issue 17/68 17)Formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free. [claim/comparison]
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
68) Some people believe that the purpose of education is to free the mind and the spirit. Others believe that formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
Consider the cases of primary/ secondary school education, college education and professional education.
When students receive formal education at primary and secondary level, most of the subject matters are rather rigid and intend to provide training in basic verbal and quantitative skills and help students accumulate knowledge about the world. Restraining the minds and spirits to some extent is necessary for students to focus on their studies and acquire the basic skills and knowledge they need for further education.
At universities, students are free to choose different courses and explore their own interests. They can think more liberally and do their own original researches to create new knowledge. They can also think critically about the different theories. But these intellectual activities are not possible without the solid foundation laid at earlier stages.
At professional schools such as law schools, medical schools and business schools, students again have to narrow their minds and focus on knowledge and subject matters in specific disciplines. To serve as a medical professional, one has to follow certain protocols and cannot think too creatively when taking care of the patients. … (same for lawyers and accountants)
So the bottom line is that formal education limits people’s minds at some stages in order to accomplish the specific educational goals while at university level students get a chance to think creatively and critically.
To focus on some specific features of formal education
1. professional teachers who can encourage students to think creatively
2. a learning community in which students can learn from one another
3. train basic literacies effectively through well-tested common curriculum
All contribute to the liberation of minds and spirit
Then talk about the danger of government control over formal education
funding of the government may compromise the political neutrality of teachers
so we have to value academic freedom in order to encourage critical and creative thinking
Focusing on the 3R (reading, writing and arithmetic) may also lead to a strong argument that formal education actually free people's minds.