In his daily blog post The difference between commitment and technique Seth Godin makes the argument that we (society) would be a lot more successful if schools created an environment where teachers used commitment as a foundational part of the learning environment. Students with access to resources are almost unstoppable if they are committed to learning.
Instead we have created an environment where learners can say:
“teach me, while I stand here on one foot, teach me while I gossip with my friends via text, teach me while I wander off to other things. And, sure, if the teaching sticks, then I’ll commit.”
This is another example of the principle of “The head won’t go where the heart hasn’t been.” Genuine commitment must involve the affective domain and until we are willing to engage emotionally our heads will not follow.
I agree with Godin that “great teachers teach commitment.” I would add that great teachers use passion to teach commitment.
