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.