Problem
Life After High School Around the World In the United States, recent high school graduates have increasingly been focusing on college attendance. In recent years, about two-thirds of high school graduates are enrolled in college between their teen years and age twenty-four. About one-third of the same population primarily participates in the workforce, meaning that they are employed or are looking for employment (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). Of those who attend college, most (about 69 percent) are considered immediate enrollers, meaning that they begin college in the first fall academic term immediately after their high school graduation (NCES, 2020). Other countries, especially high-income nations in Western Europe, have similar trends in college education, but fewer students start immediately. Gap years, overseas experiences, or mandatory wait times all lead students to a wide array of pre-college destinations. In Denmark, for example, the number of students who take a "year out" are so high that the government has sought to give students cash bonuses for attending immediately (Anderson, 2009). For several decades, only about 25 percent of Denmark's high school graduates enrolled in college right away, and that number continued to drop in the 2010s, with a record low of only 15 percent in 2018 (Ritzau, 2019). Compare that to the U.S. numbers mentioned above, where over two thirds of the students enroll in college immediately. And note that in Denmark, college is almost universally free. In the United States, this life transition point is socialized quite differently. Taking a year off is much less common than some other countries, but has certainly picked up in recent years. In most cases, U.S. youth are encouraged to select a few target colleges or potential workforce options by their late teens, and to get started on those pathways soon after high school. As mentioned above, many U.S. students do not attend college, but most of those students are in the workforce (including the military). Other nations have entirely different approaches based on available educational institutions, financial circumstances, and family needs. In some nations, students often go to college soon after high school, but do so in other countries (including the U.S.). Dozens of nations require military conscription-military service-for men, and a few (such as Sweden, Israel, Norway, Eritrea, and Venezuela) for women as well. How might your life be different if you lived in one of these other countries? Can you think of similar social norms-related to life age-transition points-that vary from country to country? "Failure is Not an Option" by Tonja R. Conerly, Kathleen Holmes, Asha Lal Tamang, Introduction to Sociology 3e, OpenStax is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Part I: Unit 2 Essay Assignment Summary & Questions
Read: Unit 2 Overview and Unit 2 Essay Assignment.
Write:
A. Summarize what the Unit 2 Essay assignment is asking to do
B. What questions you have about the Unit 2 Essay assignment?
Part II: Example Essay Summary & Response
Write:
A. Summarize the essay
What is being compared/contrasted in this essay? What is the thesis or main point of the essay? Who do you believe is the target audience for this essay? How come?
B. Respond to the essay
C. How did the author try to appeal to the audience?
D. What attracted your attention in the writing? What do you like about how this essay is structured? What will you remember about this piece?
E. What strategies, if any, did the author make that you'd like to borrow or use in your own compare & contrast essay?
F. Do you still think this is the type of compare/contrast essay you want to write? Why/why not?