〓DIES IN FLAMS〓 Issue50 by cjlu

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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."


The argument has become more and more heated when it comes to the topic of university education and its social effects. When fighting with the proposition that the university and college education is divorced from practice, it comes to the other extremes that many scholars hold the view all faculty should be required to spend time working outside the academic world in professions relevant to the courses they teach. The view looks reasonable when we consider the situation of university students’ employment and we may easily infer the connection between the professors and the society will no doubt bring their teaching more well-directed and practical, which will supply their students more information of the society and employment. But, the supposition that all faculties should take part in the social practice will finally prove to be wrong when we take the concrete condition of university education into consideration.

    Though the regular university education has been divided into more and more faculties, we can separate them into two parts: one for practice, one for complete knowledge. The faculties for practice, such as economy, sociology, communication theories and so on, need the ability to take part in the social affairs quickly. But it cannot be denied that there are still a lot of faculties need their researchers concentrate nothing but academic. For the faculties taking up different mission, it’s not a wise move to order them all working outside the academic world.

    The main aim for most students studying in the university or collage is to find a better job when they graduate, but the question comes that each year when the graduates step out of their university, they even can’t find a job. When the graduates are worrying about no position for them to take, the companies are also worrying there are no talents who are competent to their positions. In spite of the students themselves, the university also should take a large part of responsibility. To fit these students’ need and the society’s requirement, let their faculties spend time working outside the academic world in professions relevant to the courses they teach can actually improve the university’s quality. For the reason when the teachers and professors go out to the society and find out what is badly required there will help them know how to teach the students better, and only stay in their office and read the old theory classics will do little to the real world and the students whom they taught will surely know lots theories but little skills. It is just like build a bridge between theories and practice and which will help the students adapt to the society quicker. Just imagine which will be more useful for you, the teachers tell you in which century which theoretician did what things or tell you how the company require which kind of ability that you should develop right now. To improve a university’s qualities means do better to their students and let them achieve their goals when they step out of it. When most students are eager to get a job, it’s doomed to a praised way to let their professors go out to achieve the newest knowledge in the society. When the students get what they want and the companies are satisfied of these students, no doubt, the universities’ improvement of quality has been confirmed.

    Even we admit most of the faculties ought to let their professors go out for “newer blood”, however, there are still some exceptions that we should take into consideration. There’s no need for some faculties to work out of the academic world at all. Their tasks are keeping and carrying forward the knowledge that the previous leave to us, this kind of students’ aim is not going out to find a good job but staying in some academic research organizations and continue their research even they have gone out of university for a long period of time. For the professors who take researches of ancient literature, their main duty is not to apply it into the practice but maintain the culture of the nation. They take the mission to keep their culture go on to the future and their work should be stay in their research room and dedicate them to the ancient world which require them to be patient and cautious. And if a man wants to be patient and cautious, he must be avoiding of the noisy and various enticements from the society. Just like the story of the snails who want to reach the top of the pyramid, all except one of the snails gave up in the half way, for they were enticed by the environment and each other. Only one snail finally reached the apex, for he is a deaf, he just immerse himself in crawling and he didn’t found there are so many enticements around him and he considered his companions are all following him. Then the ending is only he succeed. For some faculties, maintain too close ties with the society will take effects in the opposite way.

The aim of education is to train men of profession in the most suitable way. The various faculties make it a fact that education shouldn’t be unify in a same method. There’s no need to stick to the dogma and force all faculties to spend time on contacting the society for each of the faculties has its own mission.