The Incredible Power of a Teacher

This is the first post in a series about foundational concepts in teaching applied to a church setting.

“Who is the teacher?” is often the first question people ask about a class whether it’s a kid’s school class, a class at a gym, or a class at church. At some level people recognize, to paraphrase the late Haim Ginott, that it is the teacher who is the decisive element in the classroom, the one who creates the climate, and is the one with power to create a class of torture or inspiration. If you have ever wished classes at church were better, welcome! While the church does have a teacher training manual, it has gaps. This is the first in a series of posts attempting to distill a bit of teaching theory and practice into digestible pieces applicable in a church setting.

Why this series? It is because I know good people who are asked to teach and it can be tough. The teenager working at the nearest fast food joint likely received more training than the person teaching at church. While many people don’t have an issue with church classes, others may be bored, some may be lonely, some may have questions. Many others of us have been harmed at church or have loved ones for whom a church is not a good place to be. This. Must. Change.

Power

A Teacher’s Awesome Power by educator, author, and activist Mary Ann Raywid was the first reading assignment of my graduate teaching program. Consider the power of a teacher and how that power is used. Is this something you have thought about before in the context of a church setting? Raywid adeptly identifies the ways in which the power a teacher uses in the classroom can be a benefit or detriment to the students. While this essay is directed towards professional teachers in formal educational settings, the power and obligations discussed are as applicable to a religious setting as they are in an academic setting.

Raywid states that teacher power is awesome with regard to establishing and controlling the social environment of the classroom. Examples of this type of power in a church setting include:

• Who gets to ask questions? The teacher, the class members, or both?
• Will some class time be spent learning each other’s names and getting to know each other?
• Are class members shamed for asking questions or expressing different opinions?
• Are children treated with respect or seen as a group to control?
• Do teachers recognize the emotional power they hold over class members, especially over children and teens, to influence that person’s experience and perception of church, God and their value as a human being?

The existence of the power of a teacher is an important one to address. If it seems like a big concept to wrap your mind around, that’s ok. As Raywid points out, it is most important to maintain our awareness of the existence of power. Simply being aware that there is a power differential between a teacher and class members is a significant first step because power differentials are often not openly acknowledged at church.

“Teachers’ awesome power seems to impose heavy obligations. Extensive moral responsibility flows from the power to benefit and to harm.”

Mary Ann Raywid, educator, author, activist

Obligations

With great power comes great responsibility. Whether you are a fan of Spider Man, the French Revolution, the Sword of Damocles, or the Parable of the Faithful Servant, this phrase has stuck for hundreds of years because it illuminates a truth vital for effective teaching. The church’s teaching manual identifies this responsibility as loving everyone in the classroom. Raywid expounds upon four obligations that come with the power of being a teacher.

First, a teacher’s obligations extend to every class member. You might like some kids and adults more than others and yet you are obligated to every class member. So much pain and harm can come from not recognizing the importance of this obligation. Many people leave church because they feel like they don’t fit in. Fitting-in isn’t the goal. People need belonging. Belonging and fitting in are opposites. Read Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown to learn more about belonging or watch this 30-second clip.

Second, teachers have an obligation to at least try to get to know their class members. For adult classes, simply getting to know everyone’s names and helping class members learn each other’s names would be an improvement. Do not assume that people know each other because they attend church together. If you feel like doing an experiment, try seeing if you can name everyone in your next class.

Third, teachers have an obligation to share their power. Not sure what this looks like? Try holding a discussion at the beginning of a class to find out what people would like out of their class. Small groups? Visual presentations? Hands-on projects? Open discussion about hard topics?

Fourth, and most important, teachers must maintain an awareness that they do hold power. Many of us can remember church experiences that shaped for better or worse how we felt about ourselves, our family situation, our future, our sense of being loved, and other perceptions. Often these stick with us, again for better or worse, well into adulthood.

One last thought about power. Power over is domination. Power with is partnership. At church I typically encounter people working from a ‘power over’ mindset of ‘I am in charge so I get to make the decisions’ as opposed to asking ‘how can I use my power to make church a more spiritually life giving place for those in my care?’ Imagine what would change if the second question were asked.

Power and the ways it is used is a passionate topic for me. Also, understanding power is the foundation for a discussion about trauma which is the next topic in this series. For me, it is easy to maintain a recognition of power because at church I am mostly without power. (As a woman at church I drop lower every decade and expect to disappear sometime in my 50’s.) It is a stark contrast to professional settings where I can exercise my expertise to work collaboratively with colleagues. This contrast combined with a lifetime at the bottom of the church power rung has proved to be a rich, painful, valuable education in power.

What are your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with power in church settings?