From the Latin cathedra (which, in turn, has its origin in a Greek word that means “seat”), the chair is the particular subject or faculty taught by a professor (a professor who has met certain requirements to impart knowledge and who has achieved the highest position in teaching). The term is also used to name the job and exercise of the professor.
For example: “The head of the chair has not yet appeared at the university”, “The Gómez chair is the most difficult in Latin American History”, “The holder of this chair is a researcher trained in North America, with extensive work experience field ”.
According to DigoPaul, the notion of chair is also used to name the classroom in a teaching center, the elevated seat from where a teacher teaches classes and the kind of pulpit with a seat where professors explain the contents to students.
For religion, the chair is the chair that the bishop occupies in his cathedral during liturgical services. By extension, choir chairs, pulpits, confessionals, the womb where the prelate resides or even the episcopal dignity is often known as a chair.
In colloquial language, the chair is linked to a high degree of knowledge or skill, often linked to performance in a game or sport: “Lend me the racket, I’m going to give a chair on how to play tennis on cement”, ” The player lectured and scored three goals in twenty minutes ”, “ I can’t stand Ernesto when he talks about politics: he always tries to teach, as if we were fools ”.
Academic freedom
It is known by the name of academic freedom to a right that is fundamental in the academic field. It is about the right to exercise as a Superior teacher with total freedom, that is, without doctrinal limits impeding the healthy flow of knowledge and debate.
It is part of the concept of academic freedom, which also includes the freedom of all teachers to carry out research and dissemination work, to express with total openness their opinions about the educational institution or the system under which they work, to fight against attempts at censorship and membership in academic organizations or professional bodies.
It is important to note that academic freedom has certain limits, as is the case in other cases. The mass media often publish stories about university professors who instill in their students strong unconstitutional ideas and opinions, in an effort to convey a way of thinking they consider correct; but this sparks a wide debate.
In the first place, the exercise of this freedom by teachers must be carried out within a framework of fidelity to the Constitution itself; In no case is a manifestation contrary to the values consecrated by it justified, although this does not mean that it is not possible to rationally criticize its precepts, with the aim of encouraging students to think for themselves, to accept the mandates through of the analysis.
On the other hand, a correct interpretation of the declaration of academic freedom clearly underlines that it is about the absence of barriers to teaching within the framework of the contents related to the subject matter of teaching, which does not include the right not to work, or to instill ideas outside the program.
In the same way, every student has the right to be based on theories and alternative content to those dictated by their teachers, as established by the freedom of study, which should not have a negative impact on their academic life. This can be interpreted as another of the limits of academic freedom, since its exercise should not violate the rights of students.