TOPIC: ISSUE28 - "Students should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little."
WORDS: 458
TIME: 00:45:00
DATE: 2010-7-17 12:02:37
This contention(这个用法第一次见) points out that to help students explain those facts, they should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts. In addition it claims that students who have learned only facts have learned very little. In general I concede to it that students need to learn the background information before they memorize so many facts so they can comprehend the facts and theories better. However, following the author's suggestions would stunt the progress of knowledge accumulation because he scrutinizes the process of learning(这一句胡话很费解).
To begin with, students should postpone memorizing facts until they understand the connotation behind them such as the ideas, trends and concepts. Merely keeping facts in mind does not necessarily equate to master(keeping equates to mastering) the knowledge and skills. Imagine a student who can recite tens of poems while knows nothing about the environment the poet is living in and the main ideas the poems are conveying. The student is incapable ofenjoying the true meaning behind the lines. The sufficient background information such as the ideas, trends, and concepts help students to understand the facts.
Moreover, after learning the trends hidden in the facts, students can observe the disciplines of how things will go. Thus they are able to spot the core essence of the problems confronting(They are confronting) them. Memorizing the past facts can only help students know what happened, whereas studying and analyzing the concepts and trends help students (to or predicting?)predict what would happen and what is the proper approach to deal with them. The eminent Chinese book-Yijing, which is also called the Book of Change-appears very mysterious to people because its
contents are about how to predict. In reality the author of the book, who we do not know his name exactly , is wisely expert at exploring the ideas, trends and concepts behind the facts. As a result he is capable of understanding various facts in the world and knowing how to handle those problems.(生僻的例子不建议使用)
On the other hand, I disapprove of his last judgment that students who have learned facts have learned little because of its misunderstanding of the correct process of learning. Consider, for example, how the public management students learn about the relationship between public policies and its effects, government and entrepreneurs, administrators and citizens(后面这些东西和effects并列吗?). In this case students even the decision makers have no existing ideas and concepts to turn to, and what they refer to is mere facts and data.(这一段在逻辑上并没有回应题目,因为题目只是说little)
In sum, in a vacuum facts are meaningless, and only by filling the vacuum with trends(这句话我很眼熟), ideas and concepts can students learn make progress. Yet, in some cases when facts are the way to theories, memorizing facts is also of great significance.
Overall, students should not tear the facts and ideas, trends and concepts apart. |