Gap Year: A Path to Purposeful Education | Jay Gosselin | TEDxKanata

[Music] so how do we know when the status quo is no longer working what does it take for us to see that the current model needs to be redesigned for me it took 12,000 heartbreaking conversations with students to fully understand how badly our model for educational transitions needs to be overhauled I visit with entire high school graduating classes and I ask them two questions first I asked them who's excited about graduating from high school moving on to university or college 10 hands go up did I ask them who's anxious about graduating from high school moving on to university or college 200 hands shoot up during one-on-one conversations with students I ask them I say tell me what you love to do what takes up your time on the weekends and what makes you feel good they tell me things like I love learning about different cultures and I love making videos or you know I feel really good anytime I help my friends through difficulties I say great what do you want to study after high school and far too often they slump their shoulders look down at their shoes and they say oh you know I'm gonna do engineering cuz got to make money or well my parents they have to do something practical so I'm thinking either medicine or law and they go from being so excited and enthusiastic and optimistic to saying here's what I need to do if I want to be successful rather than seeing post-secondary as an opportunity to explore their interests and to build important skills to many young people today see it as a means to a financial and social end rather than pursuing an education with a sense of purpose - many are pursuing it out of a sense of obligation so given the reasons for being on campus should we really be surprised to hear that 65 percent of students report feeling overwhelming anxiety and 45 percent report major depression should we be shocked to hear that students generally are disengaged and uninterested in their education when I went back to school at the age of thirty to study psychology I had learned through time and experience that I was fascinated by human motivation achievement and relationships I was very curious about the research that we studied and I was very engaged in the lectures unfortunately most of my classmates didn't seem to share the same sense of excitement in each of my courses I would show up to the lecture hall and I would take my seat in the back of the room and I would sit there for three hours and see students all around me shopping online chatting on Facebook and streaming sporting events they would of course take a moment to jot down a few notes anytime the professor mentioned that something would be on the exam but suffice to say they were far more interested in getting a good grade than they were in learning anything of value sadly this is more the rule than it is the exception today too many students attend classes not in the pursuit of knowledge but in the pursuit of the status quo their striving for that all-important piece of paper the Diploma that they believe is their golden ticket to a successful career and a happy life and their suffering the consequences but they don't have to I'd like to introduce you to Michael Michael is currently finishing up his first year at University where he's studying business at the end of his first semester Michael had managed to maintain a perfect a average a remarkable feat for anybody in their first semester at university but even more impressive when you consider that Michaels average when he left high school was a B and anybody thats been a university knows that this jump in grades in the first semester is exactly the opposite of normal this is Kate Kate is currently executive assistant and Media Relations Coordinator at an intellectual property firm she got the job after bravely applying to an ad she saw on social media and skillfully articulating the value that she could bring to that company in an industry in which she had no previous experience Kate's developed a skill that all successful people master an ability and a willingness to push her cell outside of her comfort zone on a regular basis she'd be the first to tell you that until about a year ago she wouldn't have had the confidence to pursue nor to perform in this new opportunity and this is Josh josh is also finishing up his first year at university where he's studying computer science and psychology not only does Josh do well in his courses but he finds people and experiences outside of the classroom walls that help him explore his interests and implement his strengths during his first semester in University Josh taught English online to students in China at 6 a.m. every day 6 a.m. every day and then went to a full day of classes that ladies and gentlemen is called purpose these are impressive feats for young people in today's world a world where 14% of students drop out of university before the end of their first year and 40% of recent university graduates are underemployed and here's the thing Michael Kate and Josh are by every objective measure ordinary they have no greater in challenge intelligence no greater access to resources than the majority of young Canadians the one way in which they are extraordinary is that they were willing to stray from the well-worn paths they are innovators and their willingness to try something new enable them to build a sense of confidence and purpose that few of their peers enjoy they're among the minority of students who made a deliberate decision to step off the academic treadmill for a purposeful gap year during their gap year they explore their own interests values and strengths and they came to better understand how they could make use of their unique talents to improve the lives of others around them so the question is then if the benefits of a purposeful gap year are so great why is it that so few students are choosing this path the answer is that everything they've seen and everything they've heard since the age of five has been pointing them down a linear path from elementary school to high school to post-secondary education to a successful career and a happy life we push them along this path because we know that statistically those who achieve a post-secondary credential fare better in terms of economic and social outcomes in the long run the problem is that we all know that the path to true success is anything but linear the problem is that we now know students on this academic treadmill are suffering mental health consequences at an unprecedented level the problem is that no one seems to be actively encouraging young people to build their confidence self-awareness and adaptability outside of campus walls well not nobody actually since 1973 Harvard University has offered every admitted student the opportunity to take a purposeful gap year in their offers of admission they say we think you're great we're accepting you to Harvard obviously you're pretty talented we'd love for you to come and study with us here however we'd prefer if you didn't come next year we'd prefer if you took the year to go off and work travel volunteer go out into the world and build a sense of purpose and gain an understanding of why you want to study and then join us the reason we offer you this opportunity is because over time we've seen the benefits to this program for young people they come to campus more engaged they perform better academically and they actually have greater long-term outcomes in terms of career and life satisfaction I'm not here to argue against the benefits of higher education I think we're incredibly lucky to have the wonderful system that we do I am however here to argue for purposeful education and the kind of purpose I'm talking about doesn't magically show up at your door just because you happen to have finished the 12th grade so we've heard some of the benefits to students in taking a purposeful gap year we now know that one of the most prestigious universities in the world actively encourages this practice but the question remains why is it that so few students are choosing this path and the answer I believe lies in what psychologists would call irrational beliefs irrational beliefs are unfounded values attitudes and opinions that we hold that are sync with the way the world really is I hear a rational beliefs from parents and students about gap years all the time and I wanted to share the top three with all of you tonight I think you'll find that you relate to them parents irrational belief number one if my son or daughter takes a year off to work they're going to love making money so much they're gonna get sucked into the job market they'll never be able to go back to school anybody heard that one before show of hands okay I won't ask who's thinking it right now so the next question for everyone is who here knows anybody who loves making minimum wage exactly me neither in fact but the reality is that students who choose this path to work for one year after high school before post-secondary will most likely be making minimum wage if you ask people that have taken this path more often than not they'll tell you that understanding what life looks like at minimum wage for one year was exactly the kind of motivation they needed to return to their studies once they knew what it was that they wanted to learn about furthermore the American gap Association in 2015 conducted a survey that highlighted ninety-two percent of students who take an intentional gap year returned to their studies full-time the very next year parents rational belief number two if my son or daughter takes a year off from school they're going to completely forget all their study habits they're gonna lose their academic momentum and they'll never be able to go back anybody anybody guilty as charged yes thank you for being honest I'd like to introduce you to Rachel Rachel is a high school dropout she left school before completing the 11th grade we'll just say she wasn't feeling it at the time I guess what's she up to now 25 years later rachel is currently the director of an academic success program and a large university not bad for a high school dropout right if you're thinking yourself well obviously J she had to go back to school to get that job you're absolutely right she did when she was ready for it she got her high school diploma then she went on to get her undergraduate degree and not too long ago Rachel completed her PhD in psychology she's the perfect example of why a sense of purpose and an understanding of why we're studying is far more important for academic success than the ability to recite the periodic table of elements so that's the parents what about the students far and away the most popular irrational belief I hear from students on a regular basis is if I take a year off I'll be a year behind thank you for joining me in on that one some other people have heard that before too so what's funny about that first of all is the question is what exactly are they gonna be falling behind on and the answer as you likely know is simply the status quo and what's ironic about it is if you ask anybody who has ever taken a purposeful gap here they'll tell you two things number one they'll tell you I know it seems like a long time at the age of eighteen but trust me one year it's just a drop in the bucket number two my gap year was without a doubt the most transformative period of my life I learned so much about myself in the world around me I built a sense of confidence and adaptability that enabled me to pursue the things in life that are actually meaningful to me and I wouldn't be the same person today without it so those are some of the irrational beliefs I hear from parents and students on a regular basis that I believe are making purposeful gap years prohibitive to many students there is of course one more glaring reason why more students aren't choosing this path and that's simply because we haven't offered them many meaningful options and that's why three years ago I set out to recruit an incredible community of educators teachers mentors and coaches to help more young people gain access to the benefits of a year experience through experiential learning self-discovery and skill development in our program every student travels and completes a community service project over the course of the year they also receive individual career coaching on a monthly basis and they meet up for weekly workshops where we help them build the most important career and leadership skills for their future but most importantly over the span of the year our students have the opportunity to learn from and to network with an inspiring community of over 100 mentors mentors who advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace mentors who have one Stanley Cups in participating in the Olympics mentors who have lost their life savings to fail businesses and gone on to build new thriving companies mentors who have moved their family to another country for a better future mentors who have taken traumatic events in their own life and use them as fuel for future growth and development and mentors who dedicate their lives to helping young people implement meaningful social change the positive impact of this kind of community on our young people cannot be overestimated our mentors share a number of important character traits perseverance optimism and generosity among them but if I had to choose one trait that I thought best characterized the collective identity of our mentors it would be courage courage to continually push themselves outside of their comfort zone and to live authentic lives courage to admit when they've made a mistake and to take responsibility for fixing it courage to put up their hand and say I agree the status quo may not be the best way I'd love to help build something different like our students our mentors have no special powers they have character and they have purpose like our mentors our students have courage and I've learned over the past three years just how hard it can be for young people to choose something different to stray from the status quo and to step off the academic treadmill it could be very hard but like so many things in life that are hard it can also lead to incredible fulfillment I think nobody articulated this sentiment better than one of our mentors Scott Robertson Scott is an indigenous rights lawyer here in Canada and one of the most purposeful professionals you could ever meet he gave our students a workshop on critical thinking a number of months ago and during the workshop Scott told us about his gap year nobody is coming to the end of high school he knew he wasn't ready to go to university so he decided to plan a year-long trip to Australia and while planning his gap year Scott went around and he asked 20 of his friends if they wanted to go with him every single one said no so he went off on his own and he told us during the workshop that in the 25 years that have passed since his gap year every single one of those 20 people has come back to him and said I wish I had done that with you we need to help our young people avoid this future regret we need help them pursue an education with a sense of purpose we need to help more young people live with a sense of confidence self-awareness and adaptability the Michael Kate and Josh live with today and if I had to choose one quote that I thought best captured the essence of the work that we're trying to do it would be Howard Thurman who said ask not what the world needs ask what makes you come alive and go do that because what the world needs is people who have come alive and I like to say that a purposeful gap year is not a guaranteed one year journey to success but this one year is the start of a lifelong journey to significance we need to strive to help our young people come alive believe me it's a very fulfilling journey thank you [Applause] you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 69,309

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Education, Children, Education reform

Id: SsuQA3-__WU

Length: 17min 15sec (1035 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 30 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/Monster11]

This TedxTalk is great for anyone considering a gap year. The speaker runs a Structured Gap Year program called Discover Year in my city. I've had the chance to work with him in the past and he's quite genuine and passionate about this. Hope it helps anyone considering taking a bit more time to figure out their next move!