Be practical in your expectations for your students. Always strive for improvement but understand how hard and how quickly you can push students. Don’t expect miracles, but remember there is nothing a student can’t learn on some level if it is presented correctly.

As a teacher, there will be days when you think, "I'm in the wrong profession,wrong job, wrong school and/or working with the wrong students.” Don't get discouraged and don't give up. Just think, tomorrow or the next day something wonderful will happen - a discipline problem will resolves itself, a student will make a break through in math or a parent will call to tell you what a difference you have made. At that moment, you'll think, aha, how could I have even thought about giving it all up?

When it comes to teaching and, well, life, we have to take the good with the bad and learn that each moment and experience serves a purpose.

It is easy to say - "I should not be held to higher standards just because I’m a teacher." The truth is, you are a role model for your students, whether you wish to be or not. So, it is important that you act accordingly. If you can’t accept holding higher standards or being a role model, you may be in the wrong profession.

No matter how hard you try, there will always be some students you won't be able to reach or teach. Don't get discouraged. Instead, do the very best you can and try every approach you can think of to educate the student. And, always keep the student as the focus. Be sure not to beat yourself up over what you might perceive as failure; you might be making more of an impact than you think.

Students have to learn the basics before applying their knowledge to explorations such as science experiments, group projects, reports, etc. They need this background knowledge for explorations to be meaningful. Gaining this knowledge involves research, reading and practice. Be sure students fully understand basic concepts to ensure they are ready for proper exploration.

Allowing students to be mentors is an excellent teaching strategy. Students often learn best from one another. Mentoring also reinforces students understanding and teaches them responsibility. Additionally, as mentors, students will ensure they know and understand classroom material thoroughly, so they are able to teach it effectively.

Make lesson plans for a week at a time. Additionally, always have practice worksheets available. That way, if you need a substitute unexpectedly, they will have something to work with. Never leave a sub unprepared. An unprepared sub is an unproductive class.

Don’t work yourself into a frenzy every day. Take part of your break time for yourself. It is tempting to use every bit of your spare time to prepare for class or check papers. Instead, relax for a while with a cup of coffee or soda. Five or 10 minutes of down time can make so much difference in your stress level. You and your students will be better for it.

Trust is important in any interaction and no less so between teacher and student. As a teacher, you will have students' confide in you about all sorts of things. Never betray their confidence, unless of course the "secret" is potentially dangerous or harmful. Make sure your students know that what they tell you will be held in confidence.

Physical activity during the school day is important. For this reason, be very careful about taking away recess for incomplete work. Instead, institute ways to encourage on-time work completion. For instance, create an incentive program that rewards students who complete work on or ahead of time. Rewards could be candy, extra points and even extra recess time.