Commitment Is Better Than Compliance

Adopt this philosophy and you will live long in the land. Great leaders know the difference and how to achieve it.

One can apply this philosophy to any team, organization, group, family, etc. Today, let’s apply it to the discipline philosophy of a school. When the goal is simply to get kids to follow the rules in the handbook a specific culture is created. It is a culture of law. Teachers spend their time nagging students to stop chewing gum, tuck in their shirts, get in line, and hush up. The nature of the teacher/student relationship becomes authoritative and diametrically opposed to the alternative…

When the goal is to connect with kids, take a keen interest, love them and meet them where they are in life, a different type of culture is created. It is a culture of relationship. There are still high expectations and standards of behavior, but the difference can be found in how the kids respond to those leading them. Life as an educator is significantly more fun and fulfilling when we strive to build relationships rather than submission. We have a huge opportunity to influence lives when we build a culture of commitment.  When we enforce a culture a compliance, we might be able to keep students in line for a brief period of time, but we lose our influence.