Over the years, I have found my perceptions of various issues have undergone transitions; what I used to believe often changed because of what I read, saw, or--most importantly--experienced. I suppose that is wisdom at work, but I occasionally look back, shake my head, and wonder just what the hell I was thinking. Such is the case when I view education; as a young teacher, I was naïve enough to believe that a kid's English understanding somehow had a direct correlation to the kid's spelling skills. In time, of course, I rationalized I was a strong speller so that equated with my English skills . . . foolish on my part, for sure. Somewhat embarrassing to admit that, but I was 22 . . . need I say more?
As the years passed, I became more educated, a bit more worldly, and certainly much more skilled and experienced in my craft. Because dealing with high school students was my priority, I slowly began to form qualified opinions; to me, those opinions were common sense, but I soon found that society stubbornly conflicted with my view that too many kids were going to college who had no business doing so. To reduce this introduction, let me leave it at this: Legislators and parents seemingly believed that a college education was the ticket to prosperity. Of course that option was a great one for so many kids, but what I was seeing indicated that kids were going to college because of outside pressure, the chance to continue with a sport, or peer pressure; decreasingly, I was seeing kids going on to school for what I would consider to be the right reason: pursuing an academic strength. Others may certainly contend that this train of thought was created by guidance counselors and teachers; I cannot completely overlook that belief, but I can strongly attest that every time the counselors were in my classroom, a heavy emphasis was placed on the importance of pursuing options not necessarily related to college. Translated, a heavy emphasis was placed on kids going to the Buckeye Career Center to learn a skill or joining the military; interestingly, so many kids seemingly turned a deaf ear to those options because college was going to be their path regardless if they had no idea what they wanted to study! "I'm going to college" was the common refrain. That, my friends, is where I am going with my thoughts today: So many (certainly not all!) of today's kids are not mature, driven, focused, or humble enough to begin college upon graduation from high school. That is where the discussion of a gap year comes into play.
I reference my introductory paragraph to make this point: when I was younger, I did not even know what a gap year was. Today I know it as a year after high school graduation when a kid explores life, works a job, realizes the limitations a high school diploma offers without accompanying skills, realizes the role discipline plays in becoming independent, and offers a kid a final chance to simply be a kid--define that last one any way you want. We all know that the world is changing; "back in the day," options for students graduating high school were actually pretty limited, particularly if one were a female: being a secretary, nurse, or teacher were popular options along with being a waitress or a barmaid. In short, female options were funneled in certain directions, frequently not requiring college degrees. As males, of course we had the options of working in the local clay plants, the steel mills, or various other companies that needed workers, or we could go to college. Contrast that "back in the day" climate with today's: not as many factories are functioning these days, so for many young graduates who see blue collar work as beneath them, they opt to begin progressing toward a degree. Thus, colleges are growing in numbers, but my question is this: Are they growing with quality or quantity?
Please allow me to share my experiences with the hope that readers understand why I support a gap year. As of now, I have tacked on five years of college teaching to my thirty-five years of high school experience--my hope is that fosters a bit of credibility for what I am saying. What I am seeing today is an onslaught of students who are not academically prepared or motivated to confront the college expectations. As a teacher of freshman English (certainly a subject that does not stimulate great drive for most!), I have seen, on a regular basis, students who are woefully ill-prepared to write, read, and research as they are expected to do the moment they set foot on a college campus. I could expand, but my point goes beyond that. I am convinced that so many kids would benefit from taking a year off after high school, facing the realities of life described in the preceding paragraph and then potentially discovering their interests and passions, which may lead to a more successful college experience. At the least, the maturity and thinking skills would be much more advanced than an eighteen-year-old kid who might still be dreaming of how great an athlete he or she was in high school!
I began my collegiate experience at seventeen, thinking I wanted to be a sportscaster--a dream, not a goal. At that time, a year at Kent State University cost approximately $6-7,000, as best I recollect. In truth, I paid for my entire education off what I made in the summers working at various factories and mowing several lawns, as well as having a work study job on campus. Hard to believe that today when most kids at main campuses are flirting with the $20-40,000 numbers to complete one year. Student debt is off the charts and can certainly haunt students for decades because it does not go away until it is paid in full. Yet, kids borrow and borrow and borrow, not fully realizing the financial obligation they are incurring. Unfortunately, many of those kids who start college never finish (most recent statistics indicate that only 54.8% of students leave college with a diploma, as indicated by Bill Gates in 2017), being stuck with no degree and, perhaps more importantly, saddled with immense debt that frequently costs more than a monthly car payment or even a house payment . . . doesn't seem rational, does it? So, again I stress, why begin the financial obligation path if a kid has limited interest in a particular major . . .it doesn't make sense to me.
These days I opt to encourage many kids (certainly not all) to take time and explore their options beyond immediately jumping from high school to college. I understand that bragging rights are associated with walking across the high school stage to receive a diploma when students can boast that they are attending Miami, Akron, Walsh, Bowling Green, Ohio State, Cincinnati . . ., but those bragging rights quickly fade into the mist when the kids hit college and realize they are overwhelmed with expectations. Today, unfortunately, college students are confronting a rash of self-esteem issues as well as nervous breakdowns, reaching unprecedented levels requiring universities to increase their counselor numbers, as reported in a recent Time Magazine investigation entitled "Depression on Campus." I contend that perhaps one of the contributing reasons is related to kids not being emotionally ready for the challenge college curriculums present. Yes, many other factors are involved as well, but this forcefeed into college cannot be ignored.
Previously, I mentioned I wanted to be a sportscaster; embarrassingly, my only motivation was that I liked sports--great criteria for making a lifetime decision . . . oh my. Bottom line was that I was so immature and uninformed in my thinking; however, because the cost was so low, I could still make my way through while I decided what I truly wanted to do--kids today are easily adding another year's $20-40,000 costs onto their debt . . . far different from my costs, for sure. We (our society) expect kids to make a decision by age eighteen about what they want to do for the rest of their lives; in a world with so many opportunities (far beyond what I had), I do not know how they can do it. Their experiences are so limited and are so often guided by hovering adults that those kids can easily be overwhelmed. It's a different world.
With the consideration of a gap year, perhaps the maturity, the quality, and the focus of students facing uncertainty about their futures would make a "gap" a viable alternative. Confronting the non-academic world at eighteen may be a far better teacher than any lesson learned in a college classroom. Seeing the realities of what is out there and what they want to do may go a long way in allowing students to approach a college education with a renewed dedication to academic goals. Most importantly, perhaps, students will have a more realistic grasp and appreciation for the value of money!
Previous blog entries may be found at michaelagunther.blogspot.com
