独立写作题目：
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
All university students should be required to take basic science courses even if it is not the field of their study.
【重复2008.8.9 ML】
As the so-called cradle of knowledge and talents, universities are often placed with too much expectation as if they can reshape a student into a person with omniscience after years of university study. Facts always go against the grain however. Then we can hear almost the same voice from the media, “we need a more comprehensive course structure to cover every spot of how the world functions ”. Yet with a second thought, does the word really make sense, or does the society really expect university graduates to be in that way? Hopefully not. Therefore, I am fully against the idea of introducing basic science into university course system and advocate a more practical sense to view university education.
First of all, a reasonable definition of university is a place where people can get professional knowledge in the field they choose. For the first day a student entering into the university, s/he embraces the dream to become a specialist in a specific area. With that goal rooted in mind, s/he selects major related courses, attends useful seminars or workshops, does researches about certain topics, and even reads all relative references in libraries. S/he knows every minute counts. However, just imagine the student is required to take the basic science course in the whole semester now. It is easy to see how frustrated s/he will be since all schedules and plans are disrupted, not to mention that s/he may be so indifferent about the course.
Second, no one should underestimate the power of interest during studying, especially in the stage of university. The awakening of self-consciousness long accompanies the way of education, and people often realize their own interests when they become college students. Though it is hasty to say no one would be fond of basic science, it is really a small portion compared to the major group of students. Forcing a student who is not interested in this field to take the course means nothing but an emotion of resistance and a high rate of absenteeism. As for those who are into the world of science, the basic course seems to be unsuitable either, for it only scratches the surface.
Last but not least, any extra courses will charge for additional tuition fees and require an investment of teaching resources. For self-financed students or households with limited budgets, tuitions have already become huge burdens. So it is not rare to see complaints about increasing tuition fees. Under such circumstance, courses like basic science should then be selective rather than compulsory, which helps to lower the pressure a little bit. As for the teaching resource, the university would either chase after qualified teaching fellows at a high expense to fill the gap of teacher-student ratio or use the current teachers with the sacrifice of class interaction. And either way can possibly achieve a win-win situation.
In a word, though we want to foresee young people obtain more sophisticate information about the world, it is their right to choose which field to focus on. While some general courses like basic science do provide benefits to some extent, specialization is what we need to emphasize in higher education as to ensure the depth and efficiency of study.
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