Topic 1: Increasing travels between countries enable people to learn different cultures or to increase tension between people from different countries

Topic 88: Education used to be a short period of training, but today, people treat it like a lifelong practise. Do you agree or disagree?

The notion of learning throughout life is not new but only until recently has been discussed to a larger extent. More than learning for employment opportunities and competitive positions, learners pursue academic opportunities for many other purposes today. One has reasons to believe that education is more likely to be a lifelong pursuit, rather than an isolated practice in the century to come.

Because of technological advances, people are now given learning opportunities in different contexts at work, at home or through leisure activities. People in a modern society are not confined to formal channels (e.g., schools) but provided with more options, such as studying either via the Internet or television, known as distance learning or e-learning. Learning can occur at all ages. The working people, parents with childcare responsibilities, the disabled, and the elderly are all able to learn now, with time and location constraints being transcended. The era when education was available only in a formal school and intended for young people is bygone.

Another force that drives lifelong education is the constantly changing nature of the society. It is certain that at the present lime, no career fields can stay static. Because of the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, re-education seems to be an urgent need throughout one's working life, especially to those who work in hi-tech industries, such as IT. People feel compelled to keep themselves well-in formed of all the latest changes in the industry they are working in, in case that they fall behind their peers. It is in sharp contrast to the past, where university education was sufficient for a professional career spanning three or more decades.

Pursuit of one's own targets is another reason why education tends to last a lifetime nowadays. The interests of people in today's society are not limited to material wealth and better standards of living, but involve other desires, ranging from self-expression, individuality to fulfilment of their own dreams. When formal education in the past was generally vocational and intended for sustaining life, many forms of education in today's society are non-vocational. For example, many people study philosophy, psychology, painting, music, history and other arts subjects with the purpose to put meaning into the whole of life, rather than living simply as an income earner.

In summary, a combination of various factors, including the educational opportunities provided outside standard educational systems, individuals' craving for achievement, and the soaring competitive pressure, accounts for why education has no endings in one's lifetime.

1. 
   pursuit = hobby = interest
   
2. 
   transcend = surpass = excel = exceed
   
3. 
   static = stationary = inert = unchanging = constant = unvarying
   
4. 
   span = extend = cross
   
5. 
   sustain = maintain