I teach Pharmacology at Goa Medical College, Goa, India. It's a tough, volatile subject, and most students hate it. It also has a high failure rate for the final exams, with roughly 30% of students failing. In my first year of teaching, I took a lot of time to explain the core concepts to the batch of 150 students, giving individual attention as and when possible, involving the students in clinical application of the subject, and pushing them to understand the subject as a cohesive part of their medical education. As the exams drew closer, the students asked for revision classes and remedials from me, and we would stay beyond college timings to go over the more difficult stuff.

After the exams were done, it takes a few weeks for the results to be announced. Life went on as usual. When the results came out, we had a 100% pass rate in pharmacology, and as I went to work the next day, almost the entire batch of students was waiting for me - everyone was so thrilled and joyful. It was beautiful to watch their faces lit up, and to know that they actually understood and liked the subject, which will make them better doctors tomorrow. That was when it made sense to me.