PBS高端访谈:为什么很多像奥巴马女儿一样的学生准备有一个"空档年"

 HARI SREENIVASAN: As you have likely heard by now, Malia Obama has decided¹ to take a so-called gap year before she attends Harvard University in 2017.

It's an idea that's taking hold among more students, often at elite² schools, but not only those.

William Brangham looks at the broader trend.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: It's estimated that, last year in the U.S., 30,000 to 40,000 students tried out a gap year. And that's a 20 percent jump from the previous year.

So, what are they, why the growing interest?

To help fill in the picture, I'm joined from Boston by Joe O'Shea. He's the author of “Gap Year: How Delaying College Changes People in Ways the World Needs.” He also directs the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement at Florida State University.

So, Joe, welcome.

JOSEPH O'SHEA, Florida State University: Thank you.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I think a lot of our viewers have this stereotype³ that a gap year is for rich kids to put on a backpack and travel around Europe and find themselves. I know that's not totally true, so, tell us, what is a gap year?

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Sure.

There are so many misconceptions about what a gap year is, and some people think it's just waiting around in your home community, maybe sitting on your parents' couch, taking a year off from school.

But we think of gap year as something very different, a very powerful educational experience. It's a structured, deliberate and purposeful experience, in which students challenge themselves outside their comfort zones. Often it involves traveling or working or interning⁵, sometimes overseas, sometimes domestically, but it's designed as an experience that accelerates their personal growth and prepares them for college.

为什么很多像奥巴马女儿一样的学生准备有一个"空档年"

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, could you give me some examples of actual gap year activities that kids are doing now?

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Sure.

So, City Year, for instance, one in the U.S. in which students — or young people work in inner-city schools, is a powerful one and popular one. Many students go overseas. An organization Global Citizen Year, for instance, or Omprakash work with local community-based organizations in developing communities around the world.

And students will intern⁴ there. Maybe they're doing something with young people or a community role or public health kind of work. But it really runs the spectrum⁶.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Is there any research indicating what impact a gap year has on a student?

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Sure.

We have done some research both in the American Gap Association and in the academic world. And what's very clear to us is that, when students take these kind of structured, deliberate gap years, that their growth is really accelerated across a number of ways.

They become better thinkers, better people and better citizens. And what is really interesting is that they perform better when they get to college. They are more likely to go to college, retain, and graduate and get higher GPAs.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, I realize that this can vary, but there has got to be a cost associated with this. Do we know how much — what does it cost to take a gap year?

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Sure.

It really ranges and depends on what you do. Gap years can cost as much as $30,000 a year, but they can also cost very little. There are some programs like Omprakash, for instance, which works directly with nonprofit organizations around the world. And some of them are free room and board for up to a year.

And what is interesting is now we're seeing gap year organizations provide increasing levels of scholarship to students to support low-income schools — low-income students — sorry — and many universities, like my university, Florida State, subsidizing gap year experiences.

We are, for the first year, dedicating $50,000 in scholarships to support low-income students in their gap year experiences.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, help me understand that. Why would a university, which I understand that they are increasingly interested in this — why would colleges and universities want their students to do this?

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Well, we now know very clearly that this is a transformational educational experience.

So, from our side, we know we're going to get really good and motivated and purposeful students when they come back to Florida State. And many universities are beginning to recognize this and see it as a powerful educational intervention⁷.

The students are going to retain better, graduate from the university. And we want to spearhead this and help signal to students and their families and other stakeholders in the education system that gap years are an important part of the educational ecosystem⁸.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, I understand that there are scholarships available for low-income students, but isn't this still mostly the province of wealthier students?

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Unfortunately, gap years still are mostly done by students in the middle class and above.

And that's a real big problem for America, especially since we know how beneficial gap year education can be for students to. And to get that to scale, we're going to need institutions and the government at the federal and state level to begin to recognize gap years and to federally and — subsidize those experiences for students.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: All right, Joe O'Shea, Florida State University, thank you very much.

JOSEPH O'SHEA: Thank you.

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

4 intern   

v.拘禁，软禁；n.实习生

参考例句：

• I worked as an intern in that firm last summer.去年夏天我在那家商行实习。
• The intern bandaged the cut as the nurse looked on.这位实习生在护士的照看下给病人包扎伤口。

5 interning   

v.拘留，关押( intern的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I will spend the summer interning at a software company in Bombay. 夏季我将会在孟买的一家软件公司里实习。 来自互联网
• The young doctor is interning at the Medical Center this year. 这名年轻医生今年在医疗中心做实习医生。 来自互联网

6 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。