issue51 by saya

银落UID: 2632560

ISSUE51 - "Education will be truly effective only when it is specifically designed to meet the individual needs and interests of each student."


As trend of highly-development is catching on, it becomes more and more important for modernist to command a comprehensive knowledge, or being an expert in one field. Thus, it seems an inavoidable responsibility for education to assume their duty in providing the most suitable learning forms and instructions to everyone to the excess. However, should we really attribute the huge task to education itself, not find potential factors on ourselves? Perhaps the most imperative mission is to adapt ourselves to the education.

No one would deny the fact that if education can be specifically designed to meet the individual needs and interests of each student, it would be truly effective. Yet, it is an ideal vision which amounts to fantasy, allowing no effectiveness to education at pragmatism. This is happening for two interpretations. First, whether students aimed to be educated really know what their interests are is an ambiguous element. Even many adults who have already enter the society are not sure where their enthusiasm lies and what their solitary pursuits are, then how can adolescents who have not experienced sufferings and joys in the world, and have no sight of the innumerable choices ahead their pilgrimages make determination which are able to influence and decide their whole life? Then if those students do not ascertain about their needs, how can education know and thus be designed? Second, granted that individuals' have got full understanding of their cravings, does education really have enough energy and wealth to achieve such tasty pie in the sky? We know there is a wide diversity in everyone, which making expense excessively huge. Why will the whole society reckon that education can be alleged effective only by applying this huge wealth to customize those who are able to receive education, instead of helping more who eager to absorb lore but with no financial ability to afford?

In addition, indeed, education spares no effort to be effective, however, initially, education is not a system established for anyone’s preference, but an academic castle for the whole public who long for knowledge and self-improvement. Every institution can never know who are going to be enrolled in. So the best effective way is to enrich it self with most comprehensive and inclusive information to make provision for every possible person existing in the whole public instead of frequently adjusting for every specific one. We have only to turn to the extraordinary example of Harvard University to see the case. It constantly attempts to be more effective; It offers more and more courses and department. It modifies schooling patterns. But such deeds are not for satisfying needs of special students, but an effort to equip itself with more diverse frontier information in almost every academic field. In a nutshell, the purpose of education is to actualize a possibility for people getting more information and exchanging their notions or experiences with their contemporaries. Hence we cannot restrict education to the interests of a few provided we are to make it effective.

Furthermore, education will be truly effective only when it can enable each student to get full understanding of their interests and needs. No one else can make any decision for us. We should determine which direction to choose on our own when we are confronted with intersections. The case is same when in realm of education. We must choose, more importantly, we want to choose the right one—the best alternative. Perhaps that is why we turn to education, for we know the more we are informed of, the more likely we are able to choose correctly. As long as we get the desirable answer we seek, does education really live up to effectiveness. Bill Gates would be an apt illustration. He forwent his master degree not only because he recognized education he received was not suitable for him, but also because he realized he wanted to build an unique computer system personally. But can we say education in Harvard equals fluff? No, and contrarily, it is education he got helped him to find his future. And there lies the essence and destination of education.

In the final analysis, education is just a place supporting the advanced knowledge and exchanging information. Education makes no promise, but providing the building blocks for the future. Then how to design a splendid artichtect—embodying our own interests and needs—depends on ourselves. Only when we attain the summit, education can be named as effective.