Teacher Applauds Washington Post for publishing Gap Year Article

Kudos to Tom, a teacher and writer from Charlottesville, VA who shared some insightful comments on his blog about the article "Eye on the Goal" by Ian Shapira in the Washington Post Magazine Education Review section on August 5, 2007. You can read the article by clicking on the link below and Tom's comments at Taking a year off

Tom's blog makes some straight hitting comments on the student gap year article Eye on the Goal about a student named Bill who delayed college a year to pursue his passion for hockey. Tom's commentary inspired me to post a comment on his Blog, and I am publishing excerpts here for the benefit of gap year newbies and wannabees that visit my site. First of all, Tom inspires people across the U.S., especially parents, to consider the benefits of a gap year before college. This is laudable! He also did a great job of outlining the benefits of a gap year. I feel strongly that U.S. students, their parents and advisers need a single on-line resource for planning and organizing a gap year. Using a paid consultant may be a wise idea in some cases, but not all. Many students taking gap years in the US are capable of doing much of the planning themselves. Many thousands of young adults in the UK, Europe, Australia etc.. plan a year out but don't hire consultants to walk them through the process. Students benefit more from a year out before college if they take the initiative, do the research and planning themselves, and figure out how to help pay for it! Of course, the experts in the field recommend getting Mom and Dad on board for they represent the student's best resource for financial and moral support. You also make the important point that students taking taking a gap year are typically from middle income and upper middle income families. I think all families, regardless of socioeconomic status, should have options available to plan a gap year independently. The author of the Washington Post article alludes to the risk that the gap year in the US may become something reserved for the fast track academic elite. The fact is, even the admissions policies at non ivy league schools (public universities like CU Boulder) are encouraging gap years for incoming freshmen. There are also a growing list of options that make a gap year affordable, such as joining Americorps to perform community service right here within the U.S. PlanetGapYear.com helps U.S. students, and high school guidance counselors access planning information for free on the internet. PlanetGapYear.com helps students, parents and advisers plan a gap year, find programs and experiences, and other resources like books and links. We have an FAQs section to assist parents and a U.S. Gap Year News feed to keep up with the phenomenon.