Rationale: Teachers must know what they teach and they must strive to convey their excitement about their subject matter and demonstrate its relevance to students’ lives. To do so, teachers should know their subject matter, new developments in their field, and ways to connect their subject matter to their students’ lives. They should value their content area openly, displaying their own excitement of its possibilities and applications. Finally, they should be able to relate their subject matter to other disciplines, perhaps by teaching in thematic or interdisciplinary contexts with colleagues in other content areas.