-21, 1992
Appendix B: Annotated Bibliography
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2. Aspects of national youth service
Youth as Leaders and as Servers
That service-learning for college students should be optional rather than mandatory is consistent with the findings of recent studies in China, as reported by Bao YongJian, consultant to the Student Unions in Shanghai. According to Mr. Bao, the research demonstrates that young people should have a voice in deciding what service projects are undertaken, and which young people participate in given projects. He said the studies show a need for changes in the Youth Service of China (YSC), where "the attitude of the average member may be summed up in the statement 'You pretend to praise me. I pretend to do good.'"
Mr. Bao said the test projects showed the positive results of introducing measures such as having the young participants design and organize the projects, and assigning responsibilities primarily to those who volunteer for them. This is the way, he said, for YSC "to be transformed from an instrument of social control to one that fosters both service to others and personal growth."
Loeung Larry Khi, a refugee from Cambodia and executive director of the Youth Leadership Program of the Khmer Association of Minnesota, reported that he and his colleagues are preparing a youth program intended to foster service, leadership, and democratic values. He said it could be inaugurated as early as 1993 if the reforms in Cambodia proceed on schedule.
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National Youth Service : A Global Perspective
Donald J. Eberly, Editor
National Service Secretariat , Washington, D.C.Based on the advanced papers and discussions held at the conference, National Youth Service : A Global Perspective, held at the Wingspread Conference Center, Wisconsin, 18-21 June 1992.
About this online book
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