It is generally believed that education is of vital importance to the development of individuals and the well-being of societies. What should education consist of to fulfil both these functions

Recently, there is a fierce debate about education functions and how to achieve it. Generally speaking, promoting personal development and improving social welfare are the most important functions of education. But it is how to achieve and balance these functions that is still a disturbing problem for us.

For individuals, getting education is the most vital and effective way to learn some skills for making a living. Therefore, in order to help them get better employment opportunities, setting some practical courses for students is necessary. At the same time, logical thinking plays an important role in the long-term development of individuals. Wherefore, except specific skills,

educational institution should teach some theoretical knowledge to students, developing their logical thinking ability. In addition, students should understand their own talent and preference deeply in this period. Giving enough chances for students to get in touch with new things is schools’ duty.

On the other hand, education also has a great impact on social development. A good education system could promote economic development. The content given to students should correspond with social and technology development. Besides, in order to stimulate social mobility, it is necessary to pay more attention to students in rural area. Last but not least, cultivating citizens with high moral standing is also fundamental task of education. For this reason, teaching knowledge is not the only target of education, at the same time, improving students’ moral quality is also an important aspect of education.

A perfect education system should integrate these two functions of education, which are promoting personal development and improving social welfare. What must be said is these two functions don’t conflict with each other.