“Ten Warrior Virtues” is an essay by Mark Mireles. It is found in the book Warriors: More on Living with Courage, Discipline, and Honor, edited by Loren Christenson. Mark Mireles is the most highly decorated police officer in LAPD history, having been awarded the LAPD Medal of Valor twice, the California Medal of Valor, and the Carnegie Medal, the highest award for valor awarded to a citizen in the US and Canada.
In his essay he lists ten warrior virtues. These virtues describe the traits that demonstrate the deep-seated values held by warriors, and display in their daily lives. As Mireles writes, “It’s not a macho thing; it’s a subtle persona that is hard to put a finger on unless you know what to look for.” (p. 58) Therefore, being a true warrior is not about thumping your chest. I have been around Special Forces soldiers, and they do not thump their chests. They are professional and business-like in what they do. They take their business very seriously. My experience has told me that master teachers have the same mindset. They are disciplined teachers.
The dictionary has several meanings for ‘discipline’. The one that most closely matches Mireles’ meaning is, “Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/discipline) In this context, discipline means doing things you don’t want to do. It makes a soldier bear days, weeks and months in extreme hot or cold, humid or dry, wet or dry conditions. It makes a master teacher stay late to finish lesson plans, miss social functions because there are papers to grade, or deal with the emotional messes adults create for our children.
The trait of discipline is as much mental as it is physical. That means the warrior, and the effective teacher, have a set of rules, and live by them as they work to attain their goal. What is required is discipline of the mind. The Warrior strengthens this by setting tasks for themselves that are necessary, but not pleasant. Tell yourself that you can do it, and then do it. I remember my Dad telling me the same thing, “It’s not hard, just do it!” It always frustrated me, because a part of me didn’t want to. The Warrior does.
If you are looking for a free way to make your school a better place, strengthen your discipline. It’s free!
Source:
Christensen, Loren W.. Warriors: more on living with courage, discipline, and honor. Rev. ed. Boulder, Colo.: Paladin, 2010. Print.
Discipline includes consistency. When students never know what to expect it makes it difficult to learn or even feel comfortable. You can't learn or develop a good outlook on life if you're always on edge. This doesn't mean you don't challenge them, you just do it in a manner that helps develop confidence in themselves, an interest in the subject matter and learning in general.
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