Essay On Academic Freedom

Academic Freedom “Academic freedom is the freedom of a teacher to state personal opinions openly without censorship, or without the fear of professional disadvantage or the freedom of students to choose their courses or influence the content of courses” (academic). It has been questioned for years on just about how much academic freedom are teachers and students granted. Academic freedom should be more recognized for students and teachers in schools, it is similar to freedom of speech, it allows faculty and staff to teach what they wish and is supposed to allow students the choice of what courses they would like to take. Freedom of speech is academic freedom when it comes to allowing teachers and professors to say what they will in the classroom.

Marla Iyasere said that, Students and faculty should not lose there first amendment Constitutional rights as they walk onto school property, and a teacher should have some measure of control over what they choose to speak and teach about (Lyasere 25). In the academic society, academic freedom is decided by the location or occupation or role in the society you are in. Many professors believe this should not be the case, such as Marjorie Heins, a former NYU adjunct professor who serves on the academic freedom and tenure committee of the American Association of University Professors. Heins said, “The lack of respect for freedom of speech permeates the whole enterprise,” (Saul). This means without freedom of speech in the classroom students and teachers will beat around the bush and won’t be able to fully explain certain concepts. Academic freedom allows the people in the classroom to connect on another level. Students will be enrolled in the course because of interest and not because of a requirement and teachers will be teaching a subject because of a passion. This bond in the classroom will bring a higher success

Academic freedom should be a liberty granted to students and teachers of all ages. “Research in cognitive, developmental and educational psychology shows that learning and development are active self-regulated processes that require the freedom to seek information, to formulate and express your own ideas, and to engage in discussion. Intellectual freedom is crucial to intellectual development from kindergarten to college” (Moshman). Many teachers that are tenured into a university of school district can say and do just about anything they want, whereas a teacher that has been apart of an institution for five years will be removed from the school for something the tenured colleague would not even be questioned about. In high schools the administration is so worried about parents complaints and how it will effect their reputation as a school that they let it affect the education that their students are receiving. Allowing grade school students the ability to be apart of the process building their schedule and education would be a step in the right direction. At this age students want to be more independent and are willing to experience all types of classes and learning types. When a student gets to college they are expected to have some kind of a major picked out. If the