“I love power.  But it is as an artist that I love it.  I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies.”

I’ve been trying to help a public school system start up a charter school; it opens in just  a few weeks and right now the task seems overwhelming.  After almost 30 years, I had no intention of working in a high school again, but the people behind this endeavor are so enthusiastic and idealistic that I threw my hat in before I realized what I was doing.  I’m a sucker for projects that seem impossible to pull off.  If the cause is worthy, the people sincere, and the path not yet paved, I’m in.  I once heard someone say, “Just because something is impossible is not a good enough reason not to try.”  Despite the flagrant double negatives, ’tis true, ’tis true.  Or as I say to new teachers, “If this job were easy, anyone could do it.”  It’s all about the vision and the faith.

Yesterday I spent some time with a man who returned to college after many years of working outside of education to get his teaching credential.  I truly admire his energy, dedication, and creativity.  He’s going to be a great teacher, but we just need to get him through his first year.  We’ve spent time arranging and rearranging furniture, but the real focus has been on developing a classroom management program that will work for him.  I can show him what I do, but he has to find what makes sense to him.  I’m enjoying the process–watching the wheels turn as he listens to my advice and either asks questions or lights up with the great “Aha!”  That’s one of my favorite parts of teaching–watching the struggle transform into a workable idea that now belongs to the learner and not to me.

Any discussion of classroom management will always turn to the topic of power or control.  I believe that teachers who are successful in creating a classroom where real learning takes place understand the nature of true power.  Without a doubt, the teacher needs to take control of a classroom before the opening bell rings.  The students should leave their first session with the sense that the teacher is clearly in charge and has a plan.  New teachers receive all sorts of advice as to how to do this.  Most have been told to start out strict then lighten up as the year unfolds.  This can work if the teacher has convinced the students early on that s/he has the students’ best interests at heart and has created a curriculum worth learning.  However, I’ve seen this “don’t smile until Christmas” approach backfire horribly if the power being wielded by the teacher is false; most students can spot a person pretending to have power within the first few minutes of class.

False power relies on threats designed to make the students afraid to misbehave.  I’ve seen coaches who can pull this off, but often they have a deeper relationship with a number of influential students based on their shared experiences on the athletic field.  But a teacher who relies on shouts, physical intimidation, or public humiliation will maintain control of a class as long as that level of fear is maintained.  This, of course, is exhausting; this kind of control works only as long as the teacher is focused on making it work.  The reason this type of power is labeled “false” is that it disappears as soon as the teacher turns his/her back or relaxes for a minute.  True power is where the students behave because they choose to.  They feel they have a stake in what will happen in this class and are anxious to learn what is being taught.  The climate of the classroom quickly moves from teacher control to self control.  False power controls physical actions; true power changes people’s minds.  My job is to help the teachers tell the difference.  Such interesting work.