Issue 51 By WDI小组 Bloodbob

bloodbobUID: 2627007

7.7
I51(8)
教育 "Education will be truly effective only when it is specifically designed to meet the individual needs and interests of each student."

Outline:
Key words: effective, individual, needs and interests
partially agree: what is the purpose of education? what is the essence of education?
1. on the part of society, the purpose of the education is to serve the society by providing it with the abundant qualified talents, whereby the society may progress stably and unfailingly.
2. on the part of individual, the purpose of the education is to offer students the skills required and cultivate quality that is crucial for enter society in the future.
4. the unbalanced education will ruin the student. (Science for logic and analytical capability, Arts for appreciation); multidisciplinary courses.
3. Interest, by nature, is precarious; it fades away at random just like it shows up.

WORDS: 501+80
TIME: 00:45:00+20
DATE: 2009/7/7 23:41:03

There is a tendency nowadays that the former teacher-centered mode of instruction will be substituted by the student-centered one. Following such move, one asserts that the student should be given full rein in their choice of the curriculum. However, on close examination of the viability, purpose and essence of the education I can hardly side with the arguer.

What is the point of education? We have to admit that, though the education has experience a vicissitude over the stream of time, the purpose, or rather, the essence remains the same. It can be roughly divided into two parts: in the sense of society and on the part of individual.

On the part of society, the purpose of society is to serve the society by providing it with the abundant qualified talents, whereby the society may progress stably and consistently. Supposing we let go the phenomena that anyone can chose their course at their will, it is entirely possible that some classes of the subjects of Arts like painting, music and film making will get overcrowded while some effort-taking subjects of Science such as computer science, architecture and accounting will fall out of favor considering the time and effort demands to do it well. However, the continuous development and advancement of society necessitate more the talents expert in the manufacturing and invention than those good at entertainment and appreciating. The society will go awry without the regular and consistent supply of labor on all works of life.

On the part of individual, it is the duty of education to offer students the skills required and quality essential for their life after enter the society. School and university, in particular, is the most effective place to cultivate and strengthen the living skills of the students. Such skills like communication, socializing and meditation are forged while other quality as perseverance and curiosity, leadership as well as teamwork ship are armed in the process of campus life and study. One who so mad about and thus devote all time to certain subject will miss the chance to get involved in the campus life, so called mini-society, where much more are acquired unwittingly in the process of the interaction with others.

Moreover, the unbalanced education decided by the student himself will inevitably ruin the him in the long term. As we all know, the variety of subjects are designed not merely for its own sake, but to cultivate the students in an all around way. Subject of Science are designed for the training of logic and analytical capability while Subjects of arts are given to raise their sense of appreciation. Any irresponsible downplay of one subject will lead to the unsound development of the student as a human in the end. That also account for the action that more emphasis has being placed on the research and application of multidisciplinary courses.

Finally, interest, by nature, is precarious. It fades away at random just like it shows up. Unlike the students in compulsory courses, who are originally recommended and thus assigned to certain class, the students in the optional classes are free from supervision. It is likely that the students’ interest abated after frequent frustration on the way of learning.

In summary, it is perilous to leave the choice of subjects to the students for they are in no position to make their own decision and the main purpose of the education will consequently be lost.