Adam Russell

Professor DeVries

English 5870

1 May 2009

Week #3/Commentary #2

The Distribution of Power in the Classroom

The successful teacher understands that the learning process is something that never ends. However, a power relationship should exist between the student and the teacher in order for the learning process to happen.  Fundamentally, the student must have faith in the teacher’s abilities and intelligence.  In every classroom, that ability extends to management skills and presence.  With that being said, if the instructor wants to conduct proper teacher research, they have to establish their authority in the classroom to be reciprocal in the learning process.

In “Composition from the Teacher-Research Point of View,” Ruth Ray states that “successful teacher research is usually conducted by an open-minded, inquiring teacher who sees the classroom as an egalitarian community in which he or she is but one of the learners” (175).  The “egalitarian community” that Ray stresses can only perform when the power structure of the class is firmly established.  Most teachers focus on the knowledge they must convey to students in order to meet standards, pass tests, perform at grade-level, etc., which by default requires them to engaging in continuous pedagogical refinement. This can lead to a detachment from their academic learning process. For example, when I create curriculum, I constantly gauge its effectiveness in the classroom in relation to the standards of my department and school.  A good teacher is a growing teacher, and my curriculum must grow with the changing culture of my students.  What might have been effective when I first started teaching isn’t necessarily effective today.  This could be because the students change, or that I’m tired of doing the same old thing.  When a teacher restructures the curriculum for the students in the classroom, they create an environment that facilitates learning through variety and teacher interest. In many ways, this is what Ray means when she explains that “significant learning (on the teacher’s behalf) requires [. . .] a willingness to let go” (175).  However, in order to let go, the teacher must create an environment that is conducive by establishing their presence in the classroom.

Can the dichotomy of a constant commanding presence of authority and a reciprocal learning relationship coexist in the classroom?  I understand that giving up the need to control the students’ learning allows both parties to have agency over the learning process, but is it realistic for the teacher to relinquish their role as the primary conveyor of knowledge?  The article stresses that power should not be redistributed equally, but that there should be a collaborative process in the classroom that relegates learning. I can see how this approach can be beneficial to creating agency for students, but it can create a problem when it comes to assessment. Some students might perceive a teacher’s receptivity to learning as a less than competent grasp of the subject matter. This creates an uphill battle for the teacher when they have to assume the ultimate hold of power in the classroom and assign grades.  In some ways, however, these are academic issues and not an assessment of the learning process.  Teachers must learn the demographic of their students and where they are coming from in relation to their culture, maturity, and ability level.