Tithing Time

[bushidomartialarts]

I bumped into an idea nearly a decade ago that's stuck in my mental craw all this time. Basically, churches ask folks for 10% of their income as a tithe to support the church and general good works. Since many of us don't go to church, and cash money seems a bit tighter these days -- what if we all tithed 10% of our work week?

Based on a 40 hour work week, that's 4 hours a week of volunteerism at the charity or organization of your choice. Your kids' school, a local soup kitchen, habitat for humanity, whatever.

I'm seriously considering it as a portion of the black belt requirements for our school. What do we think of the idea? Is anybody out there actively doing this? Can anybody tell me the source of this idea expressed as a tithe?

Thanks all.

 

[Blindside]

what if we all tithed 10% of our work week?
Based on a 40 hour work week, that's 4 hours a week of volunteerism at the charity or organization of your choice. Your kids' school, a local soup kitchen, habitat for humanity, whatever.

I'm seriously considering it as a portion of the black belt requirements for our school. What do we think of the idea? Is anybody out there actively doing this? Can anybody tell me the source of this idea expressed as a tithe?Thanks all.

Is it really volunteerism if someone is making you do it as a requirement for a test? I don't see the point of making your BB more than some quantification of martial skill or education. Do all black belts have the same requirements after black? How long do I have to do this? One month? A year?

I respect what you want to do with this, but I don't think I buy it.

Lamont

 

[terryl965]

Most of our upper student donate one Saturday afternoon to go and spend time at the retirement centers in our area's.
They all volunteer to do this and is not part of there requirement

 

[bushidomartialarts]

Is it really volunteerism if someone is making you do it as a requirement for a test? I don't see the point of making your BB more than some quantification of martial skill or education. Do all black belts have the same requirements after black? How long do I have to do this? One month? A year?

I respect what you want to do with this, but I don't think I buy it.

Lamont

I do. This past rank test for me included a year of various accumulated goals, including work for charity (I picked Habitat for Humanity). It actually made this dan grading more significant to me, rather than just another tick that signified I was that much better at killing folk. Earlier in my career, before I could pick up my belt and cert for second dan, I had to apologize sincerely to somebody I had wronged.

Black Belt goes far beyond skill in combat, in my opinion. Should include scholarship, conflict management and avoidance, personal service, healing ability, a base athletic standard and a degree of personal exploration.

Much of this was inspired by Tom Callos and his work, which goes absolutely beyond the pale. His Ultimate Black Belt Test is a crazy year of requirements (unfortunately an unreasonable list for folks who dont do this full time).

Others feel differently, and I respect your opinions even though I disagree.

 

[Andrew Green]

Tithing goes back to when the church was a little more united, and a lot more involved in terms of social services. Now gov't takes care of welfare and many of those sorts of things.

Although we don't tith to the church, we do get a similar result through income tax.

Forcing people to volunteer as a belt requirement will, IMO, backfire in your face.

Simple truth is a lot of people barely have the time to train, let alone put in 4 hours a week, which is time away from there family, to volunteer. You are also sticking a religious idea into your requirements, something that will not sit well with people that don't share those beliefs.

 

[terryl965]

I do. This past rank test for me included a year of various accumulated goals, including work for charity (I picked Habitat for Humanity). It actually made this dan grading more significant to me, rather than just another tick that signified I was that much better at killing folk.

Black Belt goes far beyond skill in combat, in my opinion. Should include scholarship, conflict management and avoidance, personal service, healing ability, a base athletic standard and a degree of personal exploration.

Much of this was inspired by Tom Callos and his work, which goes absolutely beyond the pale. His Ultimate Black Belt Test is a crazy year of requirements (unfortunately an unreasonable list for folks who dont do this full time).

Others feel differently, and I respect your opinions even though I disagree.

I for one applaud this type of service to get a BB and it shows the potential student what is the true meaning of a BB.

 

[Ceicei]

Volunteer time doesn't have to be religious. We do have this service requirement, but the requirement is very flexible. It can be service in which ever way we choose, or for those who claim being tight on time, a monetary donation to some charity or organization. We are to write a paper on how or what we learned from this. How this is done is between the student and the instructor as the student determines what they want to do and is granted approval/support by the instructor.

This helps us to take a more active part of our community. Being a black belt is much more than just simply being able to perform a martial skill.

- Ceicei

 

[terryl965]

Volunteer time doesn't have to be religious. We do have this service requirement, but the requirement is very flexible. It can be service in which ever way we choose, or for those who claim being tight on time, a monetary donation to some charity or organization. We are to write a paper on how or what we learned from this. How this is done is between the student and the instructor as the student determines what they want to do and is granted approval/support by the instructor.

This helps us to take a more active part of our community. Being a black belt is much more than just simply being able to perform a martial skill.

- Ceicei

Nice post and I agree with this a s well

 

[Andrew Green]

Volunteer time doesn't have to be religious.

No, of course not.

However as soon as you introduce it as tithing it is a religious ideal.

I'd personally find it rather insulting if I joined a club, paid my fees and was told that in order to progress I had to volunteer. If I'm going to volunteer, it will be my own, not a requirement of a club.

People wouldn't put up with that for music lessons, they shouldn't for martial arts either.

If it where a fund raiser, something like "We all need to work a couple bingos to buy the club new matts" in a not-for-profit, that would be a different issue. But forcing volunteering as a requirement, not a good idea IMO.

 

[bushidomartialarts]

However as soon as you introduce it as tithing it is a religious ideal.

That's a very good point. The term is loaded. If I were to do this, I would probably need to use a different word.

People wouldn't put up with that for music lessons, they shouldn't for martial arts either.

I think this is the core of our disagreement. Black belt has meaning far beyond skill. Personally, I'd love it if all our activities had a greater meaning to them, like Eagle Scout or Black Belt.

 

[crushing]

It's an interesting idea and I can see where you are coming from with the 'greater meaning'. Also, like others have stated, if it's required it's not volunteerism. Community service is probably the term you want.

 

[Blindside]

I don't have a problem with volunteering, that isn't my issue. I have a problem with being told to volunteer, which isn't volunteering at all.

Lamont

 

[Carol]

In general...for a business to force someone to work without pay is against federal and state labor laws.

I would look elsewhere for a school if I saw suspected illegal activities tied to earning rank.

 

[Ceicei]

No, of course not.

However as soon as you introduce it as tithing it is a religious ideal.

I'd personally find it rather insulting if I joined a club, paid my fees and was told that in order to progress I had to volunteer. If I'm going to volunteer, it will be my own, not a requirement of a club.

People wouldn't put up with that for music lessons, they shouldn't for martial arts either.

If it where a fund raiser, something like "We all need to work a couple bingos to buy the club new matts" in a not-for-profit, that would be a different issue. But forcing volunteering as a requirement, not a good idea IMO.

To make it truly of service, it has to be on a voluntary basis. If a student chooses not to do so, then that is not going to stop them from getting their belt.

When I said it is a "service requirement", I meant it in such a way that the person truly can make that decision in a flexible way. Service does not have to be for other people. It could be for animals or with things. It can be martial arts related or independent of martial arts. It can be tied with their favorite hobbies or something within their family if they like. Basically, it could be anything.

In fact, I recall one teenager who wanted to try to see how much a smile could influence other people. She decided to try that for two weeks and see how it goes. She learned a lot...

That's what I mean. It can be simple things.... It is the student who decides whether to participate, and if so, then it is their decision in whatever way/manner to do this.

- Ceicei

 

[Kacey]

We have a community service requirement for I, II, and III Dan black belt. It was instituted as being more meaningful than writing a thesis, which it replaced. No one has ever had a problem with the concept, and no one has ever had difficulty coming up with the hours (20, 30, and 40, over 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively) - projects have ranged from running demonstrations and self-defense seminars at no cost to coaching kids' sports teams to helping with scouting groups to blood donations to Habitat for Humanity to volunteering at an animal shelter to being an officer in a non-profit club; generally speaking, people are just documenting things they are doing anyway.

Why do we have a community service requirement? Because there is a moral/ethical component to martial arts, and this is a way to help students develop that side of themselves. No one has ever objected that I'm aware of, nor do I recall anyone ever having had difficulty coming up with the hours - for many, it's a question of which activity they are already involved in to choose, not finding the time to go do something extra.

In general...for a business to force someone to work without pay is against federal and state labor laws.

I would look elsewhere for a school if I saw suspected illegal activities tied to earning rank.

On the one hand, I understand what you're saying; on the other, quite a few high schools are now requiring community service as a graduation requirement - and for the same reasons of character development that we have. It would probably be a little stickier for someone who teaches MA for a living - but I work for a non-profit organization (YMCA) in a non-profit TKD association, so I don't see this issue as a problem.

 

[Carol]

On the one hand, I understand what you're saying; on the other, quite a few high schools are now requiring community service as a graduation requirement - and for the same reasons of character development that we have. It would probably be a little stickier for someone who teaches MA for a living - but I work for a non-profit organization (YMCA) in a non-profit TKD association, so I don't see this issue as a problem.

It's generally legal for an accredited academic institution to require unpaid work, as long as the student is registered in a for-credit program and the program meets certain guidelines. It's the same permission that allows a college student to do an internship without pay in exchange for college credit.

Not sure about your situation though due to the variables of non-profit orgs...that gets a bit over my head.