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没限时，4.21G的Issue要哭了University should require every student to take a variety of courses outside their own fields
University is an important place for ayouth’s life. The education it provides will, to a significant extent,determines one’s potential achievement in the future. Requiring students totake a variety of courses outside their major fields will undoubtedly broadentheir horizons and provides them with a diverse world full of opportunities.Therefore, I fundamentally agree with the claim. However, closer scrutinyreminds me that overstating either the importance of one’s major field or the outsidefields will lead to a jeopardized situation.
First of all, taking various courses willhelp students to find new major fields where may lie their true interest and potentialtalent. Actually not every one knows what they’re truly interested at the beginningof college life. It is quite common for one to firstly choose his/her majorjust because majoring in it will easily get him/her a well-paid job or willfulfill the parents’ wish. Such short-sighted decision will later on undermineone’s enthusiasm in his/her academic field as soon as it turns out to be a badchoice. So if University can provide a variety of courses in different fields,students will have opportunities to experience them and may find what they aretruly devoted to. For instance, Eugene Fama, a famous American economist who isknown for his significant contribution in portfolio theory and asset pricing,was initially majoring in French. After auditing several courses in Economics,Fama found himself fall in love with classic economic theories and thefluctuation of stock price. Then he decided to change his academic field andfinally got his PHD degree in the University of Chicago
where, as weknow, he became a famous economist. Moreover, since various disciplines are interrelated,the study of courses outside the students’ own field may benefits the study oftheir own major. As we know, subjects do not exist independently, there areinherent relations connecting each other. For example, the philosophy is thefoundation of all the subjects. So no matter what field you major in, you canalways benefit from studying philosophy, as it will deepen your thinking and awakeyour sensitivity even for a tiny ordinary thing. Math is also a useful subject,since it provides basic tools for you to solve problems both theoretically and empirically.Therefore, it is not surprising that students with cross-discipline backgroundare usually more competent than those who only focus on a narrow scope.
However, it is not to say we shouldeverlastingly emphasize the advantages of taking various courses. We must admitthat sometimes taking too much courses, especially when they’re totallyirrelevant, will definitely distract one’s energy. This may explain his/herless achievement in a certain field compared to his/her colleague. After all, aperson’s energy is limited and you can not put your finite energy into infinitepool of knowledge. Concentration often brings more incisive and deeper ideas ina single branch.
To sum up, University should give studentsfreedom to choose courses outside their major field, since the world we livetoday is connecting each subject more and more tightly. However, it is alsoimportant for University to remind them of the significance of their ownmajors, and guide them properly to allocate their limited time and energy infields most suitable for them. |
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发表于 2012-4-12 16:08:41
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