反璞

Although we have excellent pragmatic reasons to teach our students apparently useless and unrelated knowledge, I am inclined to be philosophical on this matter and challenge the very idea: Why should we confine ourselves to learn useful things? 

You see? We all begin from scratch and gradually mold ourselves to fit a certain position - for example, a doctor. As to old Chinese sayings: A piece of jade must be cut to become an instrument (玉不琢，不成器).

Nonetheless, we often forget we are the jade but not the instrument. There is no reason for us to exist as any particular instrument. On the contrary, we should always bear in mind that the very nature of us is the jade and not any instrument that we temporarily take up.

And, tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. When the time changes, we have to follow the need and regress ourselves to the original scratch of jade in order to mold into something else in need.

This is what Lao Zi (老子) said returning to innocence (反璞歸真).