The commitment is posed too abstractly for acceptance. Presumably it is limited to the professional domain. Students take a back seat relative to “family, God, and country” for instance, and you presumably intend to exclude such considerations.
To be more concrete in the professional domain, suppose a student comes to ask questions about an assignment. There may be other professional commitments (other lectures, committee meetings, etc.) to deal with at that moment. The student rightly takes a back seat to the prior professional commitment, to return afterward at a time quickly scheduled, or to march off to find the tutor.
Obviously there are many professional situations, mostly administrative perhaps, in which students rightly sit somewhere toward the back (not “placed first”).
There remains, then, a part of the professional domain in which one has the option to place students first or not. That domain must at least include the scheduled lecture, tutorial, marking, and office hours for students. The capable teaching professional naturally places high priority on keeping those times for students, and devotes patient, full attention, without grudging some additional time and attention where warranted.
This is a commitment I am willing to make (or rather have made, as I am not teaching presently). In my case, that commitment is motivated by love for the subject matter. It is worth knowing for its own sake. For the allocated times, then, I become an evangelist for the subject matter (physics for me), imperfectly manifesting its voice, spirit, and potential to an imperfect audience, making every effort to make the subject clear, alive and compelling for them, despite many obstacles along the way.
It is needed depending on the kind of expectations we have from ourselves too . If we want good research outcomes then why not . Just a+b=c , that is what most do ....
Issues of commitment bothers largely on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It is increasingly difficult to put student first amidst several competing factors of survival coupled with the marginalization and unfavourable working conditions. These and many more affect the morals of the teacher making him egoistic relegating the student to the the back stage.
It depends on what rather place both science and teaching occupies in your life. As my wife (professor) once said - "I have children, students, a dog, (-) a husband. For me until now, punctuation mark she used at the end of the phrase is unknown. These are her kind of priorities.
If seriously, I never taught for students at the university, but I was the supervisor of many qualification works. I do not know how others are, but the topic for the works that I gave was always something that I would like to do myself, but have not enough time for that. Therefore, everything is simple. If the student really tries to understand something and come up with something, I just cannot refuse him and is ready to talk with him for hours. If the student is not interested in all this and he does a formal job, then I will not "put pearls in front of pigs," as it says in my country. Everyone gets exactly what he (she) wants.
It depends on the individual educator mainly. I know academics who are very rigid with only lectures being the means of communication to the extreme end of others being continously in communication through mobile messages.
But we must be aware that technology is increasingly removing the boundaries we set for student meetings as mentioned above and as I used to practice with set day/s and time frame to answer student queries.
When I interviewed my peers re their us of the unofficially implemented VLE (the major 'technology innovation' of the era) in 2009, it was evident that the boundaries mentioned above were on their way to being eliminated.
Now with increased econnectivity it can become increasingly difficult. I do make it a point though of doing what one of my participants practiced; weekends are out of bounds for any student ecommunication.
However personally I tend to be prone to meeting students' commitments in lieu of mine 🤷♀️
As a public school special education teacher, this is my mantra. My students are first during the school day. I spend more than my contracted time completing the paperwork that is required. Obviously, I am not a teacher for the pay or prestige. I am a teacher because it is my passion. Even if I stopped working in my classroom, I will always have a job related to individuals with disabilities.
In general, "a promise" that a student made to a teacher is considered a commitment.
You should consider that students themselves reveal the goals and responsibilities that they should achieve or their goals and responsibilities themselves.
It was not mandated by anyone but declared "I will do it!" By myself.
Therefore, it should be regarded as a very heavy word including nuances such as responsibility, mission, goal, obligation.
That is why the intention to execute is clarified, and the first step of actual action can be taken.