I am in the middle of reading the article "The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children" and found information on teacher power and authority in the classroom (page 156) pretty interresting. The article discusses the difference between how middle class "townspeople" teachers give verbal directives to students and how many black teachers do. The author describes how middle class teachers tend to have more "light-hearted" directives such as "you want to do your best work today"; while black teachers tend to have more "harsh" directives such as "put your name on the papers and make sure to get the right answer for each question". My question for ya'll is which do you think is a better way to establish authority in the classroom and why?

I think that their should be middle ground between these two approaches. A teacher must establish authority and not waiver from it. I think that the "white approach" is too soft, while the "black approach" may be to harsh.

I think as teachers we should not be afraid of authority. We need to have control of the classroom and to do so the students must understand that you are in charge. We must remember that the students are our pupils not our friends. I am not saying that we need to have the yard stick in our hands 24/7 but be assertive and "harsh," as the article calls it, when the time calls for it. Don't be afraid to be the one in charge.

I think this ultimately goes back to tracking. In remedial or standard level classes, kids are used to being reminded to pull out their papers, open their books, etc.. In honors and AP classes, many are ready to take notes before the bell rings. Part of this is from the socialization they have received in schools and at home, and part of it is based on the type of teaching. Unfortunately, the lower levels are usually made up of lower income and minority kids, who have been tracked and therefore, taught in a authoritative, basic way for years.

Just because these kids are socialized to receive very basic instruction, doesn't mean they can't learn without it. I disagree with the author's premise in the article. If a teacher justifies his/her teaching methods to the students and models the types responses desired, they can use just about any method for any group.

I believe that taking an assertive stance is the best policy. This means that the students see both the "harsh" side of the teacher and the passive side of the teacher if that is what it comes to. The students need to understand that not all of life is light-hearted, not all life is agressive in nature. Students need to see both sides in order to prepare them for life in the "real world."

I have seen both of these methods used in classes before, the class I am interning in right now is a great example of how a teacher can use a middle ground approach to teaching all students. This particular teacher has a "low level" class, a class of "middle level" students and an Honors class. This particular teacher uses a stern but fair and understanding approach and all of his classes respond in the same way. They give him the respect he deserves and he gives them the same respect. This particular teacher has really become sort of a role model in the teaching field for me. I definitely think that this middle ground approach is the way to go: stern, but not an Ogre.

I feel like that at first, finding what works for you in your classroom will be challenging to find. I don't think that teachers should act as dictators in the classroom, which often leaves the kids feeling powerless and disengaged. However, I don't think that a sweet whatever kind of attitude is appropriate either. These are both extreme cases and I think that as long as you find an approach somewhere between these two your chances of success are greater. Control of your classroom is definitely essential to good teaching, and I think that you can adjust according to the needs of the students in your classroom.

As Brittany said, there has to be a middle ground. Authority in a classroom is a big issue. As a teacher it is important to establish authority early in the school year (first and second week). If you don't then, you lose so much more class time during the year correcting students, than you would if you had spent the first couple weeks establishing the ground rules, and expectations of the class.

I think it depends on what type of environment you're dealing with. If students do not wish to respect you as being a teacher, then sometimes you have to be harsh. However, being too harsh is also a problem with this type of teaching. I have to agree with most of everyone else in saying that there is a mid-ground to these teaching styles that I think should be the primary way of addressing students in the classroom.

I believe that each class is different and can be treated differently. We need to figure out what is comforatable and important for us and our teaching style and shape these basic principles to fit each class's needs.
This may take years to perfect, but if we continue to work towards providing the best learning environment for the students, I believe (hope) it will get easier.