Jon Hurst ’14: A proposal that Episcopal students complete a community service requirement is currently being considered by the administration.
The proposal is designed to help students make time for community service at Episcopal. It does so by requiring all students to dedicate two sports seasons throughout their four years of Upper School to the Wellness Program, which is currently a fitness option. Logistics of the proposal mean that three season athletes will be exempt from this requirement, but anyone who would otherwise take fitness would be required to participate in the Wellness Program.
The Wellness Program consists of two days of community service, two days of fitness, and an off day on Friday. It is currently an option but the number participating is quite small, especially when compared to the number of students already in the regular fitness program.
The drive to require community service is a direct result of low participation in current programs. Excluding the Day of Service, thirty-five students participated in community service last year. However, the school boasts that 84% of Episcopal Upper School students volunteered. This statistic includes the Day of Service, a mandatory program where a grade spends a day serving the community.
The main supporters of this change believe that it is essential to integrate sense of social responsibility into the curriculum here at Episcopal. Due to Episcopal’s lack of proximity to inner city Philadelphia, completing meaningul community service can be challenging.
To counteract this, the Community Service Department is currently drafting new service options outside of Philadelphia, including areas of West Chester and here on campus. However, it is imperative that Episcopal students are exposed to the world outside of the academy and the Main Line as a whole.
This exposure to new environments is half of community service. Half of the significance is meant to make changes in the world around Episcopal, and the other half is to expose students to environments they would not be otherwise. The proposers believe that students enriching themselves through leaving their comfort zone, while helping people in the process, would help complete the curriculum at Episcopal.
In addition to the personal enrichment that students would experience during their community service, this proposal is also designed to encourage community service to those who would otherwise not have the opportunity to do so.
The school requires students to participate in sports to expose them to athletics, which they discover they love in addition to promoting a healthy, active lifestyle. It should be the same with service. This change would both encourage students to serve as well as promote a sense of social responsibility, which is needed more than ever in the modern world.