Introduction

Chapter 1 introduces some of the central aspects of classroom authority. These include the connections between classroom authority and classroom management, the importance of gaining students’ consent to teach, and the concept of authorizing students. The chapter introduces some of the ways people misunderstand authority, especially in its overlaps with and differences from power. As well, it introduces some of the relationships between teacher authority and diversity. The latter part of the chapter introduces the overall structure of the book and its four parts and surveys the contents of each chapter in those sections.