Essay Topic: In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.
The Essay: It cannot be gainsaid that teenagers in some countries prefer to work or travel abroad before starting tertiary education. According to me, this trend has both merits and demerits for them.
Firstly, a break from secondary education has been proven to be beneficial to young students. By visiting different places, they will be exposed to diverse cultures, traditions and a wide variety of people and these visits aids to their higher education. For example, a student researching on communities, can benefit with the attained social knowledge.
Secondly, pupils with prior work experience will have an added advantage, vis-à-vis those who immediately pursue university education after finishing their high school. Moreover, they generally have better communication skills which is an important factor for success not only at a work place but also in a learning center.
Nonetheless, education process will be disrupted when students take a pause in studies, for work or travel. There are chances that students may not show interest towards higher studies or might continue to work in the same sector. Furthermore, by earning money at such an early age, adolescents may fall into evil ways and indulge in bad habits like smoking, alcohol consumption or drug addiction.
To conclude, I opine that the prevalent trend in few nations of encouraging young people for work or travelling for a year, after passing higher secondary and before enrolling into college, would help them to gain exposure to the real world, understand the prevalent diversity apart from improving communication skills. Nevertheless, it may lure them towards earning money rather than academics and prevent them from further studies.