What is a Gap Year and Where Did It all Start? Essay

In trying to persuade my skeptical parents that a “gap year” will be beneficial, I will have to establish ethos and appeal to pathos and logos in order to convince them to approve of a “gap year.” To establish ethos, I’d discuss my status as a current student in the high school system, which provides credibility as I have the experience and personal knowledge of the scholastic system to form a trustworthy argument. My appeal to logos would be the use of famous and successful figures of society who took a “gap year” between high school and college. I’d also research statistics on the grade point averages of college students who took a gap year and compare them to those who went straight from high school to college. Lastly, I’d appeal to pathos by addressing the mental and physical strain high school has taken on me and how a gap year will allow not only a de-stress period but also time to explore who I am and the world around me, which will cause my parents to empathize with my scholastic experience.

When I first heard about "impact 360" about a year ago, I will admit that I was fairly opposed to the entire idea of a "Gap Year". From what I had seen, it seemed like an idea someone had come up with, in order to delay the start of the responsibilities of college and life. I ignored the many attempts from my mother and her friend Renee Hernandez, (who is involved with the program), to get me to just look into what it was all about. I wrongly perceived that every gap year program was essentially the same. And from the program's I had looked at they all seemed to be about taking a year off of life's responsibilities, and relaxing with other people your age. That didn't interest me in the slightest, I wanted to graduate high school, and go and conquer college and eventually the world.

Along with the comeback of school we need to “Pity our poor teachers who spend every September reprogramming children to do their homework, spending hours on remedial lessons and waiting until overtired children readjust to regular bedtimes” says McFeatters. She made me realize that schooling lacks over the summer and forgets to stick for the arrival of school. As stated, teenage workers’ jobs have become taken by those whom are unsuccessful adults trying to make a living. Being a teenager, I plan on trying to get a job, but my education is also in my hands of retaining throughout a summer of jobs and even summer school to keep up with my schooling to get into more colleges with an overloaded class agenda. Year-round school would keep up with my education, and there would be more breaks to find jobs here and there to keep up with extra curricular, or even my car.

A teacher who was part of a year round system recounts, “I found myself going through 3 school years without that opportunity for self-assessment and planning for the future of the educational program.” (“The Effect of Year Round Schools” 1999/22 February 2005). With a much shorter summer break, teachers will not have enough time to increase their education, which can benefit the learning of their students. For these reasons, year round schools are not as beneficial as the traditional school year.

However it can be argued that the more frequent breaks throughout the year will leave students feeling refreshed and ready to continue learning when they get back. In the proposition detailed above, students will have a series of breaks throughout the school year, with the longest being three weeks over the winter holidays. This gives ample amounts of time for families to vacation and celebrate together and hopefully leave the students feeling refreshed and ready to learn when they get back. It was also indicated by administrators that “renewed motivation and continuous injection of new ideas maintained a higher level of enthusiasm than [students] had experienced in their previous traditional calendar schools” and that they fully believed this was a critical factor in improving student performance throughout the year (Shields). It should also be noted that the vast majority of jobs offered globally do not have a summer break, and by shortening summers from 13 weeks to 7, students will be more prepared to enter the work force once out of school, and should have an easier time transitioning into the year round life as opposed to students used to taking 10 to 13 weeks off at

In a traditional school, the school schedule seems to drag on when coming up on a winter break or the summer break. During this period many students lose motivation with school and stop trying or start to miss a lot of school. With year round schooling, students only go to school for about 2-3 months before they have a break. WIth these frequent breaks the “schedule might reduce absences because the frequently scheduled breaks allow for sick or exhausted teachers and students to recover and recuperate before returning to school” (Pearson). This allows both teacher and students to feel less burnout through school with the extended breaks throughout the year.

It is October 15th. Normally, students would be at school, working for hours on end at math, communication arts, and science. But this year is different. This year your school has now entered into the year-round calendar system. At home, you can enjoy the season of fall with pumpkins, Halloween, and beautiful weather. The idea of year round school has most commonly been pushed aside because of the misconception that it is too much school, or an on-going cycle of learning. However, those who declare this, do not understand the year-round school concept. Year-round school provides the same number of days as the traditional calendar. The difference, which will change our society and the achievement rate of our students in the future, is that the days are reordered into intersessions. The mechanisms of year round school include students attending school for a nine week period, then following this is a three week break. This rotation occurs year-round with a slightly longer summer break. Consequently, Though many people agree with keeping tradition with the popular school calendar, new evidence and testimony proves that year-round school provides the better avenue because the world is evolving, it benefits low income students, and intersessions are more effective than summer break.

A large portion of the knowledge gained during the last school year is lost over the long idle months and must be retaught for weeks, which wastes a lot of time that could be spent learning new material. This puts students behind in that year’s curriculum, and over many summers, can add up to students being months or years behind where they would be if no learning was lost. There is a solution to this

Summer break is supposed to be a time of rest and rejuvenation for students. After nine months of hard work and challenging classes, one would think such a long break could do nothing but good for students; however, this is not the best way for young minds to learn. A three month break is far too long for children to go without proper education and supervision. Instead of a long three month break at the end of each school year, why not give students the same number of days off but spread them out more frequently throughout the year? Year-round education is a more efficient, globally competitive, and fair alternative to the traditional nine month school year.

It is time to make a decision regarding what to do after high school. The most popular decision is to go right into college. Some students say they would like to take a year off before going to college. This is called a Gap Year, meaning they have a gap in between education. Some do well, and prepare themselves for college, while others do not. Those that do take a year off have time to explore what life has to offer, and takes advantage of the deferment application, become a better person.

Before I start I would like to give you a little background on Gap Year.

Taking a year off may have drawbacks that can affect high school graduates, such as lost momentum, lose focus, and career delay. The first drawback of taking a year off is losing academic momentum. High school graduates who fail to develop important study habits might easily forget the lesson that they learned. Moreover, students become idle academically, which leads to losing of study skills. The second drawback of taking a year off is students losing focus. Once students leave the academic setting and get the taste of the "real world," they may never want to pursue college due to distractions or changes. Students who work love making money and lose sight of the idea of going back to college. Also, students find responsibility that might

Taking a “gap year” off between high school and university has become a popular alternative among many adolescents. A “gap year” is a period of time, usually an academic year, when a student takes a break from formal education and routine (“Gap Year.”). This time off provides a break after many years of formal study and is often spent travelling or working. In the past, taking a gap year resulted in problematic return into education. Today, however, they are generally seen as positive and are supported by Universities and employers. The idea behind a gap year is that it offers opportunities practical experiences, which enable young people to learn more about themselves and what they want to do in their future. While education is

Most students are not over the pressures of being a senior in high school. That’s why the gap year should be taken to release all the stresses of high school. Most students cannot take being stressed out so decide to wait. These students are not capable of attending college due to their mental stability. Being a college student directly from high school could take a great toll on a person physical and mental state.

Taking a gap year might be a personal consideration but in the end, is it really worth it? A gap year is when students take a year off after high school and don't go straight to college. During the gap year, people usually travel, works, or do something to promote their time off from education. Not many people consider taking a gap year no matter how effective it might be. A gap year allows one to be independent. It allows people to learn about themselves and what they want to do in their life. Gap year allows one to add to their resume. You can see the world and get new life experiences, which is an untradeable prize. On the other hand, going straight to college can have its advantages. Going right into college can give one a head start