Pls critique on my Issue essay.
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09 Jul 2012, 08:03
Topic:
Educational institutions have a responsibility to dissuade students from pursuing fields of study in which they are unlikely to succeed.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
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My response:
An educational institution is a knowledge center where students learn a wide variety of concepts which give them an opportunity to place their strong foothold in this ever comptent world. Students are exposed to concepts ranging from a simple math calculation to how calculating the escape velocity required to launch a satellite in its orbit. In context to the issue, educational institutions plays a major role in giving its students an opportunity to understand diverse concepts like science, math, literature etc but in noway can dissuade its students from pursuing any field of interest.
When a child joins school for the very first time, he/she is going through a curriculum enlisted by their institution from grade 1 to grade 10. The curriculum is made mandatory to all its students giving everyone an equal opportnity to gain knowledge across various concepts. While some may be excellent performers in a subject like math, others might perform below average. This doesnt mean a teacher can dissuade the latter from following a field of study relating to Math. Those students might not exhibit their full potential in the tests but might rise upto the occasion when put under practical environments like performing a physics experiment in the lab involving taxing mathematical calculations. Other than grading the students from the text book knowledge they have gained through their courses and giving them the necessary tools required to accomplish their goals it is not possible to dissuade students from not pursuing a particular field
A student in in high school might have exhibited top notch skills in physics and not so in computers. It might sound very logical for a teacher to guide the same student to try and become a physicist and not a computer engineer. However, the students interest might change in a couple of years and might land a top notch job in a software firm. This would contradict to what was told by his/her teacher erstwhile. In essence, educational institutions should provide all the necessary information in the form of knowledge with the best teaching skills exhibited by its professors and let its students decide what field to choose based on their thinking and ambitions.
However, it may sound reasonable for the teachers to guide students in following a particular field in which they might likely succeed and hence contribute to the society. A student might exhibit marvellous skills in Tennis and be equally competent in Literature. While the sports instructor might dissuade the student from pusuing literature it might be the opposite with his/her literature professor. The student who is exposed to such a situation is the sole decision taker to what career path he/she wants to pursue in the long term. In essence, it boils down to what the student wants rather than what their teachers dissuade them from. It is only the teachers responsibility to guide the students in the best possible way so that they perceive and comprehend the subject at hand in the best possible way.
In sum, educational institutions is a paramount source in giving its students the necessary information in the form of knowledge to help them hone their skills and decide what they want to pursue in long term. It acts as a medium in helping its students learn various concepts throughout their academic life in the best possible way and not as an interface to dissuade them from pursuing a field of interest.
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