Is The Word Of The Teachers Still Authoritative?

By Author: Max Rasmussen
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The appalling murder of Samuel Paty may lead one to think that the word of a teacher is no longer authoritative in certain situations where teachers teach knowledge that is included in the school curriculum but is contested by part of the social body. What are the causes and consequences of such a weakening? What resources can teachers rely on? But also, what limits to their action?
In order to better understand the issues at stake in the classroom, we must first go back to the different conceptions of truth that have intersected throughout history, that of knowledge, that of information, and that of beliefs. I’m Max Rasmussen from wowessays, let’s watch.
Let us recall that before 1789, under the Ancien Régime, knowledge emanated from a transcendent (God), from whom certain men - the king above all - held their authority. During the Renaissance, the printing press, Protestantism, and the free thinkers contributed to questioning the principle of transcendence in favor of the principle of rationality: knowledge was then legitimized because of the coherence of statements.
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... Since the period of the Enlightenment, the continuous development of science has further strengthened the principle of rationality. But it does not prevent knowledge from being questioned or even contested. There are several reasons for this:
For starters, many people believe that scientific knowledge's truth is only transient. Knowledge reflects the current state of our understanding, which is inherently developing. Furthermore, when technological rationality was placed to the service of world and colonial wars or totalitarian systems during the twentieth century, the idea of ongoing human development through reason, science, and "civilization" was severely weakened. These factors have had a role in the delegitimization of knowledge.
Second, the rise of digital technology - and the associated idea of a "knowledge society" - conflates science with knowledge and reduces it to information. Acquiring knowledge is essentially the same as processing data, with little connection to the fundamental human concerns that lie at the heart of the knowledge gained over generations. Nonetheless, it is the inscription of knowledge in a culture that allows us to comprehend the modern world.
Third, the advent of science did not result in the disappearance of beliefs. They provide answers to certain fundamental human concerns that are not scientific in nature. However, unlike the sciences, which generate information under very particular conditions, beliefs cannot be proven. Whether one agrees with them or not does negate the fact that they are open to interpretation.
End of the school monopoly?
One of the current difficulties comes from the confusion - sometimes openly maintained - between knowledge, beliefs, information, and opinions. Certainly, fundamentalist religious groups place their beliefs on the same level as knowledge, declaring that they speak the truth to the detriment of the latter, but they are not the only ones. In the age of post-truth, prominent politicians have turned it into a practice of exercising power, disseminating false information, or privileging questionable scientific works, sometimes with the complicity of researchers.
In essence, there are three opposing conceptions of truth:

the truth of scientific knowledge is a classical truth (something is true if it has been demonstrated by means of scientific reasoning) ;

the "knowledge society" goes hand in hand with a pragmatist truth (something is true if it produces immediate tangible effects);

beliefs are based on a revealed, non-demonstrable truth (something is true if it emanates from a transcendent, from words transcribed in sacred texts).

Now, at school, it is the first conception that prevails. It is no less in competition with the other two. School knowledge cannot be taught as beliefs. The authority of teachers can no longer be based solely on the knowledge they hold and state.
Clearly, being a scholar is a necessary, but not sufficient condition to make students learn, who contest knowledge more than in the past in the name of other authorities (family, friends, religion...). When possible, the experimental approach, but also the history of science, are precious teaching tools.
Moreover, with the "digital revolution", the school no longer has the exclusive right to transmit knowledge, and teachers no longer have a monopoly on reliable knowledge, as most students can access diversified and verifiable knowledge.
However, it is not because knowledge is available on the Internet that students access and acquire it. Thus, teachers must rethink their pedagogy, to help their students sort out knowledge (specified by the conditions of its production), information (true or false), opinion or belief, notably by identifying the sources consulted. Documentary research becomes fundamental teaching.
Let us add that in a "knowledge society", all the knowledge taught at school is no longer considered relevant. School knowledge is invested differently according to the students and their families, because of the possibilities of orientation that they allow or their immediate social utility. However, certain disciplines - for example, the arts - are essential to the development of critical thinking, openness and creativity.
Learning to learn
But the word of teachers still competes with the individualistic and productivist values of neo-liberal societies. Industrial and financial multinationals spread them by controlling the audiovisual and digital media. These new authorities "dictate" the values and behaviors of young people. They capture their attention, to satisfy their primary impulses of immediate and unlimited pleasures, to possess in order to exist and be like the others, in passivity and without effort.
Learning, on the other hand, necessitates the opposite attitude: the student must at the very least suppress his desires, bear frustration and postpone pleasure, accept a discipline that will allow him to be in a state of cognitive activity while also exerting effort over time.
Students' reflexivity about knowledge is thus becoming a major issue in schools, not only to legitimize the authority of teachers but also to enable students to develop a subjective, critical and emancipating relationship with knowledge.
Some teachers have become experts in teaching sensitive topics in school programs. There are also training programs that allow for the analysis of these situations. Pedagogues, researchers, and the Ministry of Education itself are taking up the challenge of training students in critical thinking.
Social and political stakes
The resources exist, but not all teachers are trained in them, and it is not continuing education, which is in a state of disaster, that will remedy this. It is therefore not surprising that some teachers give up on this knowledge that puts them in difficulty, especially if they are pressured by their headteachers or reprimanded by their inspectors.
The words of political leaders about the authority of teachers do not provide any more support. By constantly suggesting - as the current Minister of Education does - that teachers need "science" to determine "good practices" that they can then apply, their qualifications and their ability to collectively improve their practices are disregarded. These discourses, which turn teachers into mere executors, discredit their authority in the eyes of public opinion.
More globally, the recurrent difficulties that our national representation has in defining the goals that society assigns to its school (for example through the frequency of changes in school programs), without correcting the inequalities in school success according to the social origin, only increase its discredit among the working classes.
Finally, in the face of an attack such as the one suffered by our colleague, the response is primarily political. It is a matter of coherence of words and decisions, for a resistance of the whole society to the totalitarian project of political Islamism, contrary to our values. If you found this article helpful, check out my website to make sure is wowessays legit.



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