I let the student tell me what they'd like to learn. If someone says, "I want to learn guitar," I will ask them what they want to play once they learn the basics (if they are beginners), and tailor the subsequent lessons to that end. I believe, as every person is an individual, so should their guitar instruction be individualized. If two students both want to learn an E chord, I will teach them the standard way of playing it, but if I sense one or the other would learn better in a different way, or within a specific style of music, I do my best to adapt to their unique way of learning to play.
I love playing guitar and I am good at it, so it ...