The public often likens schools to cradles for future scientists, doctors, policy-makers, etc. Therefore, it is primary to figure out the best method to teach. Some people may argue that a wise way of teaching is to instill the concepts and ideas into students rather than to show students the facts. However, from a personal viewpoint, both of them are equally necessary for classes. The details are discussed below.

On the one hand, understanding ideas is crucial in courses related to abstract concepts. Those classes usually consist of large amounts of in-depth and complex knowledge, making abstract thinking urgently needed. For instance, math, the nightmare of many students, contains huge sums of confusing definitions and complex theorems, which will make math a challenge if the students are not able to understand them well. Furthermore, there is almost no so-called “fact” in mathematics because every theorem in math is verified by proof but not trials or experiments. In this case, the ability of understanding is much more vital than the capacity of facts learning.

Meanwhile, there are also some fields in which the observation of facts outweigh the study of ideas. In those areas, knowledge is built based on facts instead of proof. Thereby, any thoughts and notions cannot be 100% correct. Besides, a surprising experiment will sometimes demolish the entire foundations of all previous knowledge. For example, before the construction of relativity, almost every physicist deemed Newton’s laws of motion as truth under all circumstances for its beautiful expressions and a considerable number of tests. However, some strange facts indicate that the laws may not apply to the situations where objects move in a high-speed. Anyway, Newton’s laws are of significance, and all results based on them are also terrific. But if we cannot explore those novel phenomena scientifically, we will never discover the relativity, the truth in the universe.

In conclusion, the ability to learn from facts and the one to perform complicated thinking are both essential. Without anyone of them, we will never be able to have such precious human wisdom.