brrr. I can already get nervous about that statement. I think they are tough, those boys and girls who go to study abroad with zero experience. But when it comes to my own children, I wonder whether I will still welcome studying abroad with open arms.
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Now our oldest 'only' is 13 years old. So we still have a while to go before this could become a reality. On the other hand, next year he will have to start orienting himself on the possibilities and which direction he wants to choose within his studies. In fact… they are actually already working on that orientation. And he still has no idea!
In that respect, studying abroad is of course fantastic. Does your child have no idea what he actually wants to do for study? Which direction will he choose? Then a gap year between two studies is ideal for a trip abroad.
Both my nieces have taken the step to stay abroad for a while. Neither my nephews, by the way, could it be more of a girl thing? Anyways, I think you can see from those girls that they have grown enormously during that period. Now one of them has done development work abroad for a year, so that's quite different from studying. But it does broaden your horizons. It puts your own life more in perspective and I think young adults sometimes miss that.
The other did go to study abroad. Not in between her studies, by the way, but after her last study she did another year in Mexico to broaden her own study.
Anyway, secretly I am already a little concerned with the 'what if' question. Because what if after his VMBO (in 2 years!) the son still doesn't know what he wants? Incidentally, I think there is a very good chance that this will be the case, because he is not leaning in any direction yet. At such a moment, a continuation to, for example, an MBO does not seem very suitable to me, because then you already have to make a choice. What he could do is move on to Havo, if the grades allow it. This choice is Frank's preference, but I think a gap year can also be very smart. Even though I don't have to think that my son would go abroad when he was fifteen, I do think it could be very good for him. And that's what it's all about, isn't it?
He is then still of compulsory education, but could, for example, go to a High School for a year. What a language boost you get there! Of course, such a gap year is not something you can push down your throat, they must also be really hungry for it.
Would you encourage studying abroad if your child suggested this? Or would you, for example, suggest it as a possibility, even if your son or daughter has not yet brought it up yourself? Somehow I think fifteen is still very young for such an adventure, don't you think?
If you now have family living abroad and you know that someone can keep an eye on it then it's something else. But just leave it completely blank - alone -? yay! Although, blank is not quite right, of course, because I've been scouring the internet for a while to get some more feeling with this subject and there are plenty of organizations that can support you in this.
For secondary school students, for example, they offer the possibility of a kind of exchange program. I see at EF Education that they completely organize such a gap year. Your child will then be placed in a screened host family where they will be fully included during this year. That way, studying abroad takes on a completely different meaning.
A friend of mine once (long ago 😉 ) worked at Up with People for a while. During this period she also lived with a host family in the USA with whom she still has a very close relationship. I think that is very nice and a valuable addition. Also useful if you want to go on holiday there later 😉 .
Time will tell…
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