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Phillip Stone, Bridgewater College
August 27, 2002
In our Mission Statement, in pursuing the education and development
of the whole person, we commit to being a learning community. We know
that a community is more than the physical gathering of a group of people
in the same location. There must be some common values. We work hard at
building a true community – one that is participatory, interactive,
nurturing and affirming. We not only want to experience a sense of community
while we live and work together at Bridgewater College but we also want
to model it both for ourselves and for others. We spend a considerable
amount of time at the College encouraging and enabling full participation,
building relationships and working toward mutual and common fulfillment
in community.
If we are fortunate, we have come to the College from strong communities
and will have an opportunity after graduation from college to participate
in others. To the extent we experience a vibrant, healthy community here,
we can help affect our communities in which we live after graduation also
to be nurturing, participatory and fulfilling.
A college or university community, though, has a unique characteristic
making it different from other communities: it is an intellectual community,
a community of scholars and learners, a community in which scholarship
is valued, intellectual development pursued and discovery made a goal,
but this intellectual activity is the core characteristic, the vital function
of a learning community. While many places of work and professional offices
may have educated people engaged in activities related to academic and
intellectual interests, no other community commits itself in quite the
same way to make intellectual inquiry and development so central to its
existence.
No matter how much we emphasize the importance of the development of
all other characteristics we associate with being educated and fully developed,
it is the intellectual development that is the central, the unique, function
of a learning community.
The intellectual quality of the learning community is not determined
merely by learning and reciting facts, formulas and theories on examinations.
Much more important are mature inquiry, reasoned argument, disciplined
research, the feeling of excitement in learning or even posing good questions,
the ability to communicate, discuss and defend ideas, and the commitment
to life-long learning. If our students graduate with the requisite credits
and grades but have not experienced the excitement of intellectual discovery,
to learn to think critically and to develop a lifetime appetite for and
commitment to learning broadly and deeply, the college has failed in its
mission. It is not enough to know things: it is critical to inquire about
why things are as they are, to probe, to investigate, to gather evidence,
to pursue leads, even we realize that the answers we seek may not be clear.
We will continue to ask questions and seek clearer understanding.
This morning, I would like to suggest some basic characteristics of
a person in a learning community, whether one is a faculty member, student,
or administrator.
(1) First. No topic is off limits for inquiry. We can question and discuss
anything, even the most widely accepted and fundamental propositions:
from religious doctrine to the preference for democracy over other forms
of government; from whether anything can be immoral if there is no victim
to genetic engineering; from legitimacy of marriage and family as social
concepts to whether free speech and a free press are really valuable.
To put anything off limits is to artificially choke off thought and inquiry.
Even for those of us who hold firmly to Christian faith must acknowledge
that the God we worship imbued us with minds to think and question, and
free will to make choices. We are not made with blinders to control our
thoughts.
(2) Second, even basic assumptions ought to be reviewed. Where did they
come from? What are the alternatives? Are they, as Jefferson said in the
Declaration of Independence, “self evident?” For example,
it is often said by lawyers in this country that the American jury trial
system for civil cases is the envy of the world. Many lawyers, although
well educated and taught to be critical thinkers, accept this like a religious
tenet. But a challenging question is: if it is the envy of the world,
why does almost no other country in the world have it in civil cases?
We copied it from England; they now use the jury trial in only a couple
kinds of cases! Most of the civilized world thinks it is a terrible system.
Does that not at least make us stop, think, look at it?
We recite shibboleths like “free press,” “free speech,”
“wall of separation between church and state” as if Moses
brought those ideas as revealed truth from his meeting with God. Why not
look into their origin, how other countries can maintain a high degree
of liberty with different rules, why we have these policies.
The same is true for all our institutions and practices. Question; look
at options, research and read why we have them; how could it be different?
(3) Third, we ought to avoid becoming arrogant simply from having asked
a good question or having torn away a fallacious argument for a given
proposition. If I am proud to have penetrated a topic but end my inquiry
because I conclude that I am now so clever I don’t need to continue
the inquiry, I am not much better off than when I was blissfully ignorant.
For example, if I refute certain explanations of some religious claims
or doctrines and satisfy myself that whose were not defensible, but end
my inquiry in ambivalence or skepticism and do not continue the inquiry,
I may pride myself that I am insightful when I simply exceeded the simplistic
arguments of others. In fact, I may be worse off if I stop inquiring,
thinking and learning because of entry-level learning.
(4) Fourth, we should not be afraid to assert the legitimacy of established
institutions, policies and beliefs even as we make them areas for inquiry
and debate. It is hard to have any order in our lives if we can’t
rely on anything. We simply must make some assumptions in order to live
and work. In the College Statement of Purpose, we say: “A (Bridgewater
education) leads one, while acknowledging that truth is not fully known,
to submit to the best and fullest truth that can be known.” Practices,
institutions and beliefs like the Bill of Rights, core religious beliefs,
marriage and family, the value of moral and ethical conduct, our criminal
justice system, jury trials can continue to be supported, affirmed, improved
even as we probe their origins, values and even legitimacy. The fact that
some of these beliefs and practices have developed over time and have
been relied on by generations certainly should not be ignored.
(5) Fifth, we need to seek to experience the excitement of learning,
discovering new insights. Just as one who works a puzzle feels pleasure
at finding the last piece to close the puzzle, we must seek the pleasure
of thinking a new thought not occurring to us before, finding ourselves
questioning even a well established expert because his arguments aren’t
convincing or his evidence is lacking. We must seek to discover, not merely
to memorize or be spoon-fed. As a college, we need to find ways to document
even better what each student discovers about himself or herself, about
life, about values, while here at the College. College must be a place
of discovery.
(6) Sixth, learning does not always need to be so practical that one
can convert it to a job, a skill, or money. Personal fulfillment, understanding
and interpreting the physical and social environment, seeking to understand
ultimate meaning, understanding religious faith, achieving personal esteem,
experiencing community and personal fulfillment are more critical than
jobs and money to the enjoyment of life. To graduate from college with
one’s brain in neutral except as necessary to make a living would
be a real tragedy. Twenty, thirty, fifty years after you graduate, I hope
that you will still be reading masterpieces, learning about the physical
universe, seeking to interpret culture, heritage and community.
(7) Seventh, our inquiries ought to be informed. We seem increasingly
to hold strong opinions based on ideology, partisanship and prejudice.
Rather than to read, inquire, and study, we listen to talk radio or people
raving and ranting on TV talk shows for reinforcement of our uninformed
views. Many of us seem to think that if we are Republicans, our positions
on issues are already determined by Republican leaders; if we are Democrats
by Democratic leaders. The same with other groups: conservatives, liberals,
intellectuals, and business people. We sometimes get out the caricatures
others have of us. It is almost dangerous politically for one in a political
ideological camp to break from the ranks. Intellectual development is
not achieved by blind reinforcement of our current prejudices or beliefs.
We need to probe, test, and listen to other thoughtful views. We are not
a community of learners if we simply stay fixed where we are in our thinking
on all issues. Surely, thinking and research will lead to some changes.
These are some of the characteristics I see necessary to become a full
participant in the intellectual life of a community of learners. These
are also some characteristics of the community that commits itself to
learning:
(1) Serious academic work and a sound curriculum are necessary predicates
for a learning community. Our academic program has been designed to foster
broad education over the liberal arts, deep within each discipline and
intentionally provoking critical thinking, sound research and investigation,
mature analysis and effective communication.
(2) A learning community must be participatory and interactive, both
at the formal level in the classroom and at the informal level. Discussion
of ideas, public policy, cultural questions and other matters of importance
should involve all campus members, not just those who already have a high
degree of intellectual curiosity. We need to find additional ways to foster
discussions in our community.
(3) The discussions and inquiries need to be respectful, sensitive of
the feelings and values of others, and civil. Shouting matches, personal
attacks, interrupting others, and ridicule increasingly characteristic
of political debates, public media and other forums, cannot be the way
we discuss issues and views. We must be a civil, respectful community.
(4) We must foster a commitment to life-long learning. Through PDP, the
role models of the faculty and staff, outside speakers, we need to make
it clear that the real value of a college education is developing a love
of learning, an understanding of how to learn in a disciplined way and
a commitment to life-long learning.
(5) A community of learners will insist that cognitive and intellectual
development must be integrated with all other dimensions of human development.
Our mission statement links education and development and we relate those
to the whole person.
(6) We must not be afraid to model what we proclaim. Critical thinking,
inquiry, and discussion must be applied to our own community: Why disciplinary
majors? Why certain majors? Value of liberal arts; why have faculty rank,
titles, academic ceremonies? Why required courses? Why 4 years instead
of 6 or 3; why not a performance test to determine graduation rather than
a number of credits?
What are some of the ways to commence this learning experience? Read
class assignments so you can be engaged in what is going on in class;
ask questions and offer an opinion – don’t be afraid to do
it; go to the library to read newspapers, magazines or anything from opera
to Chinese society; check on new books on display to see what might excite
your interest. Go to community lectures and convos. Linger after class
to talk to a professor. Take the risk of initiating a discussion with
your roommate or a friend about issues like the Middle East crisis, Global
warming, the Black Hole Theory, the European Union, the significance of
the Civil War, what Martin Luther King was saying in his letter from a
Birmingham jail. You are not likely to be well read on all these topics.
You will need to read something, do some research, talk to a professor.
That is the real pleasure of this journey of the mind. When you experience
first hand the joy of learning through inquiry, critical thinking, investigation,
and discussion. When that happens for all Bridgewater College students,
this will truly be a learning community, and Bridgewater will indeed be
an extraordinary college.
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