برخی معتقدند که هدف از آموزش، آزاد سازی ذهن و روح است. برخی دیگر بر این باورند که آموزش رسمی تمایل دارد ذهن و روحیه ما را مهار کند نه اینکه آنها را آزاد کند.
پاسخی بنویسید که در آن بحث کنید کدام دیدگاه بیشتر با نظر شما همسو است و استدلال خود را برای این موضع گیری توضیح دهید. در توسعه و حمایت از موقعیت خود، باید به هر دو دیدگاه ارائه شده توجه کنید.
موافق
- مهار کردن و سرکوب کردن استعداد دانش آموزان و تسلط بر ذهن و روحیه آنها بیشتر در سیستم آموزشی کشور های در حال توسعه دیده می‌شود. در این کشورها، یک سری کتاب های کسل کننده که سوالات و جواب های مشابهی در آنها وجود دارد به همه دانش آموزان تدریس می‌شود و آنها مجبورند مطالب کتاب را از حفظ کرده و برای پاسخگویی آماده شوند.
- در کشورهای در حال توسعه معلم رکن اصلی آموزش است. در حقیقت معلمین سوال را مطرح می کنند ،پاسخ آن را نیز می دهند و دانش آموزان فقط جواب هایی که معلم مطرح کرده است را حفظ کرده و برای پاسخ دادن آن را تکرار می کنند. در حقیقت آنها نمی‌توانند از خلاقیت خودشان برای پاسخگویی به سوالات استفاده کنند.
- در کشورهای در حال توسعه، استراتژی های سخت و کسل کننده ای برای محدود کردن ذهن دانش آموزان و تخریب استعدادهای آنها وجود دارد. در حقیقت آنها مجبورند یک سری اطلاعاتی که دولت و سیاستمداران تصمیم گرفته‌اند که به خورد دانش‌آموز بدهند را مطالعه کرده و آنها را برای موفقیت در آزمون حفظ کنند. آنها آزاد نیستند که از فکر و خلاقیت خودشان استفاده کنند.
- در کشورهای در حال توسعه تعداد دروسی که هر دانش‌آموز باید در هر سال تحصیلی بخواند آنقدر زیاد است که هیچ وقت خالی برایش نمی گذارد که بتواند روی استعدادها و توانایی هایش تمرکز کرده و آنها را پرورش دهد.
مخالف
- در کشور های پیشرفته سیستم آموزشی به نحوی تدوین شده که کلاسهای پرورش خلاقیت و مهارت دانش آموزان برای پرورش استعدادهای شان در نظر گرفته شده و آنها یاد می گیرند که چطور آزادانه از استعدادهای خود برای پیشرفت در تحصیلشان استفاده کنند.
- در نظام آموزشی کشورهای پیشرفته، وقت‌های اضافی و اوقات فراغت برای دانش‌آموزان در نظر گرفته می‌شود تا آنها بتوانند از خلاقیت خود برای شکوفایی استعداد شان و هدایت کردن توانایی هایشان در مسیر درست استفاده کنند.
- در کشورهای پیشرفته، معلمین فقط نقش راهنما را دارند و دانش آموزان آزادند که با خلاقیت خود راه حل های جدیدی را برای حل کردن مسائل و پاسخ دادن به سوالات پیدا کنند. به عنوان مثال، در کشور نروژ دانش‌آموزان به جای کپی کردن از روی راه‌حل معلم آزادند که برای حل کردن مسائل ریاضی راه حل خودشان را ارائه بدهند.
- در نظام آموزشی کشورهای پیشرفته سعی می شود دانش آموزان به نحوی آموزش ببینند که برای آینده کشور مفید واقع شوند. بنابراین، پرورش استعداد دانش آموزان هدف اصلی سیستم آموزش و پرورش است.
Strategies
Restate the issue. In this case, the issue is stated in the positive. It tells what formal education does. What does formal education not do?
In other words:
Formal education does not set our minds and spirits free.
You could also determine what question is being answered by the issue statement.
What effect does formal education have on our minds and spirits?
Making the statement an interrogatory may clarify the issue. The original issue statement is only one of several possible answers to the question.
Now think about the parts of the statement that provide evidence that you can affirm or refute.
a) formal – Formal simply means that it has a form. Would students, even outside the formal educational setting, develop or create a form for studying what they choose? Is some form necessary or inevitable?
b) restrain – Does formal education hold back our minds and spirits?
c) tends – Tends is not a strong word. Does this weaken the issue statement?
Next, create a statement that expresses the opposing viewpoint, using language similar to that of the original issue statement.
Opposing viewpoint:
Formal education tends to unleash our minds and spirits.
Identify the parts of the opposing statement that provide evidence to affirm or refute.
a) unleashes – removes restraints or sets free
Alternatives:
Is there any other way to look at this issue? Can you qualify the original issue statement in some way? Perhaps a combination of structure and freedom is the best way to educate our citizens.
New viewpoint:
A formal structure combined with the choice to select areas of study is the most effective way to set our minds and spirits free.
Identify the parts of the new statement that provide evidence to affirm or refute.
a) combination – Does a combination dilute the effectiveness of one or both of the components?
b) choice – At what level of formal education are students competent to choose their course of study?
Now you must decide which point of view to address in your essay. Completing the prewriting activities has given you several choices and ideas for defending any of those choices. Even the viewpoints that are opposite of yours will have points that you can use in writing your response. As you review your notes, decide which of your ideas offer the strongest support for your position; you do not have use all of them. Keep in mind that others may disagree with your position, so address their concerns in your response. Before you decide, carefully consider the following checklist. You will have addressed several of them in the exercises you have completed above.
a) I have identified the central issue.
b) I understand the instructions.
c) I have decided that I agree/disagree/partially agree with the issue and why.
d) I have identified the assumptions in the claim and determined whether or not they are reasonable.
e) If necessary, I can explain how I interpret any or all of the concepts and terms used in the claim.
f) I have identified my reasons for the position I have taken.
g) I have compelling examples to support my position.
The next step should be listing the main reasons and support for your position. You may use any of the above prewriting activities as you prepare evidence for supporting you point of view. Remember that the GRE readers scoring your response are not looking for a “right” answer. The readers are evaluating your ability to address the specific instructions and articulate and develop an argument to support your understanding and evaluation of the issue.
Position:
Formal education is the most effective means for introducing students to a wide variety of subjects in order for them to discover what sets their minds and spirits free.
Examples and reasons:
a) variety – formal education in America is comprised of content from various disciplines. Students will be exposed to grammar, writing, literature, science, math, foreign language, art, music
b) discover – exposure to a variety of disciplines provides opportunities to be inspired by a topic that students might never have found on their own
c) most effective – most is a qualifier – not saying it’s the only means, just the best – other types of education may work better for some students
d) introducing – from primary grades through the first two years of most colleges, students are introduced to a variety of subjects – no major focus is determined, generally, until the end of the second year in college
Your notes do not have to be exhaustive. As you begin to write your essay, your brain will generate new ideas. Make certain that you keep the directions in mind as you develop your ideas. Use as many or as few paragraphs as you consider appropriate for your argument, but create a new paragraph when you move on to a new idea or example of support for your position. The GRE readers are not looking for a specific number of ideas or paragraphs. Instead, they are reading to determine the level of understanding of the topic and the complexity with which you respond.
In this task, you are asked to discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement. You may completely agree or disagree with the statement, or you may agree under certain conditions. You are also instructed to explain your reasoning and consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.
You may use any organizational strategy or form of reasoning to present your position as clearly and succinctly as possible. You may recall writing strategies that you learned in high school or a writing–intensive course that you took in college, but it is not necessary to employ any of those strategies. It is important that your ideas follow a logical progression and display strong critical thinking.
Sample 1:
In the book of Genesis in the bible, the story of creation reveals that God saw the world as void and having no form, so he took it upon Himself to give it form. He divided the land from the sea, populated his new world with animals and plants of every kind, separated the night from the day, and, finally, created man. Even God recognized the need for form. Without form there is void. Formal education is, at its most basic level, education that has some structure applied to it. Without structure in education, there is void.
Some might argue that formal education is too restrictive; the prescribed curriculum in most schools inhibits creativity and free thinking; and the pedagogy confines the imaginations of students. Some find a syllabus to be onerous, an anthology to be limiting, and a bell schedule to be jarring. Within this structured environment, however, is the opportunity to sample courses in Shakespeare, poetry, philosophy, geography, American history, sociology, French, Spanish, biology, physics, algebra, statistics, art, music, and physical education. This smorgasbord of academic offerings will surely contain something to tempt the palate of even the fussiest scholar.
Others may point to the structure or formality that exists outside of the world of education as a justification to similarly define academia. Upon leaving one’s education behind, the former student will need to follow the structure imposed upon the world of work. The discipline to do so will have been developed during the years of formal education.
Left to his own devices, a child can indulge his whims by studying whatever interests him. Rarely does a child have the discipline to sustain that interest. He will move on to the next fleeting attraction. A variety of factors may influence his exposure to the world: his parents’ educational level, family income, geographical location, and availability of arts and cultural performances. Through formal education these differences need not matter. Every child will get the same opportunities to read absorbing books, construct and perform scientific experiments, attend school assemblies, and connect to the Internet. Without the form of public education, there will likely be a void in this child’s experience of the world.
Sample 2:
A child learns whatever is taught to him by either his parents or his teachers. The knowledge being imparted to a child conforms to the facts and figures which have already been established. It is seldom seen that children are given the time or the space to explore their inner selves and free their minds. This is because the pressure of doing well in school in order to earn high grades is so much that children often have no option but to stick to their school books. When the same children grow up into adults and they are well settled in their careers, the formal education imparted to them plays on their minds all the time and they are unable to think outside the realms of formal education. Therefore, formal education that has been acquired over a period of time succeeds in restraining our minds and spirits instead of setting them free.
The importance of learning in a formal classroom environment has assumed a great significance in the modern world because the grades that you get in your high school or college can determine how your future will shape up. Children do not have the freedom to learn aspects that interest them as they are under constant pressure from their parents to get good grades in school. Moreover, the children themselves are conscious of the performance of their peers in school and so they try their best to keep in step with their friends who may be doing better than them. The fear of failing to score the passing grade makes them concentrate on their studies.
Even if students are able to secure good grades in school, the story does not end there. After completing high school, there is stiff competition for securing admissions to reputed professional courses and only a few students are able to join a program of study of their choice. This is because there are various standardized tests which test your competence in the field in which you wish to carry out your higher studies. If you want to succeed in a career of your choice, then it is essential for you to earn degrees that endorse your skills in the fields related to your career.
Once you are settled in a career of your choice, you are again limited to utilizing the information gained from your formal education because it is this knowledge that will help you rise in the hierarchy of your career. Therefore, it is evident that the life of an individual constantly revolves around his formal education. A person’s thinking ability is largely influenced by the formal education that he has received and this education restrains him from thinking otherwise, unless he does so by risking his career and a successful future. A person will have to make a substantial effort to tear himself away from the norms of formal education if he wants to free his mind. The rewards for doing well in your formal education are manifold and these rewards deprive people of the motivation to set their minds free. The end result is that people do not have the incentive to set their minds free as their minds are restrained by the formal education that has been imparted to them.
In view of the above, it is evident that formal education assumes immense importance in the early years of life. The pressure exerted by the importance of formal education is such that there is little or no time left for anyone to allow their minds to be free and to think of something outside the realms of formal education.
