Wages of Niceness: The Folly and Futility of Educators Who Strive to Not Impose

In a bid to curb violence incurred via the abuse of teacher authority, some educators appear to denounce all forms of imposition. The author of this paper refers to this aversion to imposition and the romantic practices it promotes as educational niceness . This essay is written to furnish a theoretical justification for educational imposition. Using tools of language and philosophical analysis the author argues that education without imposition is both futile and irresponsible. The paper exposes four fallacies associated with educational niceness, traces its philosophical roots, discusses its perils, and concludes by proposing a more defensible alternative—a pedagogy of coercive restraint.