The Scary Teacher
Authoritarian versus Authoritative Teaching
Recently, I had an education consultant teach a mathematics lesson to my students. Our school district hired a consulting agency to coach teachers to incorporate workshop teaching into our mathematics instruction. I wasn’t unhappy when I first learned about this initiative. I’ve been teaching mathematics using a workshop model for a few years, and I was looking forward to receiving some outside feedback on my pedagogical technique. Even though I believe my students are thinking regularly about mathematics on a deeper level, I still struggle to engage everyone in their small groups. I usually have a handful of students wandering around the classroom looking to chat with a peer about something not-mathematics related.
So far this school year, our work with this agency has involved co-planning a mathematics lesson with my colleagues, co-teaching that same lesson together1, and learning more about the benefits of using a workshop model. My initial excitement has waned after some not-so-great experiences with our assigned consultant. I’ve been interrupted mid-sentence and redirected multiple times during a single lesson. While being observed, I was told to stop what I was doing and immediately transition my students from their collaborative small groups, to their tables for independent work. The most egregious was seeing this consultant interrupt one of my students while they were explaining their mathematical thinking to me.2 As a result, I requested to have this consultant teach a lesson for me to observe so that I could see what they envisioned a mathematics workshop routine looked like.
I have a chatty class this year. At least six students are talking during every minute of every day. They talk through my directions. They talk during instructional videos. They talk during independent work time. They even talk during a celebratory movie!
I realize that I will never get 100% participation from my students. It’s a myth. No matter how engaging I am, there will always be a small percentage of students either zoning out, unmotivated, or disengaged from the learning experience. It’s been something I’ve struggled with this year, and although I’ve had some good classroom discussions regarding our learning environment, and seen improvements in students’ engagement and focused attention to class work, there are still many afternoons when I go home frustrated after being interrupted 1000 times before lunch that day.
I’m not proud to admit, but when I learned that this consultant would be teaching a lesson to my students, especially after my most recent interaction, my schadenfreude flared, and I quietly hoped that my students would give them a run for their money. The day came and I was prepared with the worksheets and supplies they requested. I took a seat in the back of the classroom and settled in to observe the train wreck.
I’ve never been in any sort of evaluative role, however, as a former instructional coach, I have had experience with providing actionable feedback to teachers. I also have been evaluated dozens of times in my 22 years, so, I sat there with my notepad and took notes on teacher-talk time, movement around the room, the framing of the learning, and how they interacted with my students. I paid particular attention to how they structured this workshop lesson so as to gradually build my students’ understanding.
I won’t bore you with the details of this lesson. Needless to say, I was not impressed. However, one thing that completely shocked me was how my students behaved: they were perfect angels! I’ve never seen them so quiet. My students who normally get up and wander the room, sharpening their pencils eight times to avoid working, sat patiently in their seats. No one interrupted the consultant. When they told them to work on the worksheet, everyone quietly participated! It was maddening to see my classroom of students transformed into these compliant beings. What happened my students?
The lesson only lasted about 30 minutes, so as soon as they left, I gathered them together for an emergency class meeting. I wanted answers!
My students are well-versed in our weekly learning environment discussion protocol, so I sat in the center of the classroom and asked my students, What did you like about that lesson? What would you have changed? What did you like about how that lesson was taught? What would you have preferred? Students were aware that the consultant was there to provide me with a model for effective mathematics workshop instruction. They were happy to give me their thoughts and feelings regarding the structure of the lesson. Again, I took dutiful notes. No one had yet mentioned the elephant in the room, mainly why students were so well-behaved. I couldn’t contain myself. Finally, I asked, Why were you all so well-behaved? I called out a few students specifically. Why didn’t you get up to sharpen your pencil? Why didn’t you wander around the room like you normally do? Why didn’t anyone interrupt the consulting teacher? Why was everyone working?
They are scary. We were afraid.
I couldn’t believe it! They were scared into submission. Since working with this consultant, I have never voiced any of my frustrations or concerns about this teacher. I’ve never told my students that I don’t agree with how they interact with the other teachers and students in the room. During the lesson, I never observed this teacher discipline any of my students. They were not overly strict. And yet, my students collectively knew that this teacher was someone whom they could not be their authentic selves around. I was shocked. My follow-up question to them was, Should I be more like they are? Am I not strict enough? You can imagine the flurry of No’s I received. The discussion that followed was fascinating. I tried to understand the subtle differences to my own teaching that my students unanimously felt, but that I did not notice during the lesson. I did observe that for a workshop model, there was very little student collaboration. It was a traditional lesson where the teacher controls the pace at which students work, and then students’ answers are shared with the class.
The biggest complaint students had was that the teacher did not ask for consent before sharing student examples. In fact, I saw this as well when the teacher asked a student who had done the problem incorrectly, to share how they solved the problem. The teacher used this as an example of a mathematical misstep, and a chance to publicly instruct the rest of the class on how the preferred way to solve the problem. During our debrief, students were upset about this particular moment, and would have preferred more collaborative work time so that table groups could explore the worksheet problems together and discuss how best to solve each one.
Some students did share that they liked how much explaining the teacher did, and that there was an option for working independently instead of as a group. I observed and wrote down this note as well, including some probing questions the teacher asked that kept students productively struggling through each story problem.
Even though I never saw any overtly mean behavior, in all of the feedback the students gave me, the sentiment was strong: The teacher was mean and scary.
Authoritarian versus Authoritative
As much as I secretly long for a learning experience where every student hangs on my every word, the truth is that I value student voice more than I value complete compliance. I think what my students were feeling during this math lesson was the authoritarian nature of the consultant. Even though they never raised their voice, or threatened a student, this teacher exerted complete control over every aspect of the lesson. The only student voice that was permitted was when solicited by the teacher, and only to confirm the intended learning objective or methodology by which the teacher wanted students to arrive at the objective. When a students had an contrarian view, the teacher used it as an example of what not to do or think instead of an opportunity to challenge the teacher’s prefered methods. The teacher dictated the format and pace of the lesson and what thinking was to be shared during the lesson.
For students who already understood the learning objective and the concept being taught, this format was anodyne. They were indifferent to this teacher’s pedagogical practice because they knew exactly how to behave and what the teacher expected them to say. For those who were confused, they were unsure how to ask for clarification (or even scared to do so). What I find interesting about my notes during the lesson, is that I observed this teacher interact with less than 30% of the class. I watched how they visited the same 2-3 tables of students multiple times throughout the lesson, completely ignoring those who were confused or disengaged. I really struggled watching my students remain confused and not able to help them.3
This is not how I run my classroom. When I asked my students if teaching lessons in this way would make for a better (and more efficient) classroom experience, they immediately disagreed. When pressed, they struggled to articulate why. I believe they felt on a social, emotional, and even intuitive level that this was not the type of learning environment they wanted, even if the majority of my students were accustomed to this type of environment, making it easy to fall back into line.
I have always tried to balance structure with student agency. I wish I could say that I have mastered this ebb and flow, but there are many days when my students become too rowdy and I have to raise my voice or tighten my classroom management. Despite having clear expectations, the truth is that my students are ten years old, and have spent the majority of their academic lives sitting still and obeying orders. When they enter my classroom, they experience school-culture shock because for the first time in their lives I encourage student participation and feedback. In fact, these are the two most important aspects of our classroom community.
As an authoritative teacher, I create a learning environment where I seek student input as much as possible. I expect collaboration and prioritize the needs of our classroom community over the wants of each individual member. This does not mean that my individual students do not get what they need to be successful. Students are encouraged to advocate for themselves and use their classroom community’s resources to get what they need. This means that sometimes another student is better positioned to provide help or encouragement than I am as the teacher. We over Me.
Is this a perfect pedagogical practice? Not even close. My students are still ten-year-old kids and kids test boundaries and take advantage of privileges. Kids don’t always follow our Classroom Commitments. Students make mistakes with natural consequences. In these moments, I amplify my students’ humanity over their mistakes. We all make mistakes. I want my students to learn from their mistakes, even if it means messing up multiple times. In our classroom, love, compassion, and grace are abundance resources. In our classroom we LEAVE, LEAD, LIVE, and LOVE.
LEAVE places better than you found them
LEAD from wherever you are
LIVE a life that matters
LOVE the community greater than yourself
I didn’t realize it then, but when I asked about being more like the consulting teacher, what I was asking them was if they wanted me to dehumanize my pedagogy. Of course not! Should I focus more on obedience to the rules or my students’ character? When phrased this way, the answer is clear, even if I make mistakes. Sometimes, I am too permissive (or even indulgent) with my students. Sometimes, when I feel stressed and overwhelmed, I turn into a more authoritarian teacher. I never stay their long, though.
I am reminded of a speech that Dr Yaw Adutwum, Ghana’s Education Minister, gave at the 77th UN General Assembly on transforming education. He stated,
In all my encounters in Ghanaian classrooms we have tamed the children. We just want them to write down what we tell them on the day of exams. They should put down what we have told them. We say you are the best student the country has ever known. That kind of education system will not transform Ghana.
My free-flowing classroom, where students are questioning the status quo or working collaboratively in small groups or helping a peer, can become unwieldy at times. As a veteran classroom teacher, I continue to struggle with classroom management. However, I often remind myself that my job is not to tame my students. It is to empower and challenge them to grow into decent human beings. And I can’t do this by being the mean teacher. I can only be myself that that has to be enough.
Have a great week!
— Adrian
Resources
This is one of my favorite math TED Talks!
is an incredible speaker and his Substack, , is chock-full of excellent resources for teachers.
Jo Boaler is a British education author and Nomellini–Olivier Professor of mathematics education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She is the author of a number of excellent books on teaching mathematics, including Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching and most recently, Math-ish: Finding Creativity, Diversity, and Meaning in Mathematics. Her website, youcubed, is filled with everything from articles, to videos, to posters to hang in your classroom.
GFletchy | Three-Act Math Tasks
Graham Fletcher is my go-to for open-ended mathematical thinking tasks, math progressions, and problem-based challenges for my students. His website is a gold mine filled with so many great resources for teaching mathematics.
I love Math for Love! They have some excellent free lessons and videos for every part of your mathematics classroom. From openers to progressions to puzzles, there is a lot of great stuff here for you to explore.
Math at Home | Math Learning Center
The Math Learning Center creates resources, curriculum, and professional development that build mathematical confidence and ability. These math activities are the most aligned with our current mathematics curriculum.
Kyle Pearce has amassed a ton of mathematics resources, including more 3-Act Tasks, many of which are applied to math in the real world. Even
has his own collection of 3-Act Real-World Math Tasks on this website.
Problem-Based Math Lessons & Full Units of Study | Make Math Moments
Make Math Moments contains full mathematics lessons and units of study for Elementary, Middle, and High School students. I appreciate how tasks are organized by standard, grade-level, and topic.
26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Conversation In The Classroom | TeachThought
I use many of these sentence stems in my mathematics thinking classroom. Especially with my multi-language learners (MLLs), it is important to have sentence stems that allow every student to participate and practice using mathematics vocabulary.
I found this video very helpful as I continue to reflect on my teaching style. Teaching is both an art and a science, and I care about improving in both.
This was quite an experience! I’ve never taught a lesson with four other adults in the room, each taking turns teaching a different aspect of the lesson. It went about as you’d expect!
What could have been so pressing that I needed to stop what I was doing and transition to a different learning activity?
Luckily, I saw students subversively helping each other when the teacher wasn’t looking!
Thanks Adrian, I found myself in this post (as I so often do). I'm always frustrated by observations because the moment an outsider enters the classroom the entire dynamic changes; the air shifts from relational to performative, familial to formal. This compliance is the difference between student behaviour on the first day of school, compared to the Friday before the break.
Like you, I run a 'messy classroom'. I'm comfortable with a little chaos because, even in the midst of the classroom danse I know exactly what's going on with every student all the time. I know so many teachers use fear and authoritarian classroom management to subdue students because it's easier than relationship. I know because my students confide in me when they feel unjustly treated by other teachers. Because they feel safe, they will also share their dreams, fears, and soulful questions.
I love that you're a teacher who holds the values of your students above those of the expert consultant. I also appreciate that you continue to challenge your methods, self-reflecting and taking in outside input even when you feel you're on the right track.
Wow Mr.neibauer, I have been reading through your substacks, and I think I understand your motive. Let’s be honest I’d be mad too! I personally as an individual will try to do better and end this school year with a BANG! Your teaching is not formal and strict it’s very creative and gives us a chance to grow. I’m growing as a learner more than you may see! - Morgan Camacho, your student