Name: Johann Emmanuel L.

Molato Seminar in Professional

Enhancement
Course: Diploma in Teaching Secondary 2A Michel B. Almerino M.A.Ed.

Reflection about Academic Freedom

Academic freedom is a freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being

targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment. According to (Robinson and Moulton,
2002), Freedom to teach and do research without constraint to discover and promulgate new
ideas. Academic freedom is also applied to teachers and students to teach, study, and pursue
knowledge and research without unreasonable interference or restriction from law,
institutional regulations, or public pressure. In 1987 Philippine Constitution, Academic
freedom shall be enjoyed in all institution of higher learning and it stated also that not just
only for the teachers and students but also in universities to enjoy academic freedom and all
institutions of higher learning shall enjoy academic freedom.

The benefits of the academic freedom are not only for the instructors, students, and the
institution but it focuses to the wider society through upbringing new creation of new ideas
and innovation through politics, economic and technological progress. Academic freedom for
students should be encourage by the professor to expand their thoughts and to discuss their
ideas freely so it can be evaluated on academic basis. One thing that caught my attention is
when one of my classmates asks about the misuse of the Academic freedom for the students
especially here in the Philippines when some teachers are attending a political rally outside
the campus and she ask in our speaker if this would be considered as misuse of Academic
freedom but according to our speaker it is still considered as Academic freedom and it is not
considered as misuse. The reflection of the seminar today tells us that everyone has the right
to express their point of view in terms of speech, writing and through communication. It
gives us also the freedom to speak to other people who doesn’t have the power to express
their feelings or to speak for the government and it has stated also by Robert Quinn that the
power to shape knowledge is a source of power.

The important lesson of this topic is as future educators, we should implement the academic
freedom to our students and in our school but there are things that we should limit to discuss
with our fellow students and be careful of what to introduce in our teaching that can may be
conflict on their judgement and ideas and speaking of academic freedom, the teacher also has
the right to choose which subject he or she will be discussing, unlike in other levels that there
is a constitution to follow the curriculum guide. Therefore, academic freedom is a freedom to
teach without being targeted for repression, freedom for students to pursue the truth in a
manner consistent and a freedom for all society especially in academic community.