Advanced English Conversation: Education in the US

Vanessa: You are invited to a real English  

conversation with me and my husband, Dan. Dan: 

Hi. Vanessa: 

We're going to be talking about education  today. You asked us your top education  

questions in English, and we're going to  have a chit-chat about those questions,  

immerse you in English. I hope you will end  up on the other side of this conversation  

with a higher level of vocabulary, more  confidence about speaking in English,  

and you'll enjoy it along the way. Like  always, I've created a free PDF worksheet,  

which is over Dan's face at the moment,  with all of today's important vocabulary,  

definitions, sample sentences. Everything  that you're going to hear in this lesson,  

you will get in the free PDF worksheet. So you can  click on the link in the description to download  

that free PDF worksheet today. All right, Dan, are  you ready to get started with the first question- 

Dan: Yes. 

Vanessa: ... that our students have asked us? 

Dan: I'm ready to get educated. 

Vanessa: All right, let's do it.  

These education questions were asked by my student  Carmen from Italy and Mayi in Australia. Are you  

ready for the first one? Dan: 

I'm ready. Vanessa: 

All right. The first question is, "What age does  school start in the U.S., that's where we're from,  

the U.S. "and what does the education system look  like?" So let's start with the first question,  

"What age does school start in the U.S.?" Dan: 

So a lot of kids go to some kind of school around  four years old, so this would be preschool. In a  

lot of cases, this is not provided by the state. Vanessa: 

Yeah, this is something that parents  have to pay for out of pocket. 

Dan: I would say this is  

like daycare except maybe a little more education  peppered in 'cause they're really little kids,  

and then official school is kindergarten, which  starts around five or six years old. This is where  

real school begins. We're sitting and trying to  learn our letters and alphabet and reading and,  

"Here's numbers," and all that kind of thing.  Then elementary school would be first through  

fifth grade. Yeah, first through fifth grade,  which is probably what, seven to 11 or 12? 

Vanessa: Yeah. Yeah. 

Dan: Something like that. 

Vanessa: 10, 11 years  

old. Dan: 

Then it moves on to middle school, which  is everybody's favorite time of existence,  

12 to 14-ish. Vanessa: 

This is a great example of sarcasm. Dan: 

Oh, yes. This is sarcasm. Yeah, middle  school not known for being the most fun time. 

Vanessa: No. 

Dan: It's funny because a lot of kids are moving  

at this time. They could be going to a different  school, different classes, and then you're going  

through this awkward time in your life and,  "Here's some other new people for you. It'll be  

fun." So yeah, that's an interesting time. Vanessa: 

Usually, middle school has the  stereotype of being pretty rough,  

pretty tricky. Then after middle school is high  school. By that point you're what, 14 years old? 

Dan: You're a real man. 

Vanessa: 14 through 18 years old,  

so you're not right at the beginning, the cusp of  puberty. Instead, you're a little further in and  

maybe a little more mature, maybe? Dan: 

Ninth grade is still awkward- Vanessa: 

Ninth grade is still pretty awkward. Dan: 

... 'cause when you're in ninth grade and you're  14 or 15, and then you see a 17 or 18 year old,  

especially if you're a guy like me, puberty can  hit all of a sudden and then you'll be a man  

versus like I was, a boy. Vanessa: 

A little boy when you were- Dan: 

Yes. Vanessa: 

... in ninth grade. Dan: 

Hi, guys. Vanessa: 

So this is the typical progression of school,  and there's a couple different options in the  

U.S. You could go to public school, which is free.  It's paid for by your taxes. So if you pay taxes,  

it's technically not free. Dan: 

Free, not free. Vanessa: 

Yes, free, not free. It's paid for by the state.  You could go to public school. You could go to a  

public charter school, so this is a nuance where  you don't have to pay extra to go to a charter  

school, but it's somehow- Dan: 

It's run privately. Vanessa: 

It's run privately, it's smaller. Usually, the  programs have a little bit higher quality, and to  

get into a charter school, you often need to do a  lottery. This isn't like the lottery where you try  

to win a million dollars. This is where you just  sign up and they pull a kid's name out of a hat,  

totally random. If you get it, you get it, and if  you don't, you don't. So it's not based on your  

income, it's not based on where you live, because  most public schools are based on where you live.  

You have to go to the school in your neighborhood. Dan: 

Yeah. Vanessa: 

But a charter- Dan: 

... kind of stinks. Vanessa: 

... school, especially if you live in an area  that's really poor, well, your school is probably  

not going to be very high quality, and there's a  lot of controversy about that 'cause it's a cycle. 

Dan: Yeah, it's definitely a cycle. 

Vanessa: You don't have as  

many resources to get out of poverty and all of  that. So we've got public school, charter school,  

private school. I have a little statistic here  I looked up in advance, fancy. Private schools,  

9% of students go to a private school and parents  have to pay extra for a private school. It could  

be a religious private school, it could be  a secular private school. Our child, Theo- 

Dan: He's probably in the 1% because  

he goes to a nature school. Vanessa: 

It's not religious based- Dan: 

He's in the 0.5%. Vanessa: 

It's a very unusual private school. But there's  also other types of private schools like in nature  

school where half of the day they spend time  outside in the woods or the teachers try to  

incorporate the outside nature into the lessons. Dan: 

A lot of times these schools will call themselves  alternative education, so that just means, "We're  

trying to do something different here." Vanessa: 

There's varying degrees of quality. Just because  you're paying for it doesn't mean that it's going  

to be vastly better quality than the free public  school. So if you come to the U.S. and you think,  

"I want my kid to have the best education. I  think I can afford to pay for private school,"  

make sure you check it out first, and make  sure that it's actually the quality that  

you want. There are a lot of scholarships,  actually. So the school that our son goes to,  

a lot of people have an 80% scholarship to go to  the school, which makes it very affordable. The  

state has scholarships, the school provides  some scholarships. There's some grants given  

to the school to provide scholarships, so  they're trying to make it more accessible. 

Dan: Yeah. Most schools, especially private schools and  

anything education related, you're going to find  a lot of organizations that will try to help kids  

get into whatever they really, really want, and  the government helps with that as well in America. 

Vanessa: Yeah. I think a lot  

of it comes down to the parents having the ability  to sign up, follow through with the applications,  

sign up for the scholarships- Dan: 

Now, that doesn't mean it's easy. Vanessa: 

It doesn't mean it's easy, but it is an option.  There's a fourth option, which is what Dan  

experienced when he was a child, homeschooling. Dan: 

Look at me. Vanessa: 

So interestingly enough, what percent of Americans  do you think homeschool? This means that generally  

don't peak your mom or- Dan: 

This is what I learned in homeschooling. Vanessa: 

Your mom or your dad is your teacher, usually your  mom. There's local organizations that you can join  

weekly, like a co-op, they call it a homeschooling  co-op. What percent of American children  

are homeschooling as of 2021 or 2022? Dan: 

Well, I would've guessed it was very low. See, I  think I looked at your phone earlier and saw it- 

Vanessa: You cheated. 

Dan: Well, you showed it to me- 

Vanessa: Okay. 

Dan: ... but I would've guessed like 2%- 

Vanessa: Ah, okay. 

Dan: ... before seeing that- 

Vanessa: Okay. 

Dan: ... but I think it's higher. 

Vanessa: Yes, the answer is 7%. 

Dan: Which is pretty high, actually. 

Vanessa: It's almost the same amount  

as go to private school. Dan: 

Yeah, that's crazy. Vanessa: 

Yeah, so 7%. The interesting thing is- Dan: 

I guess it probably bumped up after COVID too. Vanessa: 

Yes, that's the big thing. So before COVID, it was  I think, 4 or 5%, and now it's 7% and it's growing  

10% every year. So it's hard to talk about those  stats, but it's growing every year because of all  

the changes in education. Dan: 

Yeah. Public school has gotten a bad reputation  as well. There's varying qualities, but a lot  

of people, where they live, their school is not  very good. It is not just teachers, it's also the  

peers you're with, and it's... I don't know.  Obviously, I teach at an alternative school,  

so I am not a big fan of the traditional model,  and I don't like all the bureaucracy. Not to say  

that there's not a lot of good-hearted people in  the system, I just think that the system is, well,  

it might sound a little cliche, but it's broken. Vanessa: 

Yeah. So those are the general options in the  U.S., and I think the cool thing is that if you  

choose an alternative option, private school,  charter school, homeschooling, it's not seen as  

very weird. It's unusual, it's not the majority,  but you're not like an outcast. You're not so  

weird like, "Oh my goodness, you homeschool?"  It's not that generally it's just, "Oh, okay,  

someone does something different." I  think that's in the American culture. 

Dan: That is very much an American culture thing. 

Vanessa: You try to accept people who do different things. 

Dan: Because we lived in South Korea for a while,  

we felt that difference so big. We never met  anybody who homeschooled there. We met one family  

and we're like, "Whoa, this is amazing." Vanessa: 

Everyone uses the same education system  and deviating from that norm is really  

unusual in that culture. Dan: 

Yeah, or even looked down on. But in America,  if you do something different like that, people,  

they may sometimes go and whisper about it  or say, "I don't really agree with that," but  

they'll never tell you to your face that they  have a problem with a decision you might make,  

especially a personal decision. Vanessa: 

Dan was homeschooled until how old? Dan: 

Yes, until 13- Vanessa: 

13? Dan: 

I think, yes- Vanessa: 

Okay- Dan: 

... until middle school- Vanessa: 

... and Dan's pretty cool. Dan: 

... roughly. Yes, and I feel like homeschooling  today is way better than it was when I was a kid. 

Vanessa: Way more resources. 

Dan: I think that what I experienced I don't want for  

my kids, but today, I can feasibly see how you can  build up certain social exposures, have certain  

groups. There's a ton of resources online. Vanessa: 

Yeah. Dan: 

Yeah. Vanessa: 

Your mom certainly did the best that she could do. Dan: 

Oh, yeah. My mom did a good job. I think it was  just, for me personally, I don't think it fit what  

I probably needed as a child looking back. Vanessa: 

Like you needed more pressure to- Dan: 

I needed an- Vanessa: 

... have deadlines- Dan: 

... out. Vanessa: 

... and stuff. Dan: 

I needed another authority other  than my mom, and I needed better,  

a bigger social circle and a little more  structured education I think would've been  

good for me. Not that my mom wasn't somewhat  structured, but it is a different kind of thing. 

Vanessa: Yeah. Homeschooling in the '90s compared  

to homeschooling now 30 years later, that's crazy.  All right, let's go on to question number two,  

"Do most American students go to universities  after their graduation? Is it considered  

important?" Let's talk about our general feel  first, and then I've got some stats about- 

Dan: Yeah, good- 

Vanessa: ... how many people actually go- 

Dan: ... because I haven't looked at the stats. 

Vanessa: Okay. 

Dan: This time, I didn't make it that far. 

Vanessa: Let's hear what's inside your heart, Dan? 

Dan: So I think, yes, people generally go to,  

we would say college, but I think- Vanessa: 

It's the same thing. Dan: 

... a lot of the world would say university.  I don't know the percentage, but I would say- 

Vanessa: What's your guess? What's  

your guess is a good time? Dan: 

80? No, 75%. Vanessa: 

Wow. Really? Dan: 

Yeah. Vanessa: 

Okay. Dan: 

What is it? Vanessa: 

Okay, well- Dan: 

No, no, no, it's 92%, 61%. Vanessa: 

I think this is showing your bias because- 

Dan: 50%- 

Vanessa: ... let's- 

Dan: I don't know which way the bias is. 

Vanessa: Let's say that, so for us,  

we have a four-year degree, and that's what you  call it when you go to college for four-years.  

You could have a two-year degree. It's called an  associate's degree or a four-year degree. We have  

four-year degrees, and I think there's been some  studies that show if you have a four-year degree,  

most of the people in your social circle also have  the same or close to the same level of education. 

Dan: Yeah, everybody I know is edumacated. 

Vanessa: So that's why you think it's so high. 

Dan: Dang it. I should have thought about that. 

Vanessa: Okay, let's compare 1990 to 2021. 

Dan: Okay. 

Vanessa: In 1990,  

the people who graduated high school were 77%. So  77% of students graduated from high school and 20%  

of people graduated from college. Okay?2021,  91% of people graduated from high school- 

Dan: Okay. 

Vanessa: ... so much higher percentage rate,  

and 38% of people graduate from college. Dan: 

I'm way off. Vanessa: 

Yep, so it is higher. Dan: 

It has bumped up a lot, though. Vanessa: 

All of the charts that I saw were all going up, so  finishing high school and college are definitely  

on the rise, not 70% or whatever you said.  But it probably is 70% of the people we know,  

which I think is- Dan: 

Oh, for sure. Vanessa: 

... quite interesting. That's part of the cycle  of education, I think, that if you don't know  

anyone who's been to college, it probably won't  be a priority for you. It will be harder for you  

to go 'cause you won't have people who know how  that process works and all of that. But if you've  

been to college like us, it will be easier for our  kids to do that process because we've been there. 

Dan: Yes, I'm glad I could be instructive of  

a fallacy about my personal experience, but- Vanessa: 

Well, thanks for being willing to be the  fallacy in front of millions of people online. 

Dan: Yes, you're welcome everybody. 

Vanessa: But this is also a part two of the question,  

"Is it considered important?" Dan: 

Oh, well, again, this probably goes to your  social circle because in my social circle,  

it was super important, and I think  this is probably family by family. 

Vanessa: I would say it's almost expected. If your parents- 

Dan: Yes. 

Vanessa: ... are college graduates- 

Dan: ... definitely. 

Vanessa: ... it's almost expected,  

of course, you'll go to college. Dan: 

However, I think I have heard from certain...  like our neighbor, I think she said she was the  

first to go to college, and it was looked  upon as great, but it wasn't expected.  

But as a society, it is definitely encouraged.  There's ads playing on the TV and YouTube,  

and every teacher will tell you going to college,  and I'm just going to say university 'cause more  

people say that probably, going to university is  going to be a great benefit to your life and all  

this kind of stuff. So I think that is definitely  pushed in society. That probably is another reason  

why I think that a lot of people go, but I'm  also forgetting about how expensive it is. 

Vanessa: Yeah, that's the other thing is that it's- 

Dan: For a lot of schools- 

Vanessa: ... really expensive.  

I would say anywhere between 30,000 and $200,000  for a four-year degree, depending on if you go to  

a community college or if you go to a state  school or if you go to a private school,  

it can range anywhere in there. That's a big  burden for a young person starting off in their  

career to have to pay for the schools. Dan: 

The state schools aren't cheap or free? Vanessa: 

They are not cheap, and they are not free. Dan: 

Okay. I actually don't know. Vanessa: 

They are cheaper than private schools.  It's a very complicated system, but- 

Dan: I think  

I'm a little ignorant in this realm because I  haven't thought about college in a while, but  

we went to a small private school and  that's known for being pretty expensive. 

Vanessa: Yeah. Yeah. For me,  

I had to get a lot of scholarships to go to that  school, so I applied for tons of scholarships. The  

school also had scholarships, and it was pretty  much required if I was going to go to that school,  

I had to have a lot of money already paid for;  otherwise, it was just too expensive. But I think  

it's interesting because of our experience, we  felt, I can speak for you too, we felt pretty  

burdened. Even though we had scholarships,  we felt pretty burdened post-college to pay  

back our student loans. When you start off your  life, your adult life in debt, that's so hard. My  

parents tried so hard, they paid a lot of money. I had a lot of scholarships, and I still had  

college debt that I had to pay back. So even  though I think I was probably starting off  

in the best possible position, it still  felt like a burden. So I think for us,  

at least for our children, I have no idea what  the education scene will look like in another  

15 years, but I think that we might have a  different perspective on college because we've  

been there. We know what it's like. We know if  it helped us or not in our life and how expensive  

it is and if it's worth it. Are there other  alternatives? Yeah, and in our changing world,  

those might be better. I don't know. Dan: 

Yeah, I think it's a cliche among people our age  that college is not worth it and that it's just  

way too expensive for what you get out of it, and  it doesn't really prepare you and all this stuff. 

Vanessa: I think if you graduated  

2005 to 2010, 2000, around that  2000, maybe even 15 in that range,  

you probably feel like us that your degree does  not mean you will get a good-paying job. It's not  

a given that that will happen. Dan: 

Yeah, and I think initially when we went to  college, there was a transitional phase where  

everything was getting... it was getting a lot  more expensive, and that cost benefit analysis  

was maybe making less sense. But a lot of our  families were still saying the same message  

that you just have to go even if you're not even  sure what you want to do, which was in my case,  

which I think didn't help me. Vanessa: 

Yeah. Well, my job didn't even exist when I went  to college. This job, teaching English online was  

not even an option, so I don't know. It is tricky. Dan: 

Yeah. I don't know what the future holds, but- Vanessa: 

Oh, you don't? Dan: 

... I feel like the world changes really, really  fast in that I will certainly not tell my children  

they have to go to college, and that this will  make all the difference. I'll be like, "Well,  

what exactly do you want to do? Let's get in that  program. Let's look at the cost benefit analysis  

of how much it costs and really dig in there."  Unfortunately, I don't feel like my parents did  

that, but that's what I'll do. Vanessa: 

I think their generation really was the last  generation who said, "I'll get a university degree  

and that will give me a good job," and it worked.  So their expectation was what happened to them,  

but that's not how it is now. Anyway, who knows  what will happen in the next 10 to 15 years for  

our kids? But I certainly won't pressure them and  I won't feel disappointed if they decide not to go  

to college as long as they are independent  adults trying to do something different.  

I'm going to transition to the last question  and skip one question, actually, because I think  

you're about to say something about it. Dan: 

Oh, am I? Vanessa: 

I'm going to guess- Dan: 

Okay. Vanessa: 

... because it has to do with what happens if you  don't get a college degree? Is it hard to find a  

job if you don't have a university degree?  I did a little bit of research about this,  

but what's your gut say? Dan: 

If you don't get a university degree, is it harder  

to get a job? Vanessa: 

Yeah. Yeah. Like if you didn't have a degree  right now, would your prospects be more difficult? 

Dan: I think it probably is.  

I don't think it has to be, but I do think that...  I don't know if I've actually read a study about  

this, but I think I heard in a podcast that is  something that employers will look at. They'll  

be like, all right, check off four-year degree.  They'll just assume that that means a lot. So I  

do think it does mean something. Unfortunately,  I don't think it has to be. I think that you can  

probably really get well-educated without it- Vanessa: 

Definitely. Dan: 

... nowadays, and I think that might even be  preferable when you consider how much it costs. So  

other than there's a lot of social experiences,  however, a lot of the social experiences are  

getting really drunk and misbehaving and stuff- Vanessa: 

Yeah, that's kind of- Dan: 

... that doesn't really have anything to do with- Vanessa: 

... the stereotype- Dan: 

... keeping a job. Vanessa: 

... of American College is that you just go  there, get drunk, sleep with a lot of people,  

and then maybe you stumble into class once a week. Dan: 

Yeah, it doesn't really make any sense at all. Vanessa: 

Then you pay lots of money for that. That wasn't  my college experience, but that is certainly- 

Dan: Oh, it was there. 

Vanessa: ... certainly what happens to a lot of people. 

Dan: Right. Yeah. But I'm still saying that it does,  

unfortunately, probably still matter. Vanessa: 

Yeah, I would say that that's probably the  case for specific careers. So what I saw was,  

of course, if you're going to be a  doctor, if you're going to be an engineer- 

Dan: Well, yeah. 

Vanessa: ... if you're going  

to be in the medical field, those very specific  technical type of jobs that require education,  

that education is probably necessary. But for  other careers, what I read online said is a  

college degree necessary? Yes and no. The yes was  if you want to be in those specific career fields,  

yeah, if you're going to be a nurse, go get a  degree in nursing and you'll be fine. I think it's  

actually even a two-year degree. That's amazing. Dan: 

That sounds preferable to me. Some kind of  two-year program, I feel like you can learn  

maybe not anything but a lot of things in  two-years. It doesn't have to be four-years. 

Vanessa: But it said if you want a  

job that usually says we require a degree or they  highly recommend a degree in their application,  

maybe like a software engineer or something like  this. If you are an assertive person who has  

done a lot of alternative experiences, now this  takes a specific personality type, I think, like- 

Dan: Got to have something for that resume. 

Vanessa: Yes, you have a  

good resume. You've interned. You have maybe taken  some extracurricular classes at the local college  

or maybe even some online courses about that  specific field. It doesn't have to be a degree- 

Dan: There's a lot of alternatives out there. 

Vanessa: Yeah, that you can buy your  

assertiveness, which is really what people are  looking for often, people who will see a problem  

and fix the problem. The skills can really  be taught, but that personality and character  

quality can't be taught as much. So if you show  that, then you could get in. So for example,  

this isn't about a job, this is about getting  into college. There was a homeschooler  

who had been homeschooled their entire life and  they wanted to get into a huge university. I  

don't think it was Harvard, but it was a really  high-level university. What they did instead  

is they wrote out, of course, every charity  they worked with, every volunteer experience,  

all of this, but they also wrote a list. The second page of their application was,  

"100 books that I read last year." Holy cow,  that's like two books a week. They wrote out  

everything that they had read and in order and  all of this, and it showed their assertiveness,  

"I'm going to be a good student, I'm going  to be dedicated." I think for a lot of jobs,  

if you can be outstanding like that, then  who cares if you have a degree, ideally?  

A little example too is someone who works for me,  

Laura. Hi, Laura, if you're watching. She  helps to write some of the sales content,  

like sales emails. She's called a copywriter. When I interviewed her, I don't even know if  

she has a college degree, I don't even know her  official education, but her application process,  

her experience, and she had taken the initiative  to do some online copywriting classes and had been  

working on and off for some other businesses  doing their writing as well. So she had this  

kind of initiative, and that's really what I  was looking for, was someone who was organized,  

took the initiative, creative and was interested  in the job. She had taken some classes of her own  

volition and really done it, and that's why  I hired her. She's been amazing. Actually,  

a lot of my students who join my courses, they  say that their job didn't require them to take  

English classes, but they write on their resume,  "Completed a three-month English course with Speak  

English With Vanessa," and this is the- Dan: 

You're an institution. Vanessa: 

It's not a four-year degree, it's not in IL  certificate, something official like that,  

but it shows that you took the initiative- Dan: 

I think she's pretty official. Vanessa: 

... and it showed that you're willing to  go the extra mile to try to do your best.  

So I think that's a good example of a way  that extracurricular education can enhance  

your career as well. Well, talking about  internships, I'm curious in your country,  

is it common to do an internship? I think in  Germany it's maybe required that you do a year  

internship after high school, that it's part of  the system. I'm not sure. If you're from Germany,  

let me know- Dan: 

That sounds like a better system to me- Vanessa: 

... that you get- Dan: 

I don't know if that's real. Vanessa: 

... real-world experience in the world  doing something, but I feel like for me,  

that would've been pretty helpful just to  get out of the education system. I felt very  

overwhelmed going from high school to four-years  of college. Then I had had part-time jobs working  

in restaurants and these types of things, but  nothing like a career. By my third year of  

college, I just felt like, "I just want to go  out into the real world and try to get a job.  

I don't want to- Dan: 

Do something. Vanessa: 

Yeah, I want to do something. It's not common  in the U.S. to take a gap year. This is a common  

thing, I think, in Europe and Australia, that  after high school students will take a gap year  

and go out and do something. Dan: 

Good job, Europe. Vanessa: 

Go be a nanny, go volunteer- Dan: 

If that's standard. Vanessa: 

... on a farm. Dan: 

Yeah, I think when we were- Vanessa: 

Go travel in Southeast Asia, do something. Dan: 

When we were in France that one year, we did meet  some younger people who seem to either be taking  

a gap year or doing some kind of intern thing.  I don't know. I like that a lot. In the U.S.,  

it's strange that you graduate high school and  you have this big ceremony and congratulations,  

you get to move on to more school. Vanessa: 

Yeah. I pretty much guarantee that if you were  in the U.S. and you graduated from high school  

and you said, "I'm going to take a gap year, and  then I'll decide what I want to do," every single  

person will say, "If you don't go to college  now, you're never going to do it. This is your  

chance to do it now because you'll forget about  it or you won't have the motivation to do it,  

or you'll forget about education and forget about  math," these types of things. But in reality,  

if you're not meant to go to college and you  wait a year and you decide not to go to college,  

well, maybe that was a better path for you.  I don't know. I feel a little biased because  

I saw people doing that Europeans who were doing  that gap year, and I felt really jealous like,  

oh, I would've loved to do that, but  it's just not in American culture. 

Maybe it might start becoming part of it as we  learn more about Europe, we're 10 years behind  

Europe in those things, but right now, it's not  part of American culture. You just do school,  

possibly more school and then- Dan: 

Or stop school. Vanessa: 

... pay back your school with your job. So that's  it. All right. Well, thanks for talking to me  

today about education. Dan: 

You're welcome. Vanessa: 

I appreciate it. Thank you all for asking  us your great questions. Well, let us know  

in the comments if having an internship or  doing a gap year is common in your country,  

I would love to learn more about that. Don't  forget to download the free PDF worksheet,  

which includes all of the great vocabulary  that you saw pop up on the screen here that  

we use. You can get that vocabulary, definition,  sample sentences, and at the bottom of that free  

worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's challenge  question so that you never forget what you've  

learned. You can click on the link in  the description to download that free  

PDF worksheet today. Well, thanks so much, Dan,  for joining me today to talk about education. 

Dan: You're welcome. It was fun. I  

hope you're a little bit smarter. Vanessa: 

Yeah, thank you so much for learning English  with me. I'll see you again next Friday  

for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. Dan: 

Bye. Vanessa: 

But wait, do you want more? I recommend  watching this video next where you'll  

see another real English conversation  between Dan and I about parenting our 1,  

2, 3 children. I can't wait to help you immerse  yourself in English more, and I'll see you there.