As a teacher, the day I mistook fear for obedience

This is a common misconception among teachers — that if students do not talk back or ask questions, they are being respectful. I had fallen prey to it too

Pedagogy, the central part of teaching, becomes secondary when teachers are hemmed in by administrative duties and measurable outcomes.

4 min readOct 17, 2026 07:00 AM IST First published on: Oct 17, 2026 at 07:00 AM IST

In my fourth year of teaching Sociology to high-school students, I tried to change my pedagogy, specifically how I related to them. I had to teach a large class, and instead of being happy at how popular the subject was becoming, I grew afraid of the challenges that confronted me. After having difficulties with disciplining a large class, and tired of running after students for submissions, I wanted ease. I turned to a senior colleague’s advice — that at the outset, it is good to be stern in order to ensure that students respect you; that strictness ensured the class progressed in structured and predictable ways. Sensing my scepticism, she added that once the relationship was established, I could open up a little.

My approach was pretty much contrary to hers: Building a fun environment, putting the students at ease, hearing their expectations and concerns. But I thought I would give the advice a shot. In the first class with the new batch, I listed out my rules and expectations. Usually this was a more open conversation where I assured them that I’m always there to guide them according to their needs.

In retrospect, I wish I had thought more about it. Despite planning interesting activities which could have led to rich discussions, I was met with silence. I knew something was wrong. When I asked colleagues about their experience with the batch, they said the students were always eager to share their views. Confused, I decided to ask the class why they were so quiet. One student admitted they were scared of me. I realised that my sternness had evoked in them fear, not respect.

This is a common misconception among teachers — that if students do not talk back or ask questions, they are being respectful. I had fallen prey to it too. Students do not want to learn in a classroom where the teacher does not make space for them. I came face to face with what Jiddu Krishnamurti meant when he said education is “freedom from fear”.

From starting my career at a Krishnamurti school to this, I wondered what had changed. Certainly the environment and educational philosophy, but more importantly, me. Institutional circumstances and structures are often set for the long term and therefore difficult to change. Sometimes they can align with a teacher’s personal values, mostly they don’t. It falls on the teacher to work against the grain and be more resilient. Teaching is constant work and requires the will and courage to be different, as bell hooks mentions in Teaching to Transgress. The moment I realised my mistake, I reverted to my original pedagogy. It took a while for the students to open up — understandably so, because the edifice of the relationship was unequal.

Pedagogy, the central part of teaching, becomes secondary when teachers are hemmed in by administrative duties and measurable outcomes. Krishna Kumar, in a recent public lecture as part of the Act of Doing conference in Delhi, said that this is the most unfortunate thing to have happened. The purpose of pedagogy is to be surprising and unpredictable. At a time when lesson plans are meant to predict measurable learning outcomes, we must embrace serendipity and uncertainty. It is difficult to persevere, and not seek the easy path, to reorient and see a fun free-flowing class positively rather than judge it by quantitative outcomes set by the administration. But I believe it can be cultivated by engaging with educationists who keep reimagining and questioning the purpose of education. This could help ground these transgressions in a discourse rather than treat teaching merely as a technique.

Gupta is a Delhi-based writer and researcher in the field of Education and Sociology