yBalances of Values and Academiic Freedom of InquiryDear Mr. R. Kirby Godsey,In the process of life we face many challenges and many crossroads. Wehave many choices and many decisions to make.
In making these decisions we mustkeep in mind the moral values our parents have taught us since we were born. Those Christian values should guide our lives and the choices we make. Thesesame values should also guide at school as well. In our pursuit of knowledge, weshould keep these values in mind.
In our never-ending road of learning, we are granted with many academicfreedoms. We have the freedom to question and try to learn new ideas. We alsohave the freedom to disagree with the material presented to us. We can disagreeand voice our opinions, but in an orderly fashion. In exercising those freedoms, we should do so with maturity andresponsibility.
As students, we are responsible for learning all the content ofany course we study. We are free to take exception to the views or informationpresented to us, and we are free to reserve judgment about matters of opinions. Sometimes, in our quest for knowledge, there becomes a conflict betweenour beliefs we are accustomed to and the material presented to us. When there isa difference, we should not ignore the idea or block it out.
We should feel freeto learn and question new ideas. Just because we learn something doesn’t mean wehave to accept it. We should leave ourselves open to new ideas. When we do thiswe become very well rounded individuals. An example of this is the issue involving the debate between evolutionand creationism.
As Christians, we naturally believe in creationism, but weshouldn’t stop learning about evolution because we don’t believe in it. Thismakes us very close minded. We shouldn’t stop learning about a subject justbecause we don’t believe in it. One of our freedoms is the academic freedom ofinquiry. This means we have freedom to question.
We have the freedom to learn. We can still search for more answers, and we can learn different theories andstill keep our beliefs. The trick in doing this is to balance all of this. Wemust be able to keep our beliefs and new ideas presented separated.
We must beable to draw a line between what you learn and what you believe. In doing thiswe become open minded individuals. I believe if we can balance our values and our academic freedom ofinquiry we have reached a whole new level of learning. Not many people can dothis. It is hard to want to learn material presented to us that you don’tparticularly care for or believe in. When we learn to do this we are open to awhole new world of possibilities.
I feel I have learned how to keep my morals and beliefs, whilecontinuing my search for new ideas and information. I feel I have learned tobalance these. I have found the line between the two , and I know when too faris too far. Since Mercer is a place where I can feel free to open myself to newdoors and express my beliefs, I feel I would blend into the Mercer environmentvery well. I am open to new ideas and want to learn.
I want to get the besteducation I can get and Mercer is the place where I can get it. I am willing tolearn as much as I can, whether it is spiritually, academically, orintellectually.Sincerely,XXXXXXXXX
