질문: For a
university professor, educating students is more important than doing research.
Higher education has steadily
become more and more important and necessary to our contemporary society.
Universities fulfill this need as academic and research institutions. However,
recently a debate about the primary duty of a university professor has been
brought about. While a sizable number of the populace may assert that a
professor’s research is more relevant, this notion needs to be reconsidered, as
the job of educating clearly shows more importance. In the midst of this
discourse, there are two seemingly eye-catching facets that support this
argument.
First and foremost reason would
be due to the students that enroll in these universities. Students go through
and endure rigorous academic endeavor to acquire acceptance to their dream
universities and pay a small fortune for tuition. If professors fail to properly
and diligently educate these students, their efforts would have been in vain.
Although one may argue that research is what helps fuel a professor’s knowledge
and ability to teach, the actual quality of the teaching that the students
receive cannot be disregarded. To illustrate, my older brother who got accepted
to a highly prestigious school complained about a certain professor who didn’t
meet up to his expectations. My brother had devoted his high school years to
attain his goal. However, one of the professors he had the misfortune of
meeting lacked basic teaching skills which disappointed my brother to a great
extent. In other words, it is not an understatement to say that professors
mustn’t underestimate their roles as educators.
What is more compelling ground is
the fact that the reputation of a university can be decided by the alumni of
that school. The quality of the education that students receive can influence
their future careers and possibilities. Although one cannot deny the fact that
the student’s will and individual ability is one of the main contributing
factors of a successful life, the teachings that they receive cannot be
ignored. We can identify several cases in our society and economy. Bill Gates,
Steve Jobs, and almost all of the famous CEO’s that we see in the media studied
at prestigious universities. Clearly there is a pattern in this phenomenon. A
school with better education has a higher chance of having graduates or even
drop-outs that could influence society to a great degree where it affects the
image of the university.
From the above substantiations
and assessments, the fact that education is more important than research for
professors seems much more convincing. High quality of education is important
for both the students that are currently studying and the university’s future.
Therefore, nothing in my mind regarding the previous issue over weighs the ideas
stated above.