VBCPS Pretest AP Writing Prompt
Charity is a beautiful concept, designed to aid and help those less fortunate, while allowing people with a passion to be charitable, to do so. It is truly amazing the number and quantity of charities in the world today. Just the act and desire of wanting and willing to give and help someone else, is on e of the most selfless acts imaginable. It is understandible why some may feel rewarding students with grades, if they chose to participate in charity events, is sending the wrong message. Giving out of the kidness of one's heart should be selfless and unforced. However, not everyone knows how to be selfless and that is just the first step in changing oneself for the better.
In the span of two summers, I have attended two mission trips offered by my church. The first was to Buckingham, Virginia. It was my first major trip away from home and it didn't help that I was alonge. Sure, there were other kids I knew, but none I had a real connection with. I decided to go just for the heck of it andmy life was changed. Over the course of one week, I helped an elderly couople re-paint, re0floor, and re0do their house. They were not in any way shape or form, physically or mentally capable of attending to their home themselves, and were overjoyed when the job was compleated. My second trip was to Vacherie, Louisiana, where things really kicked into place in my life. This small town was still recovering from Katrina, not badly, but still had some rough patches. I was blessed to be able to aid multiple families not just by fixing their homes, but by talking with them, giving them my insights on life and just being in their presence. They were so happy to have a hand to grab and hold onto, I was brought to tears multiple times. The entire mission was about eighty people, including chaperones. I met and talked with so many kids my age and in the same position I was. Yearning to help. However, not everyone felt that way. I was intrigued by one student, a rising junior in an all boys catholic school. He was on the trip specifically for the service hourse he needed for school. He had no desire to engage spiritually with the people in the mission, nore those we were helping. I kept pushing him, why? Why take an opportunity so amazing and spiritual as this, and only want service hours as an outcome? He would always argue with me, although he never had a legit defense. On the last day before I started packing, he found me and told me,"I've figured it out. This service hour thing was my push. My push to see how amazing giving back to people is, and how wonderful it feels."
The fact that someone so strong willed, and against having a "true experience", was completely changed, just shows that offering grades for charitable actions isn't morally wrong at all. If anything, it is a push, to get kids out into the real world an dout of their "bubble", to realize how amazing charities truly are. Sure they get something in return, but it is not just bonus points. It is the passion and desire to serve others, not to get anything in return, but to seee how it effects others for the better.
I am fully in support of offering grades for charitable acts. The true outcome of it all shouldn't be to get a morally correct message. It should be to help others in whatever way possible and whether it is forced or not, it can still change people for the better and thats what counts.
In the span of two summers, I have attended two mission trips offered by my church. The first was to Buckingham, Virginia. It was my first major trip away from home and it didn't help that I was alonge. Sure, there were other kids I knew, but none I had a real connection with. I decided to go just for the heck of it andmy life was changed. Over the course of one week, I helped an elderly couople re-paint, re0floor, and re0do their house. They were not in any way shape or form, physically or mentally capable of attending to their home themselves, and were overjoyed when the job was compleated. My second trip was to Vacherie, Louisiana, where things really kicked into place in my life. This small town was still recovering from Katrina, not badly, but still had some rough patches. I was blessed to be able to aid multiple families not just by fixing their homes, but by talking with them, giving them my insights on life and just being in their presence. They were so happy to have a hand to grab and hold onto, I was brought to tears multiple times. The entire mission was about eighty people, including chaperones. I met and talked with so many kids my age and in the same position I was. Yearning to help. However, not everyone felt that way. I was intrigued by one student, a rising junior in an all boys catholic school. He was on the trip specifically for the service hourse he needed for school. He had no desire to engage spiritually with the people in the mission, nore those we were helping. I kept pushing him, why? Why take an opportunity so amazing and spiritual as this, and only want service hours as an outcome? He would always argue with me, although he never had a legit defense. On the last day before I started packing, he found me and told me,"I've figured it out. This service hour thing was my push. My push to see how amazing giving back to people is, and how wonderful it feels."
The fact that someone so strong willed, and against having a "true experience", was completely changed, just shows that offering grades for charitable actions isn't morally wrong at all. If anything, it is a push, to get kids out into the real world an dout of their "bubble", to realize how amazing charities truly are. Sure they get something in return, but it is not just bonus points. It is the passion and desire to serve others, not to get anything in return, but to seee how it effects others for the better.
I am fully in support of offering grades for charitable acts. The true outcome of it all shouldn't be to get a morally correct message. It should be to help others in whatever way possible and whether it is forced or not, it can still change people for the better and thats what counts.