Among the problems concerning education and all the issues connected with it, one can single out two basic types of problems. The first one embraces the issues which each generation encounters, no matter how far the progress has stepped, whereas the second type of problems is, vice versa, closely interconnected with the complexities of the epoch.
Among the former, such everlasting issues as cheating during test can be taken as an example; as for the latter, one of the current problems of the modern education is the price which students have to pay for it. Choosing the article which deserves being discussed widely and published in the journal, it is necessary to evaluate each of the issues.
Dealing with the problem of the increasing costs for studying, the article describes the state of students who are forced to work and study at the same time in the most impressive way. Thus, the article reveals important social problems brewing in the modern society since the time when higher education has become the major asset of employees. As Martin marks,
Unfortunately, the decline in student quality is accompanied by costs that are out of control, a governance system that will not permit any reallocation of resources, and a society that expects higher education to address problems that are well beyond its core competencies.” (Martin 262)
Thus, it can be considered that the given article deals with an issue of paramount importance for modern students. However, it must be admitted that the given article does not suggest any way out of the problem – it merely enumerates the difficulties connected with high costs for education and defines the goals of higher education.
Compared to the abovementioned article, the second one deals with the subject of lesser social tenseness. Yet the issue of the given article has raised debates since the very foundation of the educational system of the country. As you might have already guessed, the conversation touches upon the problem of cheating at exams.
Old as the hills, the problem is considered both from the psychological and the practical point of view in the article. One of the most valuable features of the article is the fact that the author is not moralizing, but merely explains the consequences of cheating.
Using cribs during exams, students fool themselves first, the author explains. Choosing between the wish to know the subject better and to get a good mark, one must follow the common sense, not the desire to pass the exam and forget everything one has been taught. As Davis mentioned, “Certainly the stresses and pressures for good grades have not diminished during the past several decades.” (71)
It is also essential that the author tries to make students think of their future professional career and their professional authority. The author also emphasizes the moral aspect, driving an example of a doctor who used to cheat during his examinations. Thus, calling the readers to think of their future jobs and professional ethics, the author creates a vision of studying without cheating.
Summarizing the effect produced by both of the articles, one could say that each of them is a valuable study in the sphere of education, yet each touching upon absolutely different issues. In spite of the fact that the abovementioned aspects of studying are both worth serious considerations, it is obvious that the first article deals with the issue demanding urgent solution.
Both bearing social significance and enhancing positive changes in the sphere of education, it deserves publishing most. Once people recognize the financial problem of education, they will be able to contribute to its solution, whereas the problem of cheating is far too old to be solved in a blink of an eye.
Works Cited
Davis, Stephen F., et al. Cheating in School: What we Know and What We Can Do. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons, 2009. Print.
Martin, Edward Robert. Cost Control, College Access, and Competition in Higher Education. Camberley, UK: Edward Edgar Publishing, 2005. Print.