The most important problems affecting our society today could be solved within our lifetime.
As the economy and technology develop at an incredible speed in today’s society, there are an
increasing number of people believing that the most important problems affecting our society
today could be solved within our lifetime. In my view, however, this is out of the question and the
three most significant problems affecting the society, namely war, environmental destruction and
disease, will still influence us and may not be entirely resolved forever.
War is a problem afflicting humans since they took into being in the first place. Wars take place
when different countries have conflicting benefits, which is unlikely to be eliminated as long as
the boundaries between countries still exist. For instance, in the Middle East where water is
extremely scarce, many countries are in conflict in contention for water resources. Since every
country acts for the sake of its own benefit, it seems that people in the region are incapable of
living together in harmony. Eternal world peace, therefore, is unlikely to be achieved in our
lifetime.
Environmental destruction emerged not long before but it is becoming increasingly severe and can
not be ignored. With the large-scale utilization of fossil fuels and rapid development of industry,
huge amounts of pollutants are being produced, contaminating the environment to a large degree.
The disposal of these pollutants being a tough task, it is hardly possible that we can completely get
rid of them within a short period of time. Furthermore, even if we can come up with optimal
methods for dealing with these substances, there remains the problem that these methods may cost
too much and obstruct the development of economy.
Last but not least, the well-being of people around the world is threatened by a variety of diseases,
ranging from AIDS to cancer, the cures for which have not been discovered yet. Diseases set off
panics among humans, affect their normal life and leave people badly off with the high medical
expenses. There are thousands of scientists devoting themselves to finding cure for diseases, but
new types of diseases keep emerging and there is no eliminating all of them.
In summary, the problems with the most significance today are going to be passed on to our
offspring. To eliminate these problems thoroughly, there is still a long way to go. Some people think that a university professor should focus time on doing research, while
others think that the main role of a professor is to educate students in a university.
What is the main role of a university professor, to educate students or to do research? Some people
believe that professors should focus their time on doing research, but as far as I am concerned, it is
educating that deserves more devotion of professors.
To begin with, professors are teachers in universities, so it is their responsibility to teach students
with absolute dedication and enthusiasm. University professors play an critical role in students’
learning knowledge and the methods for learning, by giving lectures in class as well as assigning
them tasks to do using what they have learned. A good professor should be someone who can
teach well and is patient with students.
In addition, taking education as the main responsibility does not mean that professors are not
supposed to do research. On the contrary, those who have achieved success in research tend to be
better teachers. Doing research allows professors to have a broader horizon, enabling them to seize
the point of the science and technology today and to have a deep understanding of the knowledge
they are going to teach. Furthermore, professors who do research well may offer their students
better opportunities to do research in the field they study.
Admittedly, there are scientists who cannot teach well but stand out in their specialized field.
Rather than teaching and doing research at the same time, I believe that they should concentrate
on their research and not take the position as professors. There are many people who are merely
researchers and whose achievement in their specialized areas is without parallel. As for professor,
this occupation should be left to those who can give quality lectures and help students to learn
well.
In conclusion, professors should regard educating students as their main responsibility and devote
themselves to teaching. In today’s society, however, there are some professors who do not teach
students with dedication. They focus on research merely for money, which will not only do harm
to students’ study, but will hinder the development of science as well.
