Got Passion?

Passion: Can you recall a time that you became more interested in a subject because of the teacher's enthusiasm?  Or, have you had an experience where you loved a subject but the teacher's lack of enthusiasm impacted negatively your interest and learning?

I have always loved art, whether it be on my own or in a classroom.  However over the years the times when I became more invested in spending time on my artwork was when I had a teacher that really taught with passion.  When I was in high school I had an art teacher that was very passionate about what she was teaching us.  She would show us her artwork, and you could tell how passionate she was about the subject just by listening to her talk about it. She would also challenge and encourage our levels of creativity.  After taking her class I was able to develop a greater love of art.

However when I was in middle school I had an art teacher who you could tell was not passionate about her teaching or was so exhausted with dealing with problems that occurred in class that she had lost a lot of her motivation in the classroom.  This impacted the level of creativity in the classroom and the overall class experience.
Students ability to tell if a teacher is passionate about a subject is greatly underestimated.  It is important that teachers always bring passion to what they are teaching!