Now, What I Want To Do as a Teacher

I spoke today with two incoming seniors about some topics that I felt hit the core of what it is I want to do as a teacher.

1. Teach like an economist, not like a teacher. Economists think about opportunity cost and would teach the lesson that makes best use of the given time, attention and other precious resources. But some teachers will teach a lesson just because they taught it before, or because its part of the curriculum, or because its on the test. I don't want to get trapped in the mindset of being a teacher like that.
2. Teach students the things they need to know to succeed anywhere and everywhere. Again, teaching to assessment criteria and curricula are essential. But how about teaching what they need to know to succeed in other classes too? How about prioritizing? Time management? Leadership? Critical thinking? Problem-solving? Aren't these the things we need to know to succeed throughout high school? And in college? In our careers? In any endeavor we undertake?
3. Know what each individual student wants to be, know, and do and then teach this to them. I know that I like math and that history teachers tend to like history. I also know that these subjects are meaningful to us because they not only pay the rent but also give our lives purpose. Does this apply to every teenager who walks into a classroom? Aren't there some students for whom sports, dancing, magic, painting, etc. give the purpose to their lives? Won't some of these same students also one day pay their rent from something related to their experiences as athletes, ballerinas, card sharks, and artists? Shouldn't we encourage "extracurriculars" as having meaning beyond an after-school activity? Isn't that last history assignment displacing some time that a student could have spent on developing their hobby into something greater and more meaningful? What comes first? What the student wants to know or what I want them to know?

Of course there is a balance to strike between what I want to do and what I have to do as a teacher. I'd never want a student to fail as a result of a selfish desire to teach them more of what I want them to know. Still, I'd rather try and fail at these goals for my teaching career than never consider their importance and limit myself to a narrower view. I couldn't work like that and I won't.