issue50求拍

harryforoneUID: 3016312

Issue 50:
"In order to improve the quality of instruction at the college and university level, all faculty should be required to spend time working outside the academic world in professions relevant to the courses they teach."

Whether all college faculty work outside academia can impove the quality of instruction and unviversity level begs questions. I fundamentally agree with this assertion in some specific academic areas like: Computer Science and Technology, Mechanical Engineering, or other engineering courses. When it comes to some majors such as art and philosophy, or other focusing on theory, it seems unreasonable.

Admittedly, with the rapid development of technology and quick change of our society, today, the big challenge of education is change. More and more emphsises have been layed on the ability that put konwledge into practice of the younger generation,especially, in the specific majors such as Computer Science and Technology, and other engineering courses. Take an example, computer software development, if faculty have working experience in some companies like Microsoft, IBM, Google, or other relevant firms, doubtlessly, it can help to impove the quality of instruction at the college for the students. If a teacher of computer software have never delvelop any software or entered any software development projects, it is hard to believe that the teacher is good at this area. The working experince in such relevant companies can signigicantly impove the instruction for students. What’s more, with the working experience in computer companies, the faculty can keep a good relationship with these companies, and their students can get recommendations from them when they go to these companies for an interview. It is suitable for other engineering courses too. Hence, working experience is good for instructions in such fields.

However, when is comes to some academic area such as humanities, art, philosophy, or other areas focusing on theory, the speaker’s calim amounts to an overstatement. First, there is no such professions which are relevant to these academic area. Thus, how can they find a job to aquire working experience. Sencondly, the speaker fails to take facult’s academic duties into consideration whose research areas focusing on theory. For example, the famous theoretical physicist and cosmologist of Engilsh, Stephen Hawking, Cambridge will never ask him to go outside to find a job to better his theories in theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity. Another example, faculty in the fine and performing art, their duties are to demostrating the techniques and styles for their students. Ask them to go outside to find a job is wasting their time, let alone to better instruction for students. The speaker cannot overlook these factors when he make his claim.

In addtion, going too far is as bad as not going far enough,meaning redundant ouside work my do harm to instructions. When faculty work ouside, they cannot forget their academic duties which are instructing students and helping them to acqire knowledge. When management of university make a new decision, they cannot remove a basis that to cultivate better students.

In sum, in some specific academic areas such as Computer Science and Technology or other engineering courses, the faculty should be encouraged to acquire working experience in pefessions relevant to their research academic area. It can impove the instruction of college and university level. But when it comes to certain academic area in which outside work is unavailable and unnecessary, the requirement of the speaker’s claim is unreasonable. Also, it should not be a mandatory requirement.