What Electives To Choose

With the reform of Chinese higher education, more and more colleges and unicersities put emphasis on nurturing students’ abilities. As a result, elective courses are available not only for excellent academic performers but also for students about the average level.

Certainly, students have different reasons to choose their own electives. For some, practical skills are the essence of college education, and therefore, courses on computer science, marketing, and finance are highly preferred. On the other hand, others may hold the idea of liberal education and electives concerning literature, history, and philosophy are the most welcome.

Take me as an example: being a disciple of free education, I stand for the notion that university is not a place for survival skills, but a palace of knowledge and critical reasoning. Although my major is chemistry, the electives I attend most frequently are English literature, an Introduction to Classic Music, and Different Schools of Western Painting. They really broaden  my horizon.

Recent years have witnessed a great change in China's higher education. With the offering of electives in universities, students now have more courses to choose from, and more to learn.
College students choose their electives for different reasons. How do they decide which elective to choose? In general, there are two trends. Some students choose their electives based on their interests. By asking themselves, "Do I love the subject?" they make quick and easy decisions. Those students basically have enthusiasm for the electives they choose, so they are likely to be more motivated in what they are learning.

Other students, however, choose their electives by speculating what grade they might get from the teacher of the elective. Making inquiries of students who have taken the elective before, they try to find out whether they will get a good score. Sure enough, those students will choose electives whose teachers will likely be "generous" enough to give them an "A".

From my point of view, an elective for which students can receive a high score is nice. But choosing an elective that satisfies one's interests is more important. I myself chose a difficult history course this term. It is indeed hard, but it has given me a fresh glimpse of ancient times in China. The elective takes a lot of my time, but it has increased my love for my country.

For this reason, I have a lot of motivation and put in a lot of effort. With hard work, I believe my final grade will not be disappointing.

posted on 2008-05-12 21:53 程卫强 阅读(247) 评论(0)  编辑  收藏 网摘收藏