Who is more adaptable to today’s society, a specialist or a generalist?

(1)

General education is necessary. In modern society, especially today with the rapid expansion of informatization, society is becoming more and more integrated. People are increasingly living in a highly integrated society. The circulation of various resources is accelerating, and exchanges between different fields are accelerating. The frequency has increased significantly, and the requirements for talents' knowledge are relatively broader. It is no longer possible for a person to stay in a closed house and adapt to society with only one professional knowledge. People have to communicate with society. However, the reality is that the role and status of specific individuals in this whole is becoming increasingly weak and limited, and individuals tend to despise the overall thinking of society more and more, and tend to think in fragments, which can easily reduce the individual to As an isolated unit in society, it is in a negative position relative to the entire society. In this case, general education is strongly advocated to prevent this tendency at the beginning of the career of social elites and enable them to develop a holistic way of thinking, thereby laying a solid foundation for their positive attitude towards both society and individuals. the basis of.

Specialist education is required. In today's society, material productivity is highly developed, new things are emerging one after another, and many disciplines have begun to differentiate. Even within the same discipline, it is no longer possible for people to understand everything about this discipline. In the field of physics, some people have calculated that even a physicist cannot read and understand articles from the three top physics magazines in the world at the same time. Only in a small field in which people operate can they understand the cutting-edge trends in this field and achieve certain results in this field. It can be said that today, when knowledge is constantly differentiated and refined, no one can master a large field from a high position anymore. The era of masters like Aristotle and Newton has passed. This is a status quo that must be faced squarely. Society has put forward requirements for people in this era. To gain a foothold in society, one must first acquire certain knowledge in a certain field. Only majors that cater to the urgent needs of social production can The need for talents and the close integration of education and economic construction can promote social progress.

Both general education and specialist education are necessary for society, but obviously, they are diametrically opposed in content. The former requires respect for the all-round development of people and requires educated people to develop in all aspects to adapt to an increasingly integrated and economically rationalized society; but the latter requires people to "specialize in their professions" and to specialize in a certain field rather than in all areas. Great achievements have been made in various fields, because in fact people cannot be excellent in all aspects. The so-called comprehensive and high-level development of people is actually just an unrealistic "utopia".

(2)

Dialectically speaking, the debate between general education and specialist education is necessary and useful to clarify what general education and specialist education are, but it blindly emphasizes If we cannot see the difference between the two and the connection between the two, and effectively separate the meanings of the two issues that education should have, it will be harmful to education and teaching without any benefit.

First of all, specialist education must be based on general education, and general education must aim at specialist education. The two are dialectically unified. The so-called specialists and generalists are actually only different in degree, not in quality. There is no such thing as a specialist who is not a generalist. To make some achievements in any field, even a very small field, you must understand the basic knowledge of this large field. It is not easy to say something that has not been said by anyone before, even if it is just one sentence, because you have to know what everyone has said before. Of course, this sentence must be able to penetrate the thoughts of all the wise men in the past and say something. If there is reasonable content, it will be even more difficult. Knowledge is like a huge network. If you make a breakthrough at any point, it will affect the entire network. Therefore, to become a specialist, you must first be a generalist. Similarly, generalist education should also aim at cultivating specialists. If you only know a superficial knowledge of what you know, you are not a generalist. To be "general" actually means to be "specialized".

Secondly, general education and specialist education are actually the proper meanings of education. First, academic cultivation and personality cultivation should be considered simultaneously. University education should not only teach students to do things, but also teach students to be human beings. It should pay attention to both academic cultivation and personality cultivation. Secondly, the two go hand in hand. General education is the key to university education. The basis of education, professional education is the core of university education. Only by organically combining general education with specialist education can we cultivate senior talents with a comprehensive quality foundation and proficiency in a certain specialized knowledge; thirdly, knowledge, ability and quality Pay equal attention to the fundamental transformation of concepts, and regard it as necessary to cultivate people's innovative ability and self-management ability, as well as the qualities of living in harmony with others, being good at communication, being able to express themselves appropriately, being able to adapt to the work environment, and self-regulating emotions. The social and historical process shows that overemphasis on general or professional education is biased. Being knowledgeable but not specialized cannot solve social problems, and it is difficult to adapt to the needs of social division of labor, and human society can return to ignorance; being specialized but not being general leads to specialization of knowledge, one-sided thinking, and specialization of tastes, and it is also difficult to adapt to the comprehensive requirements of social development. .

(3)

The Higher Education Law of the People’s Republic of China, which was implemented in January 1999, stipulates that “the task of higher education is to cultivate innovative spirit and practical ability. to develop high-level professionals, develop science, technology and culture, and promote socialist modernization. "In fact, it is not about deciding which education method is better within a preset theoretical framework, but the education method should be based on the needs of education or the tasks of education. To choose. If you are in the field of high-tech research and development, you must obviously pay more attention to specialist education, but in general jobs, especially in public relations, administration and other departments, you must obviously pay more attention to general education; if you rely on a major to make a living, of course you must The more sophisticated and in-depth the better, and if it’s a hobby, it’s good to know a little bit about it. In short, whether it is general education or specialist education depends on the purpose of education, the nature of the work of the people who are educated, and the specific analysis of the specific situation. We cannot aim too high and pursue general education, nor can we only see the trees and not the forest. Emphasis on professional education.

In this way, we can choose our education methods from different perspectives and according to different tasks. Various views on talents have emerged in today's education world, which are actually formed on the basis of general education and specialist education. Some scholars have proposed that education should cultivate "T-shaped talents". Such talents have a broad knowledge base and strong professional knowledge, including horizontal erudition and vertical "technical specialization." Some scholars have also proposed educating and cultivating "X-shaped talents", believing that such talents can systematically master two professional knowledges, and the two professional knowledges they master have obvious major intersections and connections. Such talents can both Mastering knowledge deeply and extensively can better adapt to society. Some scholars have proposed cultivating "cross-shaped talents". They believe that cross-shaped talents have both a broad knowledge base and relatively in-depth research in a certain field. More importantly, they have the courage to stand out, take the lead, and have a sense of innovation. "Cross-shaped talents" stand on the basis of the integration and penetration of various disciplines and have a high degree of innovation awareness. High-level natural science talents should have high literacy in humanities and social sciences. High-level talents in humanities and social sciences should also have high literacy in natural sciences.

In short, it is okay to discuss the debate between general education and specialist education within a certain scope, but it is absolutely unacceptable to exaggerate the opposition between the two and fail to see the unified side of the two. Taken. The two are just two different ways or aspects of education. We should choose the appropriate education method according to the existing educational conditions and the educational tasks to be completed, and do not necessarily have to call it general education or education. The name of specialist education.