nothing could be better than a class made of intellectuals (or what i call "smarts"), eager to learn new things, perhaps even to question these new things. the recent finance class was, again another outburst of knowledge to the delight of our professor. it was interactive so to speak to the point that blockmate A and blockmate B were particularly directing their opinions and/or qualms at each other. being one of the presentors, i must admit, the feeling was quite odd when another person outside the group was defending the arguments which you have shared from the very start of the case. you do not feel anything negative towards that person, you kinda feel bad for yourself. but, when you take a look at it at the point of a person who goes ga-ga over the idea of intellectual freedom, you are left to do nothing but smile or applaud (if you're that overly happy).:)
what's more laudable is the fact that whatever happens in class, whether i quash your argument in front of forty or so people, add to that the professor, everything stays there. with everything i mean, everything negative. cliche as it may sound, it is indeed all in the spirit of knowledge and the freedom you exercise to defend whatever it is you believe in.
i don't know if the same thing goes for all classes in other schools, but i must say that i really am happy that i was there, in that particular class, at that particular time. nothing beats the University of the Philippines' love for academic freedom.
Harry S. Truman worded my sentiment (though in a grander scale) best, "In a free country we punish men for crimes they commit but never for the opinions they have." |
