TITLE: Reference letters for teaching positions
QUESTION [11 upvotes]: I've been told that when applying for a teaching position, your reference letters can be written by anyone who is familiar with your teaching capabilities in detail.  I feel that this primarily just means students, but I wonder if there's some unspoken rule that reference letters should come from people in positions of authority, e.g. professors for whom I've served as TA, administrative staff in the math department, etc.  In reality, it's the students who know my teaching capabilities in detail, and perhaps to a lesser degree my friends, whereas professors and administrators have no direct knowledge my teaching abilities whatsoever, and might only have heard things here or there from students, or have read my student evaluations and seen the scores.

So should reference letters predominantly come from authority figures, or is it okay to have them all come from students?

REPLY [2 votes]: This is a slightly different response as most people are assuming you are intending to teach at the university level.  I respond only for informational purposes for those teaching not at the university level.
As an undergraduate, I took an "advanced" math course with a Ph.D graduate student as the teacher.  After finishing his degree, he ended up seeking prep school and community college positions out of interest to teach small groups of students.  Not only did these schools ask for "authoritative" recommendations, but a number also asked for multiple student recommendations.  
Admittedly, I was asked to write one -- I do not think I really had the perspective then, nor now, to write something.  But it seems these less than university positions desire that additional information.