A new teacher always feels excited as well as apprehensive long before he or she steps in front of the class. "Will the students like me?" "Will the students respond to my instructions properly?" "Will I be able to instill the love for learning in all children?" "Will I remember all the teaching strategies I learned in school or at the special training I received during so many months or years?"

In order to facilitate the process, I would like to recommend the following to novel teachers who embark on this most honorable profession:

Adapt to the needs of the group

When you are doing something that doesn't work, change your tactics until you find the most effective way of teaching. Specialized books and the advice of experienced teachers (like the author of this article) are important. They may help you avoid the most common pitfalls. You must remember, however, that you are the main actor in a unique situation (that's what makes this profession so exciting), and the tools that may work with one group don't necessarily work with another.

Get to know your kids individually

I still remember very clearly the case of Yomaina (not her real name), who arrived one day at my school with a bad reputation from middle school (or junior high). Her prior teachers reported that she did not want to learn, that she answered without the proper courtesy, and that she had proved to be a rebellious child.

That was a challenge that I relished. My first step was to ignore everything I had learned from her file, except the data from her formal assessments. She had an average level of intelligence, but she didn't seem to understand the words she read (50% comprehension). Instead of submitting her to more tests, I decided then and there that I had to learn what was not in the file; I wanted to know who she was really and whether she would like to decide herself what we should do to help her. For her, that approach was a completely new experience.

To make a long story short, Yomaina was in love with music, with certain Mexican-American songs, and with foreign languages (surprise, indeed). She also came from a home where she had a tense relationship with her divorced father. After 3 months, I noticed that rapport had started to emerge between us, so much so that she was making great progress in all her classes. All she ever wanted was to be treated with dignity, respect, and affection.

Call each student by his/her first name when they come to your class. Ask about their family, their activities in sports, or about anything specific you have learned. Never prejudge and never assume. Each child has a unique story and showing a genuine interest in them is the best way to forge a durable bond.

Discipline

A classroom is not, repeat, not a battleground. You may have heard horror stories from experienced colleagues or from the media. Yes, some areas, especially in large cities, are prone to gang violence and crime. I can tell you, however, that in my own experience in working with poor Hispanic children (high school level), I have never been threatened even once in my last 10 years. Nor have I witnessed an assault on a teacher from disadvantaged kids. Yes, cuss words in Spanish are sometimes uttered. Some unflattering insults may occur from a few, very few students, who suffer from emotional disorders.

Keep them busy; keep them interested and motivated with varied activities and you'll never have a serious discipline problem.

Know your subject

It is important to show your students that you know your stuff, that you are the local expert. Prepare, prepare and prepare. Each lesson must be engraved in your mind in such a way that the children will be awed by your knowledge. If, by chance, you don't know the answer to a question, do not try to bluff your way out. They can spot a phony a mile away. Just confess "I don't know, but I'll have the answer tomorrow." They'll appreciate your candor.

Make it a lot of fun

Learning dry numbers and facts can be pretty boring. By the time they reach high school, some have lost all interest in serious learning if their experience has been memorizing and spewing out the facts when prompted.

There are thousands of techniques (games actually) that make learning fun. Use cooperative learning from time to time. Ask them to prepare posters with pictures, drawings, and colors. Most of them are visual learners (TV overexposure). Short documentaries (they must be short) work wonders when connected with written material.

Children don't fail, we do

Do not use the bad teachers' excuse that students fail; we simply haven't found the key that will open their mental door. All students can learn; all students can show progress. It's up to us to find a way.

J.C. Sprenger has been teaching at a local high school for 6 years as a special education (inclusion) teacher. Before that, he was a university professor in Mexico (10 years) teaching English to Mexican students. He has a B.A. in psychology and a Master's in Education. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, he now makes his home in Brownsville, Texas. He has been a freelance writer for 15 years in newspapers and recently on the Internet.

For more information on becoming a teacher in Texas and jobs teaching, check out http://www.TexasTeachers.org