Are you considering taking a year off from school? If so, you are not alone, there are many students who decide to take a gap year which simply put means taking a break from education. Students decide to take a gap year for a number of reasons. The main two reasons though are that they are just academically burnt out. Or they are unsure of the career path that they would like to pursue in college. Gap years are becoming increasingly popular, as well as highly debated. Supporters say it can provide students clarity and give them an edge when returning to school. Opponents say it can be unproductive and actually make it harder for students to return to the classroom. Regardless as to which side of the debate you or I are on we should be able …show more content…
For starters some people by the age of 18 have no idea what they want to do with their life. Depending on the person though you could just simply travel around the world and figure out who you are and where you want to end up in 5 years. Their is also the pro that when you do decide to start college you will have plenty of cool stories to start a conversation of with. The last pro to doing a Gap year is since students get burnt out on academics that can just simply take a year off, do whatever they would like and come back eager to learn. Depending on who you are will depend on what pros and cons you get out of doing a Gap year. Personally I feel like the pros will only hit specific people but the cons can hit affect anoyone who decides to take a Gap …show more content…
The first con is simply the fact that taking a year off to travel around the world is extremely expensive. I only go home one weekend a month because a trip their and back costs me about $60 and I just live an hour and half away. Now imagine how much gas will cost driving all around the world. Obviously that itself for anybody is expensive but then you also need to take into consideration that you are about to start college which is outrageously expensive. Another con is that 18 year olds are known for being lazy, now luckily for most of them once you graduate you are still on that routine of going to school everyday. Once you take that year break though your routine is gone and it is hard to get back into it. My last con is simply that even though people say your young and should live while you can I feel like deciding to take a year off of school should not be the way to live. Living life to it's fullest while your young should be going to school so you can have the future that you want. Then again there are both pros and cons and if you and I could not agree on one or the other we should both be able to agree that in order to do a gap year you need to have a thorough plane as well as set
Right now in our society a college education is no longer an option or privilege, but rather a necessity. We are practically raised and conditioned to believe that one needs higher education in order to succeed in life. There is a saying that says "if you think education is expensive, try ignorance." But as technology is constantly advancing and computers are running almost anything, is a college education really necessary? There are people whom have never set foot in a college and are doing better than people who have their master's degree. There are views from both sides that contain a valid argument.
In today 's society, there are multitudes of pressure high school students face. One of the biggest pressures put on high school students is the decision of going to college. From the moment students enter into a secondary education, they are constantly asked questions about their future plans. Teachers and parents expect students to perform their best, while giving them no chance but to look towards college. In some cases, however, college might not be the answer. Other options exist as alternate avenues after high school, however, these are not as often expressed as the idea of a four year university. Although a college education and degree is most often more impactful than a high school diploma, there is too much pressure
First, what must be established is the distinction of higher education and college. Blake Boles, author of Better Than College, writes in his book the distinction between the two. He points out that college is one path to a higher education that ,essentially, is a prescribed path to success, but it does not guarantee higher education. Furthermore, he writes that: “a higher education is first and foremost the capacity to self-direct your life. Someone who has a higher education can define her own vision of success and pursue it, even in the face of difficulty”(Boles 4). There is a common misconception that college is the higher education path that leads to success. This is why parents hesitate to support their children in taking a gap year. They fear that their children will not be as productive or responsible for assignments. In contrast to that popular notion, gap years require more responsibility, if not more. However, in his book, Blake Boles answers the question of how to pursue higher education without college: “instead of following someone else 's curriculum, self-directed learners begin by asking themselves what fascinates and drives them.Their journey begins- and ends -with self-knowledge. Instead of taking full time classes, self-directed learners give themselves assignments that they find interesting, eye-opening and challenging” (Boles 5). With the absence of the responsibility to turn in assignments , prepare for presentation, comes a responsibility to construct one 's own curriculum. This leaves time for pursuing activities of interest. Instead of relying on professors to instruct one on how to go about learning, one must strive to network with people in the field of interest. They must seek mentorship in order to replace the guidance given by a professor. This takes a considerable amount of responsibility, which becomes very achievable since one understand the value
“Twelfth grade…amounts to a fidgety waiting period that practically begs for decent into debauchery and concludes in a big dumb party under a mirror ball that spins in place like the minds of those beneath it.” Essayist and novelist Walter Kirn, in his article “Class Dismissed”, uses statements such as this to attest his opinion that senior year should be removed in part—if not altogether—from the high school system. Kirn sees senior year as an unnecessary extension to the education of students when time is wasted or otherwise spent causing trouble. So completely does he believe this that he states the following: “… [seniors] rule, not because they’ve accomplished much… but because it’s tradition…” The work force or beginning higher education would be superior choices to the twelfth grade in his eyes. With the possible money saved in absence of grade twelve, there seems to be no issue with Kirn’s opinion. However, as a senior myself, I believe that Walter Kirn has not considered some important aspects of senior year that are more valuable than people realize.
With tuition rising every year, students face the challenge paying the debt achieving a college degree comes with. “Student debt surpassed credit-card debt in June 2010 for the first time in history, rising to about $830 billion — or nearly 6 percent of the nation 's annual economic output”(Clemmitt, Marcia). Not everyone has a ton of money just laying around. Being that financial trouble is the biggest problem for students, they begin to question whether college is worth it or not. In recent years, students have taken out loans to help with expenses. Most students choose to attend a community and junior college to help minimize the debt. Even after graduating with a degree, students still face the struggle of finding a job in this economic time. For higher class families this may not be a problem to them. But for the middle class and low income families, they face tougher times being that they don 't have the financial help like higher class families do. For the middle class and low income families, it makes more sense attending a community and junior college rather than a four year university.
From my experience most people think they know what a gap year is, some of those who think they know, infact have a skewed idea of what a gap year is. So, for the sake of everyone being on the same page, let 's go over a typical gap year; a gap year is a time that graduating high schoolers take off between graduation and when they enroll in college. The amount of time they take off varies, but most commonly around a year is taken off. There are many reasons that make a gap year a good idea for someone, such as: needing a break from school to “reset” in a way or not knowing what you want to do for a career and instead of jumping into college and working for a degree that you likely won 't use. In fact only 27% of college grads have jobs related
I do not believe the universe only knocks once, I believe it starts as a whisper and goes round and round till you get it. It is usually the quiet or the unexpected moments you hear it best, though still sometimes you might need several of those moments and a few reminders after that. It was in my most recent semester at school where I heard how imbalanced I truly was, and if I made it my mission to live my life in balance, to relax more and trust more, I will be more.
with the impending fall semester coming closer, the realization of student teaching is becoming more real for me and my cohort A few of my classmates are already working in elementary schools or pre k programs and are set for the fall, however, I am not so lucky. I currently work at a high school and this weekend I've come to realize that I have very few options next fall when it comes to student teaching. I did have the idea of applying for the NYCDOE/UFT Paraprofessional Student teaching Leave of Absence Program which would grant 40 days paid leave of absence to complete student teaching requirements. Unfortunately, I had the chance to re-read the requirements again and it is available for the spring terms only. maybe I am reading it wrong
Before understanding the consequences of a gap year, it is important to understand why people take a Gap Year. Senior year can be tense and come with several unanswered questions. Seniors are given four options when leaving High School. Those choices are either joining the army, going straight to work, applying to college, or taking a Gap Year. In a journal by Sunny Niu and Marta Tienda, “Delayed Enrollment and College Plans: Is There a Postponement Penalty?” explains some of the reasons why high school graduates tend to not go directly to a four year university. One of the main reasons high school graduates are hesitant to attend co...
A gap year is a time for teens to take off between high school and college. A gap year is used to travel, work, volunteer or study. In general, a gap year has many advantages. This year out of a school is a good time for students to explore the world and gain valuable life skills and experience while learning to be independent. Teens in the U.S. should adopt the British custom of taking a gap year between high school and college in order to gain perspective on personal values and career goals as well as gaining needed life experiences without the pressure and expectations of a school environment. A gap year is a time for students to become independent and learn a sense of responsibility before entering into university life.
A discussion on this topic is really important because all the students and parents are confused whether it would be worth it to take a gap year or it would just be a waste of time and money. The different opinions vary from person to person. According to a few people GAP year is worth it because students become mature, it is kind of a break from studies, grow different kind of interests, do some volunteering work while at the same time some people think its just waste of a year, student lose out on the academics, they lose their interest and difficultly in joining back the academics after an year off.
A gap year is a period, typically one academic year, taken by a student as a break between secondary school and higher education. Many students consider taking a gap year because they are longing to get work experience and be sure of a career path before they make the decision to head off to college. During those one or two years off before heading to college, students have the opportunity to travel the world, work, experience different jobs, or simply take a break from school. Some parents do not agree with their young adults taking a break from school because they worry that their child will not do something productive with their free time. Although students taking a gap year run the risk of becoming inattentive or accustomed to making some quick cash, and not returning to school, there are numerous benefits for a young adults. young adults to take a gap year off before heading to college; for instance, many colleges want students that are mature and have some work experience.
An opposition brought up about students taking a gap year after high school is that they will fall behind and get stressed trying to play catch up after a long
Shellenbarger, Sue. “More Students Taking” Gap Year" Before College – WSJ.com." WSJ Online Article. 29 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. This source includes some statics, including some testimonials from college students about taking a gap year and how that prepared them for college and the workforce.
Students who take a gap year regularly go on to be successful in college. Even though people might not go back after that year is over, everybody should think about the idea of taking a year off because it has a many amount of benefits and 90 percent of students who take a year off go back to college and graduate and it gives you a fresh start entering college.