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bluefishluck

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  1. Hi everybody, this is the first 30min practice I've done for the Analyze an Issue part of the GRE, so any feedback at all would be sincerely appreciated :) Topic: Formal education tends to restrain our minds and spirits rather than set them free. We are all familiar with the adage "knowledge is power," and formal education, although oftentimes perceived as the bane of a student's existence, gives students the tools to expand their minds. The regimented style of formal education may seem on the surface to be stifling to freeing the mind. Studying each subject for a set number of hours, sitting for mandatory examinations, and being compelled to work on assignments after school all appear to be an unfavorable environment to mental growth. However, by requiring students to study in a variety of different subjects, formal education opens the doors for students to think broadly and critically in scope. Although sitting in a desk for eight hours a day may seem physically constraining, formal education can help nuture students' creativity and thirst for knowledge. It is a requirement of most schools that students take classes in a variety of subjects: sciences, including social science, language arts, foreign languages, to name a few. Although the institution of requirements may seem restraining in nature, by compelling students to study a plethora of topics schools expose students to many different concepts that they may not have seen before. In this fashion, schools introduce students to many different subjects and expand the minds. Formal education also involves a great deal of work outside of class by assigning homework. Although this practice is unfavorable with the majority of students, regimented practice helps students become more skillful in a topic. Once a student has acheived a base knowledge in a topic, they can take the initiative to explore beyond the basics and into new areas. The nation's greatest researchers were not able to question old schools of thought or think of new hypotheses without first having a solid knowledge of the basics. Galileo would not have been able to challenge Copernicus's invalid idea that the sun traveled around the earth had he not first been educated in the subject of astrology. By mandating that students gain knowledge in various subjects , formal education fosters critical thinking, a skill that is unattainable to the ignorant. This is not to say that formal education is the only possible method of producing inquisitive, critical-thinking individuals. There are many successful autodidates who reached prowess in their respectable fields without ascribing to formal education. The author Jorge Luis Borges, phycisist Michael Farraday, and painter and occassional engineer Leonardo Da Vinci are all good examples that formal education is not necessary to be successful in your field. However this is not a viable option for everyone. Not everyone can take the intitiative to pick up a task or a profession on their own, or has the resources to do this. The likelihood of a twelve-year-old dropping out of school and pushing themselves until they attain the position of a world class chemist is very slim. Thus, formal education allows every student an equal chance to shine.
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