ISSUE 13 求拍~~

acrophobiahy

ISSUE 13 [acrophobia]

Universities should require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student's field of study.



Having weighed the advantages and disadvantage of requiring every student to take a variety of courses outside the student’s field of study, I incline to accept the suggestion proposed by the author mainly according to the following reasons.



Firstly, it is a good way for universities to educate young people to become responsible, thoughtful and enterprising citizens, which is one of the fundamental purposes of education. With various courses, the students would have a deep understanding of ethical principles, moral values and aesthetics, and this knowledge would broaden their scope and help them make an intelligent decision in a democratic society. For example, one of the open courses in Harvard, positive psychology, whose aim is to “catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life”. If students reflect the ideas of the course and apply them into their daily life, then they would confront difficulties in a positive way.



Secondly, the study of various courses outside a student’s major field may benefit his own major field, since various disciplines are related. Take Copernicus for example. Copernicus, a famous astronomer, was known for his a heliocentric model of the solar system. Unlike Ptolemy, who regarded his theory as a simply mathematic tool for calculating planetary data, and Aristarchus, who proposed a purely physical model, he not only worked out his system in full mathematical detail but also adapted physics to conform to his view. It is his combination of mathematics, physics and astronomy that contributed to a complete and general system. Similarly, various courses outside the students’ field may promote their learning.



In addition, various courses also enable students to acquire a wide range of knowledge to meet the need of an increasingly complicated society. In universities, the classification of subjects is more and more detailed; as a result, the knowledge acquired solely in a specific field might not solve some intricate problems in society. In the case, a variety of courses outside their chosen field can provide the students a chance to learn more about other subjects.



To sum up, it is necessary for universities to require every student to take a variety of courses outside the student’s field, since it is not only a good way for universities to educate thoughtful citizens, but also beneficial to students’ study of their major field and their capacities to deal with intricate problems in society.

ppguo

总体上挺好的。有理有据。大概多少字啊？