Is volunteer impact measured subjectively or objectively?

Objective

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by Norman Weibel

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Though the impact of a volunteer on a given population is both emotional because it usually involves human interaction of some kind, to be effective the results of the volunteer's interaction must be measured objectively.

My own use of volunteers spanned my years of teaching and later, those in which I acted in an educational administrative capacity. I found that in my class of mentally retarded, today mentally challenged, students who were also, at the time diagnosed as being psychotic, but are now behaviorally maladjusted or challenged, required a very special kind of volunteer, on who was not overly judgmental or frightened by bizarre behavior. This turned out to be a tall order.

My volunteers needed to be able to interact in a positive nonjudgmental way with adolescent and young adult students who were residents of a state hospital in California. These students, who prior to the late seventies had been essentially restricted to their wards, were found to be comparatively quite bright once their attention had been redirected to problems in reality. Volunteers, who could implement the teacher's education plan, extended his/her ability to train the students and increase their life skills.

The impact of the volunteers was reflected in the student's scores on both teacher and standardized tests. If improvement was lacking, the volunteer could be reassigned either in class or in facility. In my class, however, where students often attacked teachers, volunteers, teacher's aids and each other, more often than not less dedicated and effective volunteers weeded themselves out, so did not have to be asked to leave.

Since volunteers are needed to extend an ability or perform a needed service, regardless of how much their handler likes them or even loves them (I had to fire my wife as a volunteer, later when I was working with civilly committed mentally ill patients because she was too sympathetic and was being manipulated by the students assigned to her), they must be evaluated on whether or not they accomplish what is needed. This must be an objective measurement.

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