Democracy and higher education have been mutually beneficial. Although the first colleges on our shores were founded in colonies controlled by a British monarchy, the impressive growth of universities combining research, teaching, and education of the whole student occurred here as the country became more democratic. Slavery was the nation’s great stain, and the war fought to abolish this vile institution ended with the promise that blacks, too, should be given educational opportunities. including in colleges.

The exclusion of women from institutions of higher education began to break down in the late 19th century, and when the right to vote was finally enshrined in the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, women’s colleges were established. were established and public universities were established. recruited women.

It took time, far too long, but educational institutions eventually recognized that white supremacy, patriarchy, and the parochialism that accompanied them were barriers to learning because they prohibited inquiry. on certain topics and excluded certain people from participation in research and teaching. During the colonial era and soon after independence, colleges aimed to train the clergy, but over time they saw their role as providing the country with educated citizens.

By the end of the 19th century, the research university was beginning to take off, which meant fostering specialized research in areas that professional academics deemed worthy of exploration. Professors valued their academic freedom because it allowed them to explore topics and issues that might disturb those outside the campus walls.

Academic freedom also allowed universities to create teaching environments free from official censorship or the soft despotism of pandering to commercial popularity. The classroom was a space for professors to share their professional expertise with students who could in turn explore ideas and methodologies without fear of externally imposed orthodoxies. In recent years, of course, teachers have been accused of imposing their own narrow views on those who study with them. They were accused of abandoning their professional roles and substituting their own personal opinions for scientific research.

Colleges depend on the professionalism of their professors to adjudicate allegations of bias in the classroom. At best, teachers debate among themselves about how and what they should teach, and the more advanced the students, the more likely it is that they will have their own views on what should happen in the classroom. In most fields (and especially in STEM and related fields), the issue of indoctrination rarely comes up. The class focuses on exploring demanding methodologies and complex content.

Everyone knows that teachers are imperfect and that there are times when the classroom is not as free and open as one might like. This is why there are feedback mechanisms allowing teachers to adjust their way of teaching. It would be far worse to rely on outside groups – such as government agencies – to control teaching than to expect teachers to self-correct based on regular feedback. Education is based on the freedoms of democracy, and these should protect it from interference by politicians.

This is why what is happening now is so worrying. During this election season, we have seen a dramatic escalation of attacks on the autonomy of our educational institutions. These go hand in hand with attacks on democracy. Both are directly threatened by populist authoritarianism in this country and around the world. When Donald Trump attacks his opponents like thugs and vermin and threatens to use the army against them, or when he proposes his own national university to replace the elites so despised by his base, he declares his intention to remake higher education in the image of the violent sect he leads. Vice presidential candidate JD Vance said the college is the enemy.

Some academics and public intellectuals may shrug their shoulders, saying either that “other politicians aren’t that great either” or that politicians don’t really mean what they say. They rely on their privileged status to protect themselves, even as they ignore the profound threats to the freedom of expression and inquiry on which their privilege rests.

Attacks on higher education, on democracy, on the rule of law threaten to sweep away hard-won freedoms over the past 100 years. Education is a process by which individuals develop their abilities for exploration, collaboration and creative work. They learn to treat new ideas with curiosity and respect, while also teaching them to evaluate those ideas critically. They learn skills that will be valued in the job market and habits of mind and spirit that will help them thrive throughout their lives. They learn to think for themselves so that they can become engaged citizens in a democracy and not fearful subjects of a dictator.

During times of cultural and economic change, great pressures are often placed on education, because at such times people struggle to agree on what is meaningful, let alone admirable. Ours is one of those times. But we can agree that alarmism and prejudice are wrong and that we should strive together to find ways to “cultivate individuality in such a way as to strengthen the social sympathy of the individual,” as John Dewey said. informed.

In the United States, education and democracy can continue to protect and nurture each other. In the days ahead, we must reject the cultivated ignorance that serves to fan the flames of hatred. Instead, we must defend the freedom to learn together in our schools, colleges and universities so that as a nation we can continue our democratic experiment, knowing that we have a long way to go, but striving towards a more perfect union.