153."Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively."
学生们应该带着怀疑的态度对待他们所学的任何东西。他们应该质疑老师教给他们的东西，而不是消极地接受
Today, as the social competition becoming more and more roughly, the only criteria of weighing a student’s ability simply becomes the mark of examination. In this education context, students’ ultimate goal of studying is to get higher and higher score. This situation makes students become numb and passive-thinkers. Therefore, encouraging students to think by themselves and holding a skeptical attitude toward what they learn to some extent becomes more and more important.
Since the beginning of human history, the spirit of skeptical constitutes the right force that has propelled science technology and spiritual civilization toward. Skepticism is the precursor of innovation. If Copernicus wasn’t skeptical about the classical celestial theory which considered the absolutely truth made by former scientists, he wouldn’t create one of the most influencial text“De revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium”，which is often conceived as the starting point of modern astronomy. If Galileo wasn’t skeptical about the relationship between mass and velocity of a falling body, there won’t be the widely-known experiment which conducted in the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Just because of the spirit of skepticism, those scientists can discover the New World in science and propel the development of science technology. How can we modern people abandon the elite of skepticism which serves as the hereditary treasure passed from our forefathers?
Moreover, only through critical thinking can there be any doubt. The ultimate goal of education is not only making students receive the knowledge superficially but absorb knowledge thoroughly. When students raise some doubts about what they learn they must have thought carefully about the problem. The process of raising doubts is just the way they absorbing knowledge. Therefore, educators should encourage students to be skeptical about what learn, because in this way students can think thoroughly about the piece of knowledge which makes them understand it deeper and clearer. Besides the benefit of better understanding, being skeptical about what they learn can also help students to be independent thinkers. In their studenthood, they can be instructed by teachers and seniorities, even if sometimes they have completely no idea about a problem they can luckily be guided by their mentors and pursue the research smoothly. However, when they graduated from the tower of ivory the only people they can depend on are themselves. Therefore, cultivating the independent thinking of students is quite crucial.
However, the spirit of skepticism doesn’t equal extremely questioning every piece of information they get. Being paranoid about everything you learn only can result in a mire of stainable. Besides, teachers are the people who equipped with good knowledge and broaden horizons. There’s no need for students to question every single piece of knowledge which they get. The foundation of imparting knowledge is the mutual credits between students and teachers. Therefore, being skeptical to a moderate extent is good for education. Otherwise, the quality of teaching would be destroyed on the contrary.
In sum, to avoid the tragedy that our students becoming more and more numb and passive it is crucial to encourage the spirit of skepticism. Proper skepticism can benefit in creative thinking and help students develop independent personality. However, excessive skeptical may result in a negative influence.