ABSTRACT
Many new teachers struggle to negotiate their position of authority in the classroom. Arguably, this struggle stems from the common misconception that sound authority must develop in a teacher-centered classroom. However, when teachers shift these assumptions and intentionally look beyond the distracting behaviors of students, they find that students do not need to be “managed” but seen. In fact, healthy, full, life-giving authority develops as a natural bi-product in classrooms where teachers invite students to recognize and live into their own dignity—with all of its implicit demands and rewards—as learners and members of the classroom community.
