Taking a “gap year” is a common pathway chosen by students in England. After they graduate high school, students take a year off to travel instead of immediately enrolling in college. This is becoming a more common practice in America because there are many benefits that coincide with taking a gap year between high school and college. Opting to participate in a gap year can help a student’s future in many positive ways because it allows students to take a break from their rigorous work, increases the maturity of students, and has been shown that many students return to school with a greater sense of purpose in their studies. Many students find taking a year off is beneficial because they are able to take a break from their rigorous work.
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Gail Reardon says that “a lot of these kids are coming out with one set of skills and that is how to be a good student. You know, they need to sort of see that that doesn 't really give you life skills” (Students See World During ‘Gap Year’). New college students don’t know the reality of the world or how to live in it. They have spent their whole lives under the same routine, being told what to do and aided throughout their life, and they have become used to it. Once they reach college and are on their own, many people don’t even know how to perform simple tasks such as doing their own laundry. Instead of studying, a majority of college kids would instead opt to go to a party. Living elsewhere for a year creates the opportunity for them to see what other places are like. Seeing the world allows someone to develop skills and knowledge that they would not have learned in their small hometown, or potentially from only a short vacation to the same place. As long as their gap year is spent absorbing the culture and really putting themselves into the world instead of “just sitting on the couch, playing video games and thinking about what he’ll do next” (Hoder), they will learn a lot and return for college with knowledge you can not be taught in a
Gail Reardon says that “a lot of these kids are coming out with one set of skills and that is how to be a good student. You know, they need to sort of see that that doesn 't really give you life skills” (Students See World During ‘Gap Year’). New college students don’t know the reality of the world or how to live in it. They have spent their whole lives under the same routine, being told what to do and aided throughout their life, and they have become used to it. Once they reach college and are on their own, many people don’t even know how to perform simple tasks such as doing their own laundry. Instead of studying, a majority of college kids would instead opt to go to a party. Living elsewhere for a year creates the opportunity for them to see what other places are like. Seeing the world allows someone to develop skills and knowledge that they would not have learned in their small hometown, or potentially from only a short vacation to the same place. As long as their gap year is spent absorbing the culture and really putting themselves into the world instead of “just sitting on the couch, playing video games and thinking about what he’ll do next” (Hoder), they will learn a lot and return for college with knowledge you can not be taught in a