VIP Class Notes (Jesse) [W]

1: diary / life topic – write a simple diary style piece of writing focusing on good grammar.

2: Others believe that a women’s role should be limited to taking care of the house and children. Which opinion do you agree with and why? Include specific details and examples to support your choice

Some people think that universities should provide graduates with the knowledge and skills needed in the workplace. Others think that the true function of a university should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is useful to an employer.

What, in your opinion, should be the main function of a university?

As the world has been becoming / has become increasingly competitive (in the last decade), it seems that the practical knowledge which is useful in the workplace raises the concern of graduates. Nevertheless, paradoxically the original function of a university aims generally at instructing students on the basis of their own plan. In my opinion, l am more willing to perceive the latter as the main function of a university.

First, l’d like to stress that there are a lot of differences / there is a big difference between a university and a technical school.A technical school is to tell you everything you would face and should pay attention to at work, teaching you step by step concerning the whole working process, which can never be seen in a university. A technical school is all matter about simple, repeated and easily capable work without any academic background needed / being necessary / being a prerequisite. It is true that students in academic school(s) may get through the work they’re given / progress / may be fast learners quickly at first glance at work. But then how can they be promoted? The main point is that, though practical knowledge and skills can help you become more sophisticated than you used to seem (to be) at work, you also remain at that level rather than progressing. You are just a machine without your soul which can be gained in a university studying subjects such as literature, philosophy, and history.

Furthermore, it is possible that teaching students quite a little bit more practical knowledge at work tends to render students snobbish. If they are told that learning those kinds of things is more useful than learning traditional courses such as what l have mentioned, they are prone to turn a deaf ear to what they should have learned in class. They would like to show more interest in those practical things, which is described as helping hands in the workplace. If so, a university will lose its heart. It is not supposed to teach students in a way that makes them show more desire / appreciation for skills than inner spirit.

In conclusion, in terms of the main function of a university, it should be to give access to knowledge for its own sake, regardless of whether the course is useful to an employee. And I believe that a utilitarian approach to our education system is the wrong one for our society to progress in the way that is positive for us as a society. 

Vocabulary

take a statement

a mock case / role play

make a compilation

layman < > professional