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ISSUE 94 Universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study because acquiring knowledge of various academic disciplines is the best way to become truly educated.
主体部分提纲:1 日益复杂的社会需要通才,所以要学习其他课程来补充知识体系和思维体系 2 其他的课程学好了,可以帮助主课 3 因为精力和时间有限,也不能一味追求其他课程而忽视主课,要平衡
In this rapidly changing society, students need to acquire various knowledge and skills to deal with social problems and daily life. It is necessary for students in universities to take several courses outside their field of study to assimilate different information and form integrated ideas. The skills and knowledge students learn from other courses can also facilitate their study in major subjects. Nevertheless, major should not be ignored and students need to strike a balance between the major courses and other subjects.
To begin with, the increasing complicated society calls for excellent elites with insightful views and comprehensive thinking. Different courses emphasize the development of different abilities and talents, and universities should encourage students to try courses outside their field so as to cultivate students who can live up to the standard of today’s society. One obvious merit of studying courses outside students’ own fields is that they can absorb a variety of knowledge that is different from their major courses. A music student has a chance to learn archeology, and a science student can have a close contact with literature. Knowledge from different fields not only rich their brain but also satisfy their interests. Besides, different courses require distinct modes of thinking. For example, a science student may be good at logical thinking while a student who majors in history probably excels in reasoning ability. By studying only major courses, students’ thinking methods may be confined to certain ways, but through studying other courses outside their fields, they can complete their thinking system.
Secondly, the dividing lines between different disciplines are very fine indeed, and the knowledge and skills of many subjects are overlapped. Therefore, the mastery of other courses outside the students’ fields can facilitate students’ learning in their major courses. For example, economic students should take some math courses in order to better understand the economic models. They also need to have some knowledge of laws, since their future behaviors of investing, stocking or accounting must be under the control of laws. It is even better if economic students can learn some psychological courses, which can help them further comprehend individuals’ economic behaviors such as saving and investing. Many disciplines are mutually dependent and thus one needs to learn some knowledge beyond their own fields in order to study their major courses more effectively and efficiently. While it is really beneficial to study courses outside students’ own fields, one needs to strike a balance between major courses and others since one’s time and energy are limited. It should be recognized that students’ main task is to study their major courses well, and their future career are directly associated with their majors in universities. Therefore the major courses should take precedence over other courses outside their fields. Too much attention on other courses may distract students from their main task and do harm the student’s study. For example, if a student fails to pass the examination of major courses because he or she has spent most of the time studying courses irrelevant to majors, how can we say the student is successful? Some people may argue that the accomplishment in other courses outside the students’ fields can also represent the ability of students. While it is tempting to agree with this assertion, it should not be ignored that in modern universities, students are expected to delve into some subjects and to be specialists in certain realms. The general understanding of other courses is far from the goal of education. The courses outside their fields serve as complement to their system of knowledge, rather than the main part. In conclusion, it benefits students from many aspects to learn some knowledge and thinking modes from other courses outside their own fields. Universities should require students to take a variety of courses but at the same time, both university and students themselves must be aware that the major courses should take precedence over other courses. | 
发表于 2009-8-25 11:38:43
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