The classroom is full of students who have ambitions, goals, and interests. Naturally, not all students see the subject material being taught in every classroom as essential knowledge to help them achieve and obtain their goals. It is the job of the teacher to recognize this divide and market the material he or she finds important and stir up a demand for the subject material. Therefore, a metaphor that drives my perspective of education is the marketer.

A successful marketer must know his or her target audience, in this case, the students. The marketer must understand what the students need to know and what skills they need to possess in order to be successful after graduating. Additionally, an ethical marketer must evaluate the product that he or she is selling to ensure that it is worth the consumers’ money just as the educator must ensure that the content that he or she is teaching is worth the students’ time. Once the content is ensured to be of quality, the marketer must sell the content to the students by showcasing the importance of the material. The marketer must advocate for the content and stir up demand, so there is an audience ready to pay attention to the supply of information the teacher has to offer. Likewise, the teacher must highlight important points, such as the real world significance the content offers and what skills the course projects will enhance. By causing students to crave knowledge, the classroom will buzz with excitement, and the teacher can stop fighting for attention and instead focus on facilitating projects and discussions that lead students to think deeper and grow as learners.