Looking for help mentoring the teens in your life? Whether you are a teacher, parent, pastor or coach, the following tips drawn from Notes from a Classroom: Reflections on Teaching will put you on the right path.

1. Keep expectations high — for your students, your school, yourself. Students tend to rise or fall to the level of expectation set for them. Set yours high (p.8).
2. Polish your selling skills — it’s a vital part of being a teacher. Good teachers sell students (and their parents!) every day, convincing them that the hard work of study is worthwhile (pp. 199—202).
3. Don’t talk so much. Instead of lecturing, divide up lessons and let students present to their classmates. Encourage them to explore and discuss without rushing to answer questions yourself. Keep students actively engaged (pp. 8-9).
4. Encourage “healthy skeptics.” Help students critically examine their assumptions — and reject easy certainty and intellectual laziness (pp. 290 -311).
5. Harness peer pressure. Most students really do want to learn. A wise teacher takes advantage of the goodwill of the majority to keep the whole class on track (pp. 14-17).
6. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Never assume, even with older students, that teaching a lesson one time is sufficient (p. 39).
7. Improvise. Sometimes even the best-laid lesson plans go awry…or fail to give the results you hoped for. When that happens, don’t despair; instead welcome these times as opportunities to try something new. Sometimes the most successful classes are the ones that don’t go according to plan (pp. 22-25, 225-228).
8. Learn to pronounce Kalemkiewicz. Want to really start your semester on the right note? Before classes begin, talk to your students’ previous teachers to learn how to pronounce unfamiliar names (p.156).
9. Be patient — especially with teens. No, it’s not always easy. But remembering one’s own mistakes and missteps can spur greater patience and understanding (p.5).
10. Help your students visualize success. The biggest obstacle some students face is their inability to envision themselves as successful adults. Remove that obstacle by giving them a vision — a vision of themselves in a future of their own making (pp. 203-26).

Want more tips for effective teaching — and examples of how to use these tips in the real world? You’ll find scores more tips and strategies, plus much more, in Notes from a Classroom: Reflections on Teaching. Order your copies today!