The Professor's Belief Assignment

Should a professor teach what he (or she) believes?  A professor should teach what is necessary to fulfill an education.  But what is education, and what is the aim of education?  I certainly don't claim to hold to answer to these puzzling issues that have stirred up controversy all over the place, but I'll give my own opinion on the matter.

An education is a formalized and planned method of learning, in my own definition, and the aim of education should be to prepare a person for a task.  This may be working at McDonald's, becoming a missionary, or acting as a productive member of society.  In order to give his students an education, the professor must figure out a way to present the information about how to do these tasks in a way that the students will understand.  This is the job of the professor.

But what information does the professor give the students, and where does it come from?  This information starts with "hard facts," which are the observable circumstances that many would consider to be reality.  Unfortunately, even at this relatively concrete level, there are discrepancies.  Some people do not believe that matter exists, but the only thing that exits is our consciousness.  But as the concrete 'reality' changes to abstract theory, the debates become more wild.

Still, the professor must find a way to present these items, and, considering that there are disagreements even at the seemingly concrete level, the professor must either take sides at some point, or present the perpetual list of viewpoints, or simply present the side that the majority of people agree with.  Considering the complete list of viewpoints would be without end, it would be impractical to insist that a professor present one to his students, so that option can be eliminated.  Obviously, the professor is likely to have taken sides (particularly on the 'concrete' matters), as these ideas have shaped his view of the world, and it is virtually impossible for a person to be without a worldview.  So we know that the professor has a viewpoint and that it would be best to either teach that perspective or teach what the majority believe.

At this point, I will say that I think the professor should teach what he believes.  This is because if the professor does not believe it, it would be very difficult for him to teach it properly.  If a professor truly believes what he says he does, he would find it impossible to present any other kind of reality to his students.  Also, conformity and scripts hardly encourage people to think.  Presenting what most people believe simply for the reason that most people believe it is not a very good reason to teach something, because it leaves no room for development, or questioning the system or turning the world of thought upside-down.  If the professor is able to present a viewpoint other than the one widely accepted, his students will benefit, even if they do not agree with him, because they would have to critically examine their own and learn not to just 'go with the flow,' but to develop their own beliefs.

That being said, it is VERY important that the professor not expect his students to agree with what he believes.  He must allow freedom of thought and let his students discuss their own worldviews.  Professors ought to teach what they believe in order to encourage the growth of learning.

Transformation To Wisdom Assignment

One of the four dimensions of wisdom that Caroline Bassett outlined in "Emergent Wisdom" was Transformation.  This spoke of how part of wisdom is constantly adapting, and acquiring new knowledge.  It is not stagnant and set, but wisdom can always be improved and new lessons can always be learned.  This idea came up in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" (by Robert Pirsig).  Phaedrus had sought understanding and deeper knowledge and the truth about reality.  Early on, he had been consumed with this search to know more.  He was willing to change his point of view and transform his thinking as he acquired wisdom.  He questioned everything, from sculptures to personalities to the success and failures of his students.  Eventually, though, he gave up and settled for an easy life, one which involved little thinking, and no all-out search for the truth.  This emphasizes that wisdom isn't found in a man in a hut somewhere in the obscure wilderness, or in those who are old and speak slowly and bend over with the weight of many years.  Instead, wisdom is found by those who receive God's truth and make continual efforts to see more of it and let life be presented in a new light.

Emergent Wisdom Assignment

This article by Caroline Bassett considered wisdom to have several dimensions, including discerning, respecting, engaging and transforming.  The key to discerning is seeing the underlying issues and being able to distinguish between two similar-appearing things.  Respecting is a bit along the lines of empathy.  It is thinking about how decisions will affect every person and what concerns and opinions specific people will have.  Engaging means that wise people do something with the knowledge they have and trying to make a change to make the world a better place, fighting for the common good.  Transforming goes along with this, meaning that the world and the Truth is terribly complex and rather impossible for one person to know, even after a lifetime, so a wise person will constantly be changing and perfecting his or her worldview, as the Truth is revealed.  Self-improvement and improvement of the world result from this dimension.

Although colleges could never really give wisdom to students, it is possible to teach how to recognize wisdom and provide an environment to practice wisdom.  Most colleges don't do this.  Some colleges may not have many wise instructors, and thus no examples for the students to observe.  But most of this issue stems from tradition and scripts.  Colleges that are too caught up in traditions do not care to foster wise students.  In discernment, these students might find something wrong with the long-held traditions.  In respecting, they would try to see not only why the college wants to keep the traditions, but also how the traditions affect each student and the members of the community.  Those who practice engaging and transforming would especially be a 'threat' to a college steeped in tradition, as they would make efforts to change the situation and present the Truth in a new way.

I really don't personally know any college that's this stuck on tradition, but it would be colleges of this sort, to varying degrees, that would not try and encourage wisdom from students.  Fortunately, I think the Honors Program here intends to teach wisdom.  This is not an easy task.  Indeed, I believe that it is a gift that only God can give.  It was something he bestowed generously on Solomon and as James 3:17 states (read verses 13-18 for a more full picture), "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."  True wisdom can only come from God and those who have it have the responsibility to practice it and allow it to grow.