I feel that a lot of what makes up the student-teacher divide is the concept of authority. Authority carries with it such a depth of meaning that it is easy to jump to false implications. Such as “I Know A Lot” = Authority = Respect Me = I Am Powerful. I have experienced again and again the way “higher-ups” feel they have to exert themselves, as if their “authority” was the basis of having a student-teacher relationship (not that kind of relationship, silly).
Yes, the dictionary says that authority is the power or right to give orders and enforce obedience. But in the complete sense of the word, obedience is a personal decision on the part of the follower. Therefore, as long as the student never completely obeys the teacher, the teacher does not have authority.
Authority is not had, it is given. When someone informs you, and you believe him, you are allowing him to form you (because the information you acquired is bound to influence your decisions) and thus, you are giving him authority. (PS: This is not my original idea, I just read this from somewhere but unfortunately forgot who wrote it. Any of you readers know?)
Authority is not what defines the student and teacher relationship. It is the result of that relationship, wherein the student trusts the teacher enough to inform and form him. Authority is not the thing which allows the teacher to teach the student. Rather, it is the reward of successful mentoring.
And like authority, trust is earned, not taken as a given. How to get students to trust their teachers? Get the teachers to listen.
What’s your take on this? I’m listening.
9 January 2007 at 6:49 pm
i completely agree.
its kinda like..
walang mangaalipin kung walang paaalipin..
except on a lighter note. ;p
we do have that choice guys.
10 January 2007 at 3:11 pm
true. so true
15 January 2007 at 8:06 pm
Oh oh.. knowing the current belief today, that is so dificult to practice. Teachers believe they know everything, you know
16 January 2007 at 8:30 pm
hehehe…. the division of AUTHORITY… Should be equal….IT IS EQUAL…. It is just US STUDENTS who think that its not right… IT IS EQUAL… WE JUST MAKE IT INEQUAL//.
20 January 2007 at 12:47 pm
hai 2 all people. first of all,,, ma divide man jud na ang authority sa teachers between students. Of course becos if there is no division of the powers, kanang the…..respecting trait kay mawala. U know… and furthermore,, the end.
(T_$$)
22 January 2007 at 10:46 pm
GOD COMPLEX
A god complex is a colloquial term used to portray a perceived character flaw as if it were a ‘psychological complex’. The person who is said to have a ‘god complex’ can act so arrogantly that he might as well believe he is a god or appointed to act by a god.
Some believe that ‘god complexes’ are “particularly common in arrogant, highly educated, worldly, or powerful people.”
28 January 2007 at 10:50 pm
Yep..they think they know everything..tsk3x
28 January 2007 at 10:52 pm
naknak Says:
January 15th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Oh oh.. knowing the current belief today, that is so dificult to practice. Teachers believe they know everything, you know
8 February 2007 at 9:37 pm
well.. i agree with what you say.. but in a sense isn’t it funny to ask for equal authority in the classroom?.. isn’t it the role of the teacher to form you?..
if we all ask for equal authority then of what use is having a teacher?.. we might as well not go to school and try to learn on our own because having equal or no authority is useless in a classroom environment.. for me, a purpose of a teacher is to teach, guide and form us. we should adhere and respect the teacher even though you might think he/she is not that intelligent. he/she wouldn’t be in the classroom if he/she didn’t have sufficient knowledge. it’s true that they don’t know everything but what do you guys expect them to do? look stupid so you doubt what they teach you?.. being a scholar doesn’t make you any better than them, it only shows how lucky you are to be blessed with a very capable mental capacity. (errr.. does that sound right?)..
it’s probably true that some teachers practice authority in the wrong way but plain stupidity, arrogance and being narrow minded is in a totally different league from what you are asking for.. maybe you can confront your teacher if you have a problem with her attitude.. just dont waste your time on school if your asking for equal authority. and btw, discipline would be useless if there is no one there to practice his/her authority.
well.. that’s just my opinion XD
8 February 2007 at 10:04 pm
hi, it seems you have misinterpreted the aim of this post. i did not mean to advocate equal authority in the classroom. what i am saying is that teachers should keep in mind that their authority is not inherent; that is something that the students give to them. much like we say that respect cannot be taken for granted, it is given.
hope that clarifies things for you.
8 February 2007 at 10:21 pm
errr.. i know.. i read the post and i totally agree with what you said.. authority is supposed to be earned and it doesn’t come automatically with the title..
but the replies sort of imply a need for equal authority.. i was just trying to prove a point before others start to join in on the bandwagon.. XD
sorry..
no offence meant.. *peace*
6 March 2007 at 9:27 pm
(i really need to express this RIGHT NOW! pwede dialect?)
Okey, so i know i’m not a very good student, and most of the time my grades are LOW (but not below 80 or something). But i do have the right to improve right?
gradings ago ( probabaly a year ago), i decided to “improve”, change my style to recieve BETTER and MORE comforting grades. I’ve planned to have it like that but something discouraged me.
my “improving my grades” project was succesfull actually. all my grades went up, except 3. the 1st was quite understandable because it needed good memory, which i do not have, the 2nd i for gave because she really doesn’t know anything at all (but she still sucks), the third i cannot forive because i did my BEST (or something close to the word BEST), but still i didn’t had that increase.
i would have taken it lightly if only wala ko’y naexert. pero naa man gud. and the sad thing is it even decreased!
shaks sad intawn uie. daghan na sad ko nabantayan na almost all of my outputs in this particular subject have an equivalent grade of 85%, if not something that doesn’t exceed 90%, basta xa ang mu.check. i’ve compared it with some of my classmates. ang makakuha ra og perfect score kay ang part ra sa top ten.
what i’m angry about is the fact that if started out as stupid student you will remain stupid, unsa man diay ni? once bogo always bogo? ang naay chance mu.bright ang bright ra daan.
lain jud bitaw kaau. wala nay lami magtarong kay kahibaw ra man sad ka ang highest grade nimo kay dili ang perfect score. ang lowest kay dili sad ang ZERO.
9 April 2007 at 9:25 pm
u try 2 compare clearly ur outputs wid ur classmates. even wid ur batchmates b4 u will judge dat teacher! try 2 delve thoroughly wether 8s complete or not kay d pud ka kakuha ug grade pareha namo kung kulang ang imong gihimo bisan pag a mileston and imong ghimong effort! tan awa pud ang ubang d topten, kung la pud ba cla nkakuhag perfect scor!
pagsure uy!
remember, constant CORRECT PRACTICE makes perfect dili ang mag cgeg practice lang coz a practice s still an effort!
hinumdumi na! u wil realize dat samd!
perhaps, not yet now!!!!
10 April 2007 at 5:50 pm
btaw2… you wont get that grade man sad if dili ka deserving.. nya nanu icompara man nimu imu self sa top 10??? tan.awa kuno imu kaugalingon.. mao na in.ana ila grades because they did their part… kaw, mkaingon ka na uv exerted much effort because that’s what u think.. but to tell u imu ra kaugalingon ang g.ingon ana.. so kay imu rah man self g.ingon ana mau na imo gthink na skto pero d man gud.. try to look for some more stuffs nga mkaingon jud ka na nahanglan jud na musaka imong grado.. unsaon mana pgsaka kung u urself dili ka mu figure out sa unsa imong sayop.. sont blame the techer….
next time… hap.. yaw pgpalabi sa imo gbati..
22 April 2007 at 12:36 am
*applauds*
5 May 2007 at 5:11 am
I wonder why some teachers have this “God Complex” plaguing them?
19 May 2007 at 12:02 pm
so sad. the teachers that i grew to love are going/are already out of the school. not that it matters so much to me cause i already graduated but, i believe that these teachers were really great in what they do man gud. nya luoy ang remaining batches cause they didnt get the chance to be under them. they were fair and really encouraged the students to learn. pasabton jud ang tanan mga estudyante. jamming pa jud kaayo sila. they really earned the respect and we gave it to them. i’ll really miss them jud talaga.
22 July 2007 at 6:29 pm
This is too difficult to explain.
But I agree on the idea about bringing the balance between the students and the teachers. If we cannot maintain this, chaos will soon fall upon the land. To tell you the truth, this has happened to me or to my section or even to my batch. Good thing it ended positively.
“It is not on who is right but what is right, that is of importance”.
17 October 2007 at 9:35 pm
Well for those know it all teachers who don’t know anything, I just stand up, point my finger at him and say “You don’t know how to teach!” hehehe.
10 February 2008 at 11:58 pm
uhh..guys..i think the teachers have authority over us students..being our second parents and all…they teach us and form us to become better individuals.. and besides, they are our elders so we should always respect them whether we like it or not . because we students, have no right over the teachers because they are “the teachers” . but teachers must also learn from us, teaching is a give and take process.. problem with our teachers is that they never listen to our suggestions thinking we are insulting them once we suggest something better than their ideas… they’re narrow minded. and they blame us saying that we are to proud bla3..we think we’re smarter than them..bla3… and all that crap.. teachers must also be open to our suggestions… and i think our teachers are not the best 2nd parents because they themselves, instead of setting good exampes for us to follow, silay mag.una2 ug do ug bad stuff…you know what i mean…especially the principal..wa silay mga values!!!
to can i have better grades without shaking his narrow head?..
i know late na ayu ni na post..so like last year..but i wanna tell you that murag ingn ana jud na ang style sa sci hi..a friend of mine tole me once that he’s tired of trying his best because no matter what, the teacher never appreciates him… mura rag wala iya efforts…but i’m not telling you to give up..try and try until you reach your goal.. don’t mind others…don’t compare yourself with other students, rather, compare yourself with your own performance and figure out a way to become a better performer than the previous you…
27 February 2008 at 4:38 pm
all alumni of scihi please join our new alumni site, students are welcome to join also:
http://www.scihi-cebu.com/forum/index.php?referrerid=171
let us unite and address this concern together post your ideas on the site and we will go from there…..