issue51 <Chasing For "6" Score 小组第一次作业>感觉写偏了-_-!

rickbaiUID: 2206364

51"Education will be truly effective only when it is specifically designed to meet the individual needs and interests of each student."

This statement seems to be rational, but it cannot stand a second thought. To tailor the curriculum for every student sounds great; however, it will be neither feasible nor effective. Although the current education system has problems here and there, it is far more efficient than the plan mentioned in the statement. That is, it can bring a better result under a certain amount of educational budget.

The first problem with the individual-based education is that it demands numerous resources that no country can afford. There must be much more teachers, classes, and textbooks. As the situation of each student varies, there must be a unique curriculum for everyone, thus there must also be different teachers. What if a student is interested in a certain subject that unfortunately there's no ready-made textbook? We must find some experts to write a book for him. What if two students in different cities happen to be attracted in a course that unfortunately again there's only one teacher? Do we have to train another teacher? These are just a small part of problems if the plan is really carried out. Hence it’s evident that doing so is just a waste of precious educational resources. These resources could undoubtedly be made better use, if they go to other appropriate places.

Secondly, and most importantly, no matter however wise and experienced a teacher could be, it's still impossible to make a plan that suits the student perfectly. The very first step of designing a special education for a student is to know that student very well, and this usually takes more than years. Even though teachers can spend their time with a student for years, their knowledge of that student could also be incomplete, if not incorrect. In most cases parents are the closest people to their children, yet we hear students complaining that their parents don't truly understand them all the time. And it's hard to say teachers can do better than parents. Another important fact is that students are always changing; it's even difficult to know what they will be thinking the next moment. Thus it won't be easy to decide what is going to be useful for them in the future.

If we can not design a suitable curriculum for every student, the best we can do is to prepare the basic abilities for their individual development and then leave out enough space. Among these abilities are critical thinking, lifelong learning, independence in problem solving and innovation. These are crucial factors in having a successful career and therefore should be taught to every student. On the other hand, the number of compulsory courses must be strictly limited, for too many of these courses risks devouring the time for the pursuit of the students' own interests. In fact few students can identify what they are truly interested in before college. I often hear students say that they chose their current major simply because they heard it's good or promising. So there's no reason to arrange too much for college students. Colleges can do better if they provide the students a range of choices and let them decide what to learn. After all, it's the students, not their teachers, that know themselves best.

In conclusion, providing specially designed education for every student requires huge amount of resources. Since it is impossible to design a perfect curriculum, the resources may be better allocated somewhere else. The task of recognizing and exploiting individual potential should be left to the students. Just give them necessary skills and enough space, and they will be the guide of themselves.

susan8940UID: 160449

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