Students Are Much More Likely to Remember What the Adults Are Teaching When the Adults Are Remembering Why They Are Teaching It.

When students ask, “Why do we need to know this stuff?” they are asking a question that deserves a good answer. And teachers need to have a good answer. It really does matter whether teachers believe in what they’re teaching. If they are interested in their own lesson, then they will probably be a bit more animated teaching it. If teachers believe that the lesson matters for the students, they will probably work to help students make connections to the material and their own life. If teachers believe that the lesson is truly important, they will probably teach it with a sense of excitement that the students will find compelling. The attitude of the teacher toward the lesson will inevitably affect the passion that the teacher brings to the lesson. And there is little doubt that it will affect the attitude that the students bring to the lesson as well.