Setting positive limits in the classroom 2 (authoritative versus authoritarian)

This is the second in a series of three blogs I'm planning to write about setting positive limits in the classroom.


Can you tell the difference between the words authoritative and authoritarian?

If you can, which definition best describes your teaching?

Below are both definitions according to the Collins Cobuild Dictionary for Advanced Learners,

Authoritative: a person who has a lot of knowledge of a particular subject. They give an impression of power and are likely to be obeyed.

Authoritarian: a person who controls everything rather than letting people decide things for themselves.

Most of us are likely to overfly both categories for a while depending on the teaching situation and/or context.

We may feel the need to be authoritarian when people misbehave or bully their classmates, for example.

We will hopefully feel our own natural authority and be authoritative in any regular class where rapport has been built and the rules of the game are clear.

However we choose to behave, it’s important to have a clear idea of when to set limits and draw boundaries.

Limits will sometimes feel suffocating and may even leave us with a tiny space to circulate. However, delimiting the learning arena will protect the people who interact inside it.

A teacher who is controlling a 100% of the time is bound to pollute his/her class with his/her impossible demands and expectations.

I used to attend a class where the teacher had a lot of insights into her subject. She expected everyone to respond the way she wanted. Discussion was inadmissible. She never listened to us. Making mistakes was out of the question.

We worked really hard to pass her exams. We ended up learning about her subject but at the expense of our confidence.

As opposed to that type of teacher, a teacher who’s authoritative will be confident enough to delegate, to share ideas, to involve his/her learners. (S)he will clearly understand that setting positive limits and respecting those of their students’ will turn out to be empowering. Students will feel acknowledged and respected within a necessary supportive frame.

“There is no way to categorize all teaching under headings; many teachers will find elements of each category that are true for them…However, this simple categorization may help us reflect on what type of teaching we have mostly experienced and what kind of teacher we see ourselves as being now or in the future” (Jim Scriviner)

Have you got any anecdotes you would like to share?


Many thanks! Georgina











Georgina Hudson blogs by Georgina Hudson are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Setting positive limits in the classroom

This is the first in a series of three blogs I’m planning to write about setting positive limits in the classroom.


How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you didn’t have the courage to say “no” to the students that you love?

What do you do when you’re really keen on your students but the situation urges you to set clear limits?

I’ve asked myself these questions a thousand times and I’ve concluded that:

(a) I’m afraid my students will stop liking me.

(b) As a student myself, I never liked the classes where the teacher was very strict.

I take pride in being a sympathetic, sensitive teacher and as such, I want to “spare the rod and reassure the child” (or teenage/ adult learner) about the pleasure of taking an active role in the learning process. I usually encourage them to overcome their fears and sense of ridicule, to speak their minds and defend their points of view.

I’m also aware of the fact that drawing clear boundaries and setting healthy limits, helps everyone involved understand the rules of the game, the space where it’s possible to circulate (and where it is not) and the necessary respect for their peers and themselves.

I remember myself in situations where I wasn’t feeling my own natural authority, I just bottled up my feelings and ended up bursting sometime later. I used to teach a lovely girl who was very cooperative and “very” talkative. She unconsciously dominated the class because she was fast and smart.

I was secretly growing tired of that and I finally asked her to be patient with her classmates (“please”). She told me I was too authoritarian. She also began bullying some of her peers. She obviously felt motivated by the class but didn’t understand my request because I had never asked her to stay calm and wait for her friends. Her natural reaction was venting her frustration on them.

As teachers, we need to be very clear and confident about the benefits of drawing limits. Learners may first respond with anger and they may even try to make us feel guilty, which is really hard to take. It’s easier for us to look understanding and loving at all times. However, our learners may be putting our authority to the test or they may even feel at a loss for what to hold on to in “limitlessland”.

Students not only need but also hope for positive interaction with teachers who have a clear idea about themselves and their roles, their subject matter and their learners.

What do you think? Have you ever found it difficult to say “no” at the right time?

Your experiences will feel me ideas for the next blog. Thank you.

Cheers! Georgina