Authority

1. Authority

2. Authority • Definition: • Authority in teaching, as in anything else, is legitimate influence over others • Different from “power” • “Authority does not connote coercion.” • “Authority (is) reciprocal, and thus dependent upon others for its fulfillment”

3. Authority • Authority requires a climate for serious learning. • Born of teachers’ learning, stature, and behavior • Arises from the seriousness of purpose they convey to their students • Must be linked to students’ own well-being

4. Authority • Authority means mastery of the subject • Substantial knowledge of the subjects they teach is the foundation of their stature. • Can modify their approaches • Can help those behind them find their own way on the path

5. Authority • Authority is a matter of carriage and conduct as well as knowledge. • Springs as much from bearing as from study and reflection • More important: attributes of personal character and citizenship • Dignity • Civility • Compassion • fairness

6. Authority • Authority is acquired and accumulated. • Calls for unremitting effort • From practice and experience • Teachers must lose no chance to possess and deserve authority

7. Authority • Authority encourages aspiration in students. • Must have direction • Must be linked to purpose • Must be directed to students’ understanding of the world • Must be directed to the deepening of their moral lives • Must create in students a desire to surpass themselves

8. Authority • Authority requires some formal distance between teachers and students. • Authority grows from the implicit acknowledgement of their greater knowledge of a subject and of the world • Popularity is not authority

9. Authority • Authority emerges from an acknowledged difference in the status of teacher and student. • Distance, detachment, and impartiality • Must also acknowledge ignorance