ISSUE39 上大学还比不过自学？不知道怎么理解这个intellectual benefit

TMACJAMESUID: 2836445

TOPIC: ISSUE39 - "The intellectual benefits of attending a university or college are vastly overrated: most people could learn more by studying and reading on their own for four years than by pursuing a university or college degree."
WORDS: 770
TIME: 00:45:00
DATE: 8/27/2010 9:31:16 PM

1、的确不是所有的大学生都比自学的强
2、但是大学能提供好的指导和资源
3、归根结底，学习是个人的事情，学习的欲望和决心最重要

I cannot concur with the statement that university education is overestimated, even though I agree that in some cases, self-learning might achieve the same effect as college education in terms of intellectual benefits. The crucial part of education is on the individual, and his or her own volition, desire, talent and so forth. What university and other institutions can provide is the "hardware" like resources and supervisions, which might be equally important.

Indeed, it is impossible for all the university graduated to gain more intellectual benefits as some people who study on their own. In university education, the teacher and professors emphasize less on how students manage their own time or their study methods. Instead, the college requires more on the assignment, experiment and other academic tasks which could be decided in details by students. So if some student who cannot control themselves well, indulging in computer games and things other than their courses, it is quite possible to accomplish little when graduate. In comparison, to those who do not enroll in any colleges but with self-discipline that spurs them to undertake their own plans meticulously, then four years for them means much more than those indulged college students.

Notwithstanding, there are differences that college could make, as long as the student has determination in the study. The situation mentioned above is merely between the worst college students and best self-disciplined people, which is not very representative and prevalent. The general picture in education field is that people who attend college tend to gain more than those who do not, especially in the academic-oriented field. In fact, since the differentiation of modern disciplines, there are seldom scientists and philosophers who have not attended any colleges or universities at all. And such situation was possible when college and university had not been promoted. There is one vital reason contributing to this reality. As Thomas Kuhn stated, who is a remarkable scholar in the philosophy of science, the modern academia is mainly supported by the scientific community, a group of scholars who have authorities in their own field that they determine the basic paradigm. And basically all of them belong to college and university. So if one has not attend colleges and been taught by the formal member of the community, then he or she would not have the opportunity to enter the circle, despite of what he or she might has any innovative ideas or intellectual ability.

Furthermore, besides from the opportunity to blend in the academic circle, the college education could provide other intellectual benefits that self-learning could never have ------ supervision. Whenever one enters a field of expertise, it is difficult for him to understand the basic principles immediately, or could he perceive the general trend of that field, like what would be focus in future? What is the "fashion" now? And without the knowledge, one can hardly learn in the right way to gain intellectual benefits as much as possible. Although some people depend on themselves could achieve some intellectual benefits, they alone cannot match with professionals who have devoted many years in that field. Plus, reading books is the common activity whether you study in college or by yourself, but the effect of reading books varies a lot. Without any supervision or excessive brilliant talent, one might meet many obstacles that hinder him from gain anything at all. Take study philosophy as an example, can you image that you can understand those works written by Kant, Hegel, Heidegger or any other trained philosophical scholar? All the terminologies require guidance from professionals who have researched in this field for years.

Most important, enrolling in college or university and attaining a degree is not the ultimate goal of education. The intellectual benefits should be the final judgment that if someone has lived without platitude or sloth. Thus, the attitude toward education is most important which overwhelms all the means to that end. College and university education is an outer environment, same as the personal environment one created for self-learning. The disparity among the two environments is that the former could provide more accurate and commonly more efficient tools for one to attain the final object. Hence these two are not mutually exclusive.

Simply put, education is a personal business that college and university are merely assistance. The vital factor is within the individual. So whether study by oneself or in college is not really the question, as long as one has the determination to gain intellectual benefits. As for which is more efficient, then I believe the college could help more than oneself. Anyway, one does not match many.