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." Nowadays, the world changed so quickly that people sometimes find it is hard to catch the pace of the changing world. Without exception, the education of university sometimes deviate the real situation outside the academic world. So I agree with the speaker on the point that the faculties’ working outside the academic world would improve the quality of instruction at the college and university level. However, the assertion that all faculty should do that is too extreme.
First, as we all know, the phenomenon that more and more undergraduates find the theory they learned at the college or university does little help to their occupation becomes prevalent. For example, college students majoring computer technology find when he graduate form university, the technology they learned has rarely been used or even been eliminated. So if professors pay more attention on profession relevant to the courses they teach, the previous problem would be relieved. The professors can adjust their courses according to the real situation of the profession. And their working outside the academic world will bring more pragmatic information to academic area. For example, the teachers can give more accurate proposal concerning which skill is most important to students and what should be studied by students themselves for it can not be learnt in class. So teachers’ working outside really means a lot to the quality of instructions.
However, the speaker unnecessarily extended the scope to all faculty. I concede working experience is significant to science and engineering. However, when it comes to liberal arts, teachers’ working outside the academic world is unnecessary and even harmful. Take the literature for example, the communication between the teachers and students is very important to students majoring literature. Because there is no absolute right or wrong in such area. So students need much proposal from teachers after class to improve their works. The teachers’ working outside of school will no doubt decrease the chances of meeting between teachers and students. And the utilitarianism outside the academic world will effect students’ pursuing their perfect literature. What’s worse, if all faculty has a part-time job outside schools, the administration of the school will become chaotic. So it will contrarily abase the quality of instruction instead of improving.
To sum up, some professors teaching science and engineering should pay more attention on the development of their professions and spend time working outside the academic world when it is necessary. However the speaker’s assertion exorbitantly emphasize the importance of working experience outside the academic world to all faculty not only is inappropriate to subjects like literature but also drive the administration of the school chaotic and finally effect the quality of instruction.
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