The Compliant Child

 

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."    Luke 15:4-7 (ESV) As a compliant child, I often felt as if I was ignored. It seemed that the obnoxious, disobedient kids got all the attention. It was very easy to get lost in the sea of compliance, even forgotten. When I became a teacher, I remembered well the feeling of the compliant student, and I tried to acknowledge their important role in our class. These students were the foundation for anything good that was happening, yet, by necessity, my attention was often in another arena. Those who overtly seek attention and think they need that attention are unhealthy, and they are like a body part that demands resources to the detriment of the others who also need the body’s resources. We would be educationally healthier if we would pay more attention to those who listen, and ignore, or possibly even dismiss, those who are continually disruptive.  Our choices have consequences, and children must learn this from an early age while in a controlled environment or risk learning it later in life when the consequences are far greater.

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