Authenticity

Authenticity is something that can not be explained in great detail. It is sometimes called "being real" and not "fake." I believe this feeling of being "fake" comes from a lack of trust in a person. I think when someone does not trust me properly they don't think I am being serious. I could say I have shook the hand of every major conductor in the Midwest but no one would believe me right away. Trust is required to give authenticity. Students are very good at calling out authenticity. The most common ways are asking for the teacher to expand on what they just said. If the teacher fumbles for words or seems to have no answers then the students don't believe it. Then a small amount of trust is lost between the student and the teacher, making the next fact even easier to not believe.

Ultimately the whole issue of authenticity comes down to trust. The students must believe the teacher to learn anything from them. Without this trusting relationship then the students will be lost in their teacher's ramblings. The teacher must be able to back their stance somehow.

Personally I try to keep things simple. That way there is no need for long explanations. But, if there is a need for a longer explanation then I will give it. I believe the longer explanation would be well worth the trust of the students.

Compassion

I have not encountered compassion very often in my life. I grew up in a farming community in Indiana among two of my three brothers. More often than not I was shown no compassion and if I was it was only fake and meant almost nothing to me. I was often told that 'life is not fair.' That is why whenever someone showed me compassion it meant a lot more to me than they could ever have known.

One such example was my Freshman year in high school. I was put into the top show choir that year because I was a great high tenor. That year I recieved not one but two solos in the final show. Unfortunately before the year ended my voice decided to change. I dropped about three octaves in my voice and lost both solos. My choir director felt bad for me because there was nothing that I could do. So, my director 'took me under his wing' so to speak and was in conversation with me throughout this phase in my life. If it wasn't for his compassion I do not think I would have this love for singing that I enjoy to this day. It took very little effort on his part to show he cared but it meant the world to me and my singing career.

Respect

Respect is when a person is held to a high standard. The person who is held in respect has worked for some time at getting that type of treatment. Having respect means there is no longer a need to motivate the followers to give respect. It is an intangible thing that makes a person want to do things for the person they have respect for. Without respect, a person is not well trusted, liked, and even not welcome sometimes. If you don't respect someone, you don't even want to be in their presence.
In a classroom setting, if the teacher has respect from their students then the class will naturally be quiet. In my experience throughout high school and college the more the teacher is respected the more focused the class is. If the teacher is respected the class will know that the teacher is trustworthy and will enjoy listening to them.
I would say that the easiest way to earn respect is to find out about the kid's lives. If the teacher knows of a common interest then they can build a relationship through that. This would then start the trust in the relationship. But, the teacher must also be very careful in this stage to be totally honest because the student is very vulnerable and is not looking to trust the teacher yet. There must first be a reason to trust and respect. Without this key stage in the classroom there can be no real respect for a teacher.