TIếng Anh 12 - A gap year for students

Nội dung text: TIếng Anh 12 - A gap year for students

1. A GAP YEAR FOR STUDENTS What’s the rush? Many students are just not ready to jump right into college, university, or the workplace right after high school. Taking time off gives them a much needed break. They return more focused, motivated, and ready for challenges. “A gap year can prepare students for a more meaningful university experience,” says Diane Crocker, Registrar and Director of Enrollment Management, University of Toronto. York University, the third largest in Canada, recently announced its Bridging the Gap program, which allows student to delay admission to take a gap year. American universities also support the idea. Harvard believes so much in the gap year that it encourages every student to consider a year off. Princeton has a program called the “bridge year” where students spend a year performing public service abroad before beginning their freshman year. A concept that works. Taking a gap year is very common in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Each year in the United Kingdom alone, approximately 230,000 people take a gap year. Generally the gap experience includes mixing academics, volunteer work, and travel. The gap year is regarded as a chance for students to develop skills and to take personal responsibility as an adult. This is supported by British universities and colleges where students with gap year plans are regularly given a later admission date. The chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Admission Services in the United Kingdom, Tony Higgins, says, “We believe that students who take a well-planned structured year off are more likely to be satisfied with their chosen course and complete it. The benefits are now widely recognized by universities and colleges.” No classroom is required. A gap year provides an opportunity for growth and improves an application form or resumé. It allows someone to develop work experience at home or abroad and skills that cannot be taught in a classroom. It also provides the opportunity to work with people from other cultures, the chance to perfect a foreign language, and a break to serve others. It gives time to grow and mature, and a chance to reflect on one’s own personality, skills, values, and desires before starting a course or career. Learning outside the classroom gives young adults a greater understanding of the world around them. Time well spent. Creating a plan that provides opportunities for personal and professional growth has a significant correlation to future educational and employment success. A gap year strengthens soft skills and develops emotional intelligence. The experience improves decision making, relationship building, problem solving, communication, organization, teamwork, responsibility, independence, and maturity. Interesting things you can do. There are many different gap experiences. You can volunteer, travel, work, or study all over the world and here in our universities. Create a plan that suits your needs and budget. You will be amazed at the opportunities there are!