issue51 为我所用小组第十二次作业

guoshishuoUID: 2467577

TOPIC: ISSUE51 - "Education will be truly effective only when it is specifically designed to meet the individual needs and interests of each student."
WORDS: 614         TIME: 00:45:00          DATE: 2008-4-6 14:19:31

The author concludes that only when education is specifically designed to individual needs and interests of each student will it be effective. I concede that to meet the needs and interests of students is important while it is difficult to meet those of each student through general education while they may develop those through other ways.
To begin with, as the development of the society, more students can be admitted to high schools and universities while the number of teachers seems to be decreasing. Moreover, every student will have her own interests and needs. Thus, it is impossible for teachers to manage to take care of each student she is teaching. What's more, since each student's interests and needs might be different, no matter how professional and capable the teacher is, she is not able to teach such a large range of knowledge. Consequently, to meet the interests and needs of each student seems impossible under current circumstances.
Moreover, if too much emphasis is placed on certain interests and individual needs, students may only concentrate on those aspects and overlook the general subjects. Therefore, students should learn basic knowledge in different areas especially before they enter colleges, which is indispensable in the students’ education process and even in their whole life. If a student is interested in literature and overlooks the importance of mathematics and physics, she may lack the ability of reasoning and some basic knowledge that can be applied to daily lives. And reasoning is necessary when she meets with difficulties, through which she could analyze the problems and judge what action she should take to deal with the situation. So in my point of view, every student should take basic general curriculums especially when they have not entered universities and colleges.
However, to meet students' own needs and interest is still important despite of its difficulty. If every student only learns general curriculums, they will possess almost the same knowledge, which is not compatible with the diversity of the current society. Consequently, when they already command general knowledge that is necessary for their daily lives and knowledge structure, it is time to develop their own interests and needs. On one hand, society is in great need of different people specialized in various areas such as architecture, medicine and so on. These areas require professional knowledge, which cannot be provided by general curriculums. On the other hand, if students have a good command of special knowledge, which is different from others', she will be more competitive in today's society. What's more, since interest is the best teacher, she can learn more actively and effectively.
So how can they obtain these kinds of knowledge that is connected with their interests and needs? In my viewpoint, to choose their majors which are compatible with their interests is one way, and the other is to develop the interests by themselves. Colleges have different majors where professional teachers can provide education in this range. But when one still consider that this kind of education can not satisfy them or there is no such major in colleges yet, they can seek other ways to develop their interests and needs by themselves. For example, if a student is strongly interested in chess, she can look for this kind of information on line or go to enter for special lessons in amateur schools, through which she can satisfy her needs and interests through her own efforts, not from ordinary education.
In conclusion, to meet needs and interests of each student seems infeasible through common education system and the importance of learning general curriculums cannot be overlooked. But they may find ways to develop their interests and needs by themselves.