Teacher-Student Interaction Being able to determine what teachers expect from students and what students expect from teachers is key to creating positive classrooms that work. Teacher-student interaction is a two-way street; Students relate to teachers and teachers relate to students. If teachers develop and build on self-esteem and mutual respect within their classrooms, they will achieve positive relationships with students. Many years ago, power relations and authority figures in our society were clearly defined. Dad ran the house; mothers and children obeyed. The bosses ruled the workplace, and workers who were brave enough to defy them would lose their jobs. Within this ranking the students were in last place. Students' ideas and choices were not important, they were not listened to. Today all this has changed and every person in this society demands equality. Today we are able to speak openly and have our needs and desires recognized. In many cases the undergraduate student is encouraged and expected to be sincere in responding to the teacher's ideas, methods, or words. Teachers must learn how to evade their own power and allow students to exercise their personal power in ways that enhance the classroom atmosphere and at the same time accommodate students' individuality. Teachers must allow students to contribute to the class group in their own unique ways. A student should be encouraged and given the opportunity to participate in class by expressing their ideas in a comfortable, pressure-free classroom. Marc Shachtman, a student at Ohio Oberlin College, said, "In a class I took last year a maverick student said he agreed with the Supreme Court justice's views t... ... half of the document ...... to get to your destination, you must first get your message across. Teachers should be able to convey confidence to students they should create a comfortable and healthy atmosphere in their classroom by allowing students students to be responsive and proactive in the classroom. This teacher-student interaction will contribute to a more fulfilling learning experience. Works Cited "PC: Alive and Entrenched" Lunsford Anfrea and Ruszkiewics John : St. p.113,122 Hooks,Bell."Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education" Lunsford Andrea and John Ru S Ruszdiewics. ed. New York: St. p.89,95 Postman, Neil." The Word Weavers/World Makers" Lunsford Andrea and John Ruszdiewics. In the presence of others.ed. New York St p.133 Hughes Mearns, Creative Power. New York: Dover Publications, 1958.