Teachers of economics are charged to instill economic principles and the love of economics into their students. For some students this active process is a natural outgrowth of their personal interests and backgrounds. For others this level of engagement can be a challenge. The symptoms of this disengagement manifests itself ultimately through loss of interest in the course.
True mastery of a skill requires three things: proper guidance, time, and effort. As a teacher, it is my obligation and my privilege to require all three in a course. My primary duty is proper guidance. Part of proper guidance is ensuring the courses I teach are structured such that the student has the opportunity to expend time and effort to learn the principles involved. Another part is ensuring that I remain current in the research covering the field which the course examines so that I can direct the student in their efforts.
Proper guidance requires good pedagogy. My general approach is to engage students through motivating economic principles, identifying economic concepts in real world issues, and encouraging expanded understanding outside the classroom through class-specific or broader research projects.
Of all students, I expect due diligence. This means the student comes to class prepared for lecture, completes assignments in a timely fashion, and accepts responsibility for absences in a timely matter.
Grades are an indicator of the health of communication between the student and the instructor. If a student has trouble understanding a concept, I encourage him or her to speak up, come to office hours, and exercise due diligence to ensure they are getting the instruction they are due.
In short, what I do is teach the student correct principles and make available the tools required for them to govern their own experience.