In this day and age, there has been a heated controversy about whether school education should focus more on academic knowledge or practical subjects. This essay will elaborate on both opinions before giving my own stance.
It is indisputable that acquiring academic knowledge is of overriding importance to students as they will experience loads of academic examinations to enter a university which determines one’s educational background. With more remarkable diplomas, they would have a higher probability of being recruited by a superior corporation, leading to a successful life and self-actualization. What is more, the way of tackling problems separates dramatically among different subjects and each course has its own mindset. For example, students could derive the ability of reasoning as well as logical thinking from math, while history could nurture them the awareness of critical thinking. By learning a variety of subjects, students can break those mindsets and foster the ability of divergent thinking.
However, other people suggest that schools should add more practical classes to students’ curricula. Possibly the main reason is that more and more youngsters fail to master basic living skills including cooking and fixing things, thus lacking the capability to make a living independently, and some teenagers feel bored when learning those things by themselves. So providing compulsory classes at school seems to be the best solution. Moreover, having a strong hands-on skill promotes the development of the nervous system and makes it more active, which will ultimately boost their intelligence. It can be confirmed by continuous research carried out by Peking University. Researchers found that students who had learned gardening performed better than their competitors without this training in the series of examinations in their lives.
From what has been discussed above, I put forward that schools should put more academic courses as it is the main duty of schools, and youths could learn living skills from their parents.