Students learning about their community in a service-oriented setting is a very good thing. Whether it's practical and should merit priority status is another, more difficult, question.

In the first phase of the "volunteer" program, the idea is to encourage volunteerism. In a perfect world, that first phase would work so well that moving into compulsory volunteering - truly an oxymoron of sorts - is unnecessary.

Perhaps a social service group like Community Solutions, which does so much for residents in South County, could advise the school district on how best to incubate volunteerism. It might be that there are ways to give additional credits or add a certificate of completion to a student's high school diploma that would reward and acknowledge service. That could be a feather in the cap for a college resume, or simply recognition for service achievement.

Unusually, there isn't a clear answer in this matter. Tracking and setting up service for all high school students is a huge job. It would be worse to have hundreds of students in Gilroy trying to set up "volunteer" hours at the last minute in order to gain a diploma.

It would be better to nurture volunteerism such that the students and parents know about all the opportunities in our community which are related, in many cases, to careers.

Holding volunteer fairs at an extended lunch period twice a year might work, too. There are all sorts of creative ideas which would help make Gilroy's high school students even more community-service oriented.

Many students know about volunteering already, of course, because of the Garlic Festival. That event is a shining example of community volunteerism that involves thousands each year, including many high school students, in this community.

Incubate, nurture, market, provide information, recognize and reward. That's all good. Making volunteering compulsory. That's much more complicated, philosophically and practically. Thus, it's a dicey proposition.