Being practical

  Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below. People value education that is practical, work that is profitable, and products that are supposed to be useful. Often, they abandon ideas and projects that they consider to be unrealistic or to have no immediate use. However, although it is true that being practical may lead to material rewards, being impractical may enrich people in other ways. Furthermore, today's practical products and activities may soon become outdated, while what now seems impractical may one day prove to be highly valuable. Assignment: Do people place too much value on ideas or activities that are practical? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.