John Baptist de La Salle was the leader of the Brothers until shortly before he died in 1719 and for all the time that he was involved with education,he tried to inspire both his teachers and the children in his schools,not by punishing them or giving out to them,but by encouraging them,giving them hope and confidence to do the best they could. When other teachers saw the work going on in the Lasallian schools,they wanted to be a part of it too.

Teachers in his schools were lay. A lay person who is not a priest or a member of any religious organisation. The number of teachers grew to a huge amount and De La Salle began to call them his Brothers. John Baptist realised that the Brothers needed direction so he came up with rules that they would have to follow. He also made them take Holy Vows every year to show their commitment to God and education.

The Brothers were not priests so they could not say mass - they were a community of religious men. Priests had their own ''uniform'' so De La Salle had the brothers wear one too so everyone would know that they were part of his school. This uniform is called a habit and has a special white collar called a rabat. All the time that this was going on, De La Salle was encouraging the teachers in their work and talking with them when they felt down.

John Baptist was a real leader - he didn't just give out orders. He did the same work as the teachers, and always offered to help. Today, the Brothers' work is still inspired by the words of John Baptist de La Salle. They inspire others to make the world a better place by encouraging them. They lead the schools and charity work with encouragement and inspire many other lay people to come to work in Lasallian schools or even join the Brothers.