Why put more effort into teaching? To those who see themselves as teachers first and last, this question may seem unnecessary.  But many grad students and faculty at research universities may feel that their vocation lies elsewhere.   For those who consider teaching the price they pay in order to be able to do research,  we point out a few of the reasons to care about teaching: 

Teaching is a service.  Even if the instructor saw no personal benefits from working with students at a basic level, helping people to reach otherwise overwhelming goals would be a worthwhile achievement.

Teaching is our job.  Students, their families, and the public all expect that whatever else goes on at a university, teaching stands at the center.  This is why they pay fees and make donations,  which go toward paying instructors and staff.

Teaching develops relationships.  Some of the most profound and long-lasting friendships are between instructors and students.

Teaching produces future researchers.   The beginners we teach today may be award-winning academics tomorrow.

Teaching produces educated people.  College instructors, after all, have as much to complain about in the state of the world as anyone else.  Who has the power to make a difference?  Usually, people who went to college.  Knowing something about biology or music or Korean, and more broadly about how to learn and to do intellectual work, does not guarantee their probity or competence as citizens and leaders -- but it certainly won't hurt.

Teaching energizes research.  Discussions with students who ask naive questions and attempts to help people understand fundamental concepts can result in new visions and directions for research.  Feynman diagrams, now a basic tool for learning particle physics, were invented by Nobel-Prize-winner Richard Feynman because he was trying to understand the concepts in a simpler way.

Teaching is good experience.  Planning a career in the private sector?  The ability to give clear and interesting presentations, to assign and supervise independent projects, to identify specific sources of confusion and concern, and to help coworkers acquire knowledge and skill are all crucial -- and all fundamental components of good teaching.  There are few jobs where teaching experience would not be an asset.

Teaching is fun -- or ought to be.  By the nature of the classroom, teachers have the power to bore their students to tears or to make their lives more entertaining, rich, and thoughtful.  When this happens for the students, the instructor is never bored either.

"Teaching -- like drama -- is an act of pure presence in imaginary time.  All delays are overcome in an instant, and it gives us the sense that, at least for the space of one class period, we actually exist...A teacher is finally someone who can communicate what it feels like to know difficult things