(20.) A is for Authority

(20.) A is for Authority

How should teachers and students handle authority? Question it?  Obey it? Share it, ignore it, reject it? After Jesus concluded his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:28-29, the crowds were “amazed, because he spoke as one who had authority.” What with the surplus of authority figures around them those days (Roman occupation, religious elite, Temple scholars, local rabbis, tax collectors), one wonders what made Jesus so different. Odds are people responded to his authenticity, his ability to speak the truth from his mind, heart and life experience. They sensed he was not acting out some well-worn script, and that somehow he was outside empty tradition and the status quo. Jesus had the right to speak his words, because his life was consistent with his teaching.

For many, his words had the authoritative ring of truth, because he himself authored those words. He was the genuine article, so the people listened. Fast-forward to our classroom teaching. What is the nature of a teacher’s authority? Yes, clear and reasonable boundaries are crucial. So is a firm, humane sense of accountability. But mere power misses the mark. Teachers who are limited to strong-arming students with the standard coercive threats, be they grades, detentions, title or “expertness,” are mere authoritarians. Look to the rabbi Jesus… The essence of authority comes from within the teacher: personal integrity, mutual trust and respect, genuine love for students and for learning, depth of understanding. Teachable students will be amazed when the teacher speaks with authority, and not as a mere authority figure. “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.” (Proverbs 29:2).