Analysis of Options Chosen By 2,000 Teens
IA- The students surprised many adults with their farsighted
practicality. They by-passed monetary awards and fame for apprenticeships, class credits
and mentors in that order. Although less farsighted, making free passes their 4th choice
continued the tend toward practicality.
Worthwhile use of time edged out good feeling for the most desirable
intangible reason for volunteering with having fun coming in as a respectable third
choice.
We found an overwhelming dislike of being a role model--only two of 34
schools failed to include this item in the bottom rungs. Putting own values into practice
and meeting new people tied for the next to bottom ranking. (least desirable inducements
to volunteering.)
IB- To our surprise, the students were almost unanimous in their
disdain for TV coverage of their good deeds. Only two schools failed to include TV in
their 2 bottom choices. We were dismayed that being published in books and on the internet
was next to the last choice of students. The HSF published excerpts from student essays in
this manner annually. We may have to reevaluate this practice. Letters of recommendation
and discounts were not favored by the students either.
IC-Although far from unanimous, a community facility and a
community computer/recreatioon center were the clear tangible wishes for the community.
Howerver, 11 schools ---almost one third of the number of schools polled--noted materials
to upgrade public schools as their #1 choice. We thought those 11 might be from the same
part of the country---not so--- or that they represented smaller more rural school. We
were unable to establish any meaningful correlation in the responses. However the least
favorable choices were almost unanimous. All but 2 schools marked pre-school and
after-school care as their bottom choice and upgrading libraries were held in only
slightly higher esteem.
IIIB- We were not surprised that lack of time and needing to earn money were the top 2 reasons students gave for not volunteering. We discovered this in our earliest polls in the fall of 1996. We found that if we did not offer these obvious choices, students would write them in. We were interested in the other rankings. We had discovered that "not knowing where to go or what to do was the third most popular reason students offered for not volunteering. This was the revelation that prompted us to expand our polling in the spring of 1997. We realized that if this were true across the country, not just in the 2 states that were the subject of our earlier polls, there was something that could be done almost immediately to remove this obstacle to potential volunteers nationwide.
In 34 schools in 21 states, not knowing where to go or what to do was the #3 reason noted in over 75 percent of the polls we analyzed. Agencies requiring specific times which did not fit the students schedule was the fourth obstacle noted in only 26 percent of the schools. The following obstacles are listed in the order the students found them most irrelevant: parents, uncool, transportation, have to be 18 years, need to have fun.
Volunteering
In every school the yes votes outnumbered the note votes when students asked if they would commit 5 hours a week to volunteer service. On average, in 21 states, the yes votes outranked the no votes by 47 percent. The differences ranged from a high 98 percent in West Virginia, to a low 15 percent in South Dakota.
In 16 schools the number of volunteers was virtually identical for summer and school-year volunteering. In 8 schools more students pledged to volunteer in the summer, and 9 schools found volunteering during the school year more appealing.
On average, 68 percent of the students polled expressed a desire to
volunteer but only 23 percent said they currently volunteer. 45 percent would volunteer
but they "don't know what to do or where to go" to get started. We have a
breakdown of neglected goodwill and missed opportunities school by school. The waste
ranges from a low of 27 percent in Florida and Illinois to a high of 82 percent in West
Virginia. (More students wanting to volunteer and not engaged.)
Press releases/individual schools
Individual School poll results