Diffusing Power (Struggles) by Sara

When thinking about diffusing power, the word “struggle” is automatically placed at the end of those combination of words for me. I find a common thought amongst new teachers is that they must establish themselves as a power within the classroom in order to build notions of superiority and control despite their sometimes obvious inexperience in the classroom. Why then, if we are concerned with assuming that role in the classroom, do we so often find ourselves discussing the ways in which we need to eliminate power struggles in the classroom?

A chapter I recently read in Jaques Ranciere’s text Education, Truth, Emancipation and written by Gert Biesta discusses the ways in which power is instilled and underscored by the way in which we run our classrooms as well in the language we use to classify the persons in it. Much like Manvir mentioned in his blog post, Biesta seeks to inform the reader of allowing all students in the classroom to have equal opportunities to work, speak, and express their ideas. Biesta introduces the notions of classifying those participating within the classroom as learners, students and speakers and the effect this has on their thoughts on the position they hold within the classroom. For Biesta, “[t]he learner is the one who is missing something. The learner is the one who is not yet complete”(Biesta, 134). Students and much the same in that they are called to study and acquire some knowledge they previously did not hold. After completing their learning will a learner or student only become a speaker; one who holds all the knowledge and is able to properly—the only one person who can properly—communicate these notions to a class.

Returning to what Manvir wrote, Biesta says “[i]s it possible to break away from the circle of powerlessness ‘that ties the student to the explicator’ (Ranciere 1991a, p.15)? Is it possible to engage in education in such a way that it emancipates rather than stultifies?” (Biesta, 137). The text then goes on to work through the ways in which we should aim to relieve students of the thoughts the hold concerning their titles. One of the ways in which he suggests this is by eliminating the teacher’s role as speaker, the sole speaker, and allowing students to see that each and every one of them can learn and is teaching in their act of speaking to the class.

Among other actions, I feel that the act of allowing students to speak as authorities and experts in the classroom can begin to underscore our discussion of diffusing power and the struggles students face with being suppressed in the classroom.