Teacherly authority!

What we are often missing out from this powerful concept

‘Teacherly authority’ (explored in detail by Zak Stein*) is a powerful concept, unique to humans, which affords cultural transmission.

The basic mechanism is asymmetric, one person (the teacher) has a greater capacity than the other (the student) which is recognised by the student and who thereby accepts to pay attention to what the teacher is paying attention to.  The student may pay attention through coercion (a model which was dominant in schools in the past but is much less effective today) or because they value what there is to be learnt.

That is the basic premise.  What is sometimes missed is that teacherly authority affords cultural transmission and not simply transmission of subject knowledge/skills.

Students recognise in the very best teachers that there are life lessons to be learnt by being with and around such teachers and that the actual subject is incidental, they will willingly do their best work because they want to continue in the best possible relationship to their teacher.

Clearly, such a teacher must be competent in setting work, etc. but the hurdle of student engagement has already been overcome. Teachers who can do this are in the minority.

How do these teachers do it?  There are multiple ways.

One is to be passionate about their subject.  Last week I spoke about students needing to learn the value of commitment, this is a life lesson they can learn from these teachers, and this is available to teachers at any level of experience.

Another way that is available to all teachers, but with some effort in self-management, is to use unconditional love/respect for every student.  What students learn is that they also can reflect before they respond, and they do not need to respond defensively when challenged.

A third is simply to be wise, not usually available to the young but of great value when achieved by leaders affording them the ability to provide teacherly authority vis-à-vis students, teachers and others in the school community.

What is clear is that a simple focus on delivering the curriculum is no longer enough, teachers must engage fully to fully engage students.

 * Stein, Zachary (2019) Education in a Time Between Worlds: Essays on the Future of Schools, Technology, and Society, Bright Alliance San Francisco Bay Area

I am presenting a webinar on Thursday 3rd March at 12 pm AEDT (click here to register) which will consider why the collection and use of student feedback is such an important tool for managing engagement.

In anticipation of this event if you would like a complimentary copy of my book Student Feedback, please email me with your postal address.

John Corrigan is an expert in helping individuals to bring their whole of mind to their daily life and increase their effectiveness and the effectiveness of those around them. This expertise scales from the individual to the team to the organisation. At the core of this work is the practice of encounter.  Earlier blogs can be found here.

• To purchase a copy of Red Brain Blue Brain, Student Feedback or Why We Teach go here