Which Comes First? Teaching or the Teenagers?

Are teachers in schools FOR the teens or TO teach? Another question that lives in the same neighborhood is, "Are teachers paid to teach the curriculum or to teach the students?" The questions are simple, the differences are subtle, yet the correct interpretation(s)/answer(s) are absolutely necessary.

Some feel teachers are in the classrooms to perform the art/job of teaching. The other camp feels teachers are in the classrooms for students, the customer(s)/consumer(s). The position taken on this question both informs and directs the secondary teachers' objectives and methods inside and outside the classroom.

Teachers who say teaching is a teacher's first and foremost responsibility in the classroom may overlook or become insensitive to the trouble in their students' lives.

Teachers who believe the teens are the first and foremost focus and responsibility of teachers in the classroom may feel the need at times to sacrifice teaching content material in order to model (and teach) compassion and caring.

Is it OK for a teacher to abandon a whole lesson in order not to abandon a child?
Is it OK for a teacher to ignore teaching the scheduled lesson in order to not ignore the child's (unexpected) needs?

YES, it is OK.
It is OK for teachers to skip a whole unit if necessary, in order to make a child feel whole.

Do you agree?