Is There Really Academic Freedom?

Socrates to Plato, Plato to Aristotle, Aristotle to Alexander the Great. It connotes that in every
great man, there is a great teacher behind who did the necessary efforts to make him what he is.
Socrates made his living teaching the public in the halls of Greece. Plato and Aristotle had a more formal
educative strategy but what is common among them is their dedication to make people around them
aware of what’s happening in our world. They voice out their opinions, blurt out the harsh truth and
expressed their deepest thoughts because they had the freedom to do so.

In contemporary times, the practice of education is as modern as it can be. We abide by the
rules and laws and follow all the policies to the point that we metaphorically become caged animals in a
zoo. What we do is we blindly follow when in fact, you have something in mind that you cannot
dispense out because you are afraid of the consequences, the punishment, the demerit, the shame. But
what’s left of you is the guilt that you never believed in what you believed to be right.

Education is missioned to make us vigilant, keen and understanding about the things
phenomena that happens every split second. But modern education emphasizes us to become followers
for us to become great leaders. We hide the ugly to truth because we don’t want to break the system
that has been effective recently. We conceal the right choices because we are left with no choice but to
strictly follow. But the question is, are we improving with this kind of system and mentality? Do we
progress if we continue to be quiet even if we know that things would not result into goodness in the
future?

We are being held captive in our own system because we are afraid to practice our freedom; our
academic freedom. Academic freedom is not solely limited to students but to all the stakeholders that
make up a school. Administrators, staff, teachers, parents and the community should all voice out their
opinions to make things right. Since we are teachers, my perception would subjectively side with the
welfare of teachers.

The new policies that the Department of Education has employed have all been, at most, a
failure. At the centre of this failure is the “student-centred” approach which in most part is being
exploited by the learners themselves. They know their rights and they know that the Department will be
with them so all the blame go to the teacher. When students fail “what have you done as a teacher”.
When students are absent “maybe they don’t like your teaching strategy”. The repercussion of this
event had led to teachers making all the students pass as to avoid the blame game. Most teachers avoid
controversy as much as possible resulting in a “pass-all” scenario. The aftermath of this futile process
would mean that students will move to the next level without the necessary skill and competence to
survive. They will be washed up like a garbage in a shore not ready to face the waves coming by. They
won’t be ready to what’s next if we continue to do this.

Maybe if there is one that is brave enough to state the facts and not abide by the “rule”, we can
still save our decaying future. If we’re only brave enough to expose things and practice our academic
freedom, maybe just maybe, we can still save the lives of our children.

Academic Freedom can always be attained. It is always there. It’s up to us, members of the
academe, to invoke our rights and side with what we believe in. It may not be right or a correct choice at
the moment, but at least it’s a step towards improvement and getting better. Academic freedom is free,
but we pay the price because we choose to follow even though the system leads us to a gaping pit,
waiting to swallow us. If we choose to be deviant and tell the truth no matter how ugly it is, we can
avoid falsity and dishonesty.

Academic freedom is like a fruit at the top of a tall tree. It’s just there, waiting for someone who
is persevering and brave enough to negate the fear of falling just to reach it and get it and share it to
everyone.