It has become increasing common for secondary school students all around the world to continue with their education or seek for employment without taking up a break year. Some believe that taking a gap year can promote growth as they experience life out of a strict academic routine, while some say that a break can cause loss in momentum, hampering future studies. I am of the opinion that a break year can really aid in the overall develpoment of a student and that they must be encouraged to take it in order to make the right decisions.
On one hand, discontinuity in education is believed to cause a loss of momentum in studies. This belief arises from the fact that students tend to forget the fundamentals of a particular subject and later find it hard to relearn them when they resume their education. Concepts which were once taught now have to learnt with insuffcient amount of time and material in hand. An example of this is seen in the engineering field where most of the concepts taught in schools are used directly, without any explanation, in colleges. However with the rise in online educators and access to modern learning tools like Artificial Intelligence, it has become considerably easier for students to resume their studies from where they paused.
On the other hand, not immediately committing to studies or employment helps students take more time to make informed decisions. By not constantly remaining under the pressure of “what’s next”, students learn to stay in the present. The break gives the student the freedom to pursue what they want without wholly committing to it, both academically and financially. This freedom provides them with an opportunity to grow soft and technical skills which would be difficult if they had other things to attend to. For example, an aspiring engineer could delve into the concepts of various domains, develop a basic understanding and better align their future goals.
In conclusion, students must be open to the idea of taking a break year as it would help develop social and technical skills, helping them make better decisions for themselves before regretting. Gap years do not lead to a discontinuity in education and availability of modern streaming tools and Artificial Intelligence can help bridge this gap with ease.