Should I Be Nice To Them?

I'm currently working for a company that provides Military style education for teenagers, as the centre administrator, but have recently been worrying a bit about how to act. Not that I'm very good at being confrontational or authoritative at the best of times, but I was warned that especially at the start of a course it's really important to get the discipline instilled in them so that means no answering back, addressing the staff as "staff" all the time, no hands in pockets etc etc. punishable by push-ups and leopard-crawling.


I was also warned that being nice to the kids won't do them any good because they'll just take the mick and not respect you. 


So I was wondering a bit about what to do in this situation as a Christian, and as someone who doesn't like being, (or rather trying to be) confrontational anyway, and as I was thinking about it and wondering what to do, because equally I don't want to have the mick taken and would like the kids to like and respect me ... well this verse popped into my head:

"But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." 

1 Peter 2:20-21

So I'm going to carry on with the seemingly naive "being nice" because I'd rather suffer for doing good than for trying to be authoritative over them, and because I think that's what Jesus would do. I totally get the logic to why it has to be so disciplined, but in my position I think I can choose how to act, and I just found it really encouraging that in what would seem like quite an obscure 21st century problem, the Bible provides a really clear answer. :)