BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Educational issues involving preschool through college levels have become major topics in the media and on officials' policy agendas. Critics offering their observations include researchers, educators, students, parents and even administrators.

When suggestions are made for solutions to problems such as the need to improve the all-round quality of education and develop students' creativity, writers and speakers resort to only one idea - reform the education system. However, that task is too formidable, presenting educators with an important question: Is there anything we can do now to better equip our students for their future careers and lives?

Understanding teaching and learning communication processes reveals that it is unwise to adopt any established model of education on a wholesale basis, nor is there any such ready-made model that can guarantee it will lead to students' success and happiness.

All theories of education seem premised on one unreliable assumption: If you follow a certain formula of teaching and learning that has proved successful in some cases, you will succeed too. In such an assumption, individual differences between students, including their natural gifts, efforts and circumstances, are generally overlooked. What is more, we often forget or neglect that the historical era, cultural context and social environment in which we operate are all different from those that gave rise to the established theories of education.

However, one thing is certain: When devising plans and strategies for education at any level, we should first consider the students' future. However, that does not mean we should continue the unhealthy current practice of cramming each student with knowledge, numbing their imaginative powers and creative motivation.

Instead, there are three universal qualities that each teacher can seek to cultivate in students, either overtly or subtly, depending on their capacity.

The first norm that needs to be beaten into each student's head is that health comes first. Students need to develop the vital sense that they must always try to keep healthy. Given the pressure of competing in a quickly modernizing society and an increasingly globalizing world, a healthy body and sound mind are undoubtedly the most valuable assets a person can possess upon entering society after formal education.

The second point is a direct corollary of the first. The traditional norm of health addressed only the physical aspect, but the new norm accepts that physical, mental and spiritual health are intertwined. Each of us has a different physique and we differ in terms of physical strength and mental power. Some people are born with physical deficiencies or are handicapped by accidents or diseases, but among them some remain happy and achieve success. Besides familial support and social welfare, their own healthy mindset and strong spirit guarantee their happiness.

There is one thing we can do. It is to lead and guide our students in such a way that they have a faith and belief in themselves, and that from this they could draw the kind of spiritual resources they need for daily cleansing of thought and strengthening of heart.

Thirdly, teach students that learning is a lifelong habit, interest and ability. In this age when the outlets of communication are bursting with new information every minute, the knowledge a teacher can impart is nothing more than a drop of water in a vast ocean. Besides imparting the most up-to-date knowledge, teachers can do better to set an example of continuous learning, thus imparting the crucial message to students that it is the key to whatever they want to do in the future.

Over the years, many graduates have complained that the knowledge they learned in school was not applicable to their job, or quickly became irrelevant or out-of-date. But many other graduates who land jobs unrelated to their majors have achieved remarkable career success. Their experience is summed up in one word: learning. Those who get good grades at all levels of education may fall behind after graduation if they stop learning, while those who maintain a strong interest and motivation to learn at all times tend to do well in whatever they do.

Actually, this is not a new norm in developed countries. A retired US schoolteacher said something to me many years ago that has stayed with me: "Don't worry too much about whether what you take in college is relevant to your future career. Your prospective boss is going to value the fact that you have the ability to go through a certain level of education, which is sufficient proof that you have the ability to learn, and he will be more interested to know whether you are prepared to continue learning on the job."

Sound mental and physical health, a firm belief in oneself and the ability and willingness to learn are obviously among the essentials of education in this new era. Equipped with such essentials, students should be better prepared to respond to the challenges of the future.

The author is a professor in the school of journalism and communication at Xiamen University.