Young people need to have an idea of what they want to do in the future before going to college.
It's
almost time for the graduation season, and, in that regard, I want to mention
an idea with which I wholeheartedly agree. And yet, just a few years ago I
would have been completely against the idea.
In
Abby Fawk’s USA Today Article “College can wait, but finding your life purpose
can’t,” Fawk opines that American teens facing that jump to a postsecondary
education are often unsure what they want their future to look like, so heading
straight to college is a mistake.
As
a former high school teacher of 20 years, I know Fawk is correct. I have faced
hundreds of children across my desk, and when I asked what they thought their
lives might look like in ten years, I was—more often than not— faced with blank
stares. I would then go into my, What do you want to be when you grow up? spiel.
I’d ask: What do you like to do? What are you good at? What will someone
pay you to do? And again, I often received no reply.
Then
the children graduated, most without any idea regarding what might make them
happy in their business lives. We teachers have hammered into them that the
next stop must be college. (Note that when I say college, I’m referring
to any form of post-high school education. Wanting to be a carpenter, an
electrician, or an airplane mechanic are equally fine choices as wanting to be
a doctor or a neurophysicist.)
What
isn’t fine is having no idea what you want to study and then plowing ahead to
your college of choice.
That college education is expensive, so before you go, have a plan.
“College
is the single biggest investment we can make in a young person’s life,” Hawk
said. “Four years at a flagship state school can now cost $100,000 and private
college can run three to four times that figure. Yet the vast majority of
students arrive unprepared to make the most of the experience.”
Fawk
believes that it’s time for students to revisit the idea of a gap year. As I
said earlier, I did my best to dissuade kids who wanted to take a year off
before getting additional education, because statistics showed that once young
people start earning money, they are less likely to give up that cash flow and
return to school.
But
Fawk explained that a gap year, if done right, is not about losing forward
momentum and can be a rewarding launch pad to a bright future.
“It’s
to gather experiences and insights that inform everything that comes next,” she
said.
Fawk is the founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year, a program devoted to giving young people the chance to immerse themselves in other cultures, to stretch their comfort zones, and to forge relationships with people who are different than they are. If this sounds a bit like the Peace Corps, it is. The idea is to take the year following high school graduation and expand one’s horizons. To learn more about yourself by living alongside others in a completely different environment.
But
the GCY project is not the only way students can accomplish these goals. A
stint in the military, the Peace Corps, or volunteering can also help young
people find out who they are and what they want in life.
Studies
show that American teens are growing up more slowly than the generations that
proceeded them. Young people struggle with basic skills like time management,
problem-solving, and navigating relationships. Why then do we shoehorn them
into making decisions that will impact the rest of their lives when many are
clearly not ready?
The idea is to give new high school graduates a little breathing room before they make that leap. A well-thought-out gap year just might be the answer.
Please allow me to give you a brief intro to my latest women's fiction novel for your reading pleasure.
The past and present collide when a tenacious reporter seeks information on an eleventh century magician…and uncovers more than she bargained for.
In 1939, archeologists uncovered a tomb at the Northern Arizona site called Ridge Ruin. The man, bedecked in fine turquoise jewelry and intricate bead work, was surrounded by wooden swords with handles carved into animal hooves and human hands. The Hopi workers stepped back from the grave, knowing what the Moochiwimi sticks meant. This man, buried nine hundred years earlier, was a magician.
Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.
Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archaeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.
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When she can, Anne indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, football refereeing, and playing her guitar.
Learn more about Anne Montgomery on her website and Wikipedia. Stay connected on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
