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Issue153: 455 words 45 minutes
Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively.
Education always becomes the focus of people's debate, which involves whether the students should accept the knowledge passively or not. The speaker asserts that the students should be active agents during the education, that is, they should question what they are taught. I concede that the students should bring a certain skepticism to what they study, however, it is unreasonable to extend the assertion to whatever they study for several reasons pertaining to the quality and efficiency of the education, which I will explain as follows.
Admittedly, it is necessary for the students to doubt what they are taught. Because during the process of asking why and what-if question, the students can cultivate critical mind which is crucial for enhancing their creativity. This can be aptly illustrated by the example of Copernicus who once violated the notion that the earth is at the centre of the universe. Because of his skepticism to the wildly accepted notion, Galileo made his corroborating observation of the universe and Newton set up the principle of gravity which are helpful for the later research of the universe. Generally speaking, without certain skepticism to what they study, those giants could not come up with certain novel ideas. In the same token, if the students can not question what they study, they will become doggingly machines which can only receive information, but will not have their own judgments, let alone some innovation.
Nevertheless, too much skepticism sometimes will do harm to the quality and efficiency of the students' education. For one thing, with respect to certain self-evident axioms, it is unnecessary for the students to cast any question to them, because of many previous strong evidences to support the conclusion. After all, undue doubt about those axioms will waste the students not only a lot of time, but also some energy which can be served to learn some more intensive and broader knowledge enhancing their well-rounded mind. In this sense, undue skepticism amounts to an inefficient study.
For another, undue skepticism will make the students to miss the opportunities to appreciate the merits of what they are taught which may benefit their critical thinking. In fact, the students can not give the proper question unless they recognize the value of what they study. Because without respect of the knowledge, the students can not judge in an objective view, which may result in some biased perception. That may be misfortune of the students' education.
To sum up, to became vivid creature in the future, the students should question what they are taught actively. However, in order to avoid some detriments, they should not bring undue skepticism to whatever they study, but should ask proper questions at proper time. |
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