Dear Editor,
I am writing about the best way to study Liberal Studies and whether textbooks should be used.
Liberal Studies has been a core subject and will be assessed like other subjects in the New Senior Secondary curriculum. The subject aims to help students become independent thinkers, so that they can apply knowledge appropriately to changing personal and social circumstances. Moreover, the subject assists students to develop a range of skills for life-long learning, including critical thinking skills, creativity and problem-solving skills.
With the introduction of the new subject, there has been a great deal of discussion on whether textbooks should be used. Some say that using textbooks is more reliable. However, some insist that relying on textbooks too much will ruin the meaning of studying Liberal Studies.
Those who support the use of textbooks think that there are many benefits using textbooks. First of all, using the textbooks can help us to learn the definitions of different key concepts. For example, in the unit of ‘Today’s Hong Kong’, it is important for us to learn the concepts such as ‘wealth gap’ and ‘living standard’. Using the textbooks, we can master the concepts more easily and thus we can apply the knowledge in answering the questions.
Another advantage is that textbooks are more reliable than other resources on the internet and in newspapers. Most of the textbooks are compiled by professionals with different expertise. Some of them have been approved by the Hong Kong Education Bureau. On the contrary, information on the Internet is only released by ordinary people and it may not be accurate enough or some is even a practical joke. In addition, the information and opinions on newspapers may not be objective. Therefore, it is obvious that textbooks are the most trustworthy references for students.
However, the disadvantage of relying on the textbook should not be ignored. As the purpose of studying Liberal Studies is to enhance students’ understanding of their society and the world, many topics in the subject are related to current news. Therefore, it is inconvenient for us to use textbooks as the information in them is not the most updated. Thus someone suggests students read more newspapers and make good use of the information on the Internet. Both of them can also provide us with various kinds of data and help us understand a certain event from multiple perspectives.
What is more, the subject aims to help students develop independent learning capabilities and cross-curriculum thinking. However, if students rely too much on the textbooks, they may memorize all the content in the book without digesting the knowledge. Students are certainly learning nothing from the subject and studying it will become a waste of time.
As a student, I believe that the best way to study Liberal Studies is making good use of the textbooks and at the same time not relying on them totally. We should learn the basic concepts introduced in the textbooks and apply the knowledge to daily life. Moreover, we should not believe totally what the books or the newspapers tell us. It is important for us to think critically and independently. Using the above method, I think all students can learn the subject well.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Wong
Chris Wong