You will make mistakes - learn from them. We all make them. One guy once impressed upon me, "The truly smart people never make the same mistake twice."

Former Doane president Phil Heckman had a quip, "Don't stand on the sidelines, get into the game". Take some chances, don't be afraid to get involved!

The first year is the hardest, after that it really can be an enjoyable profession.

You are the one that the students will learn the most from, not the textbook or a computer. Don't go by the book, a book can't contain all that is included in this thing called "teaching".

The way I view my job is the following: take the kids one step higher. You can't chew out all their previous teachers because the kids don't know anything! Find out where they are and take them as far and as fast as you can.

Be professional. Teaching gets a lot of hard knocks but we need to act like professionals in order to be treated like professionals.

Go to meetings, classes, and workshops; you will find some of the greatest teaching tools there.

Now is a great time to be a math teacher, there is federal and state money out there for different projects. Keep your ears and eyes open; read the fine print!

Keep up with technology. Try hard to get your school up to date with calculators, computers, CBl's, laser disks, networks, etc. The students need the experience and can do higher level thinking.

Get your Master's Degree as soon as possible, don't put it off. The financial rewards are staggering over a career (hey, you're the mathematician!). Start as soon as possible.

Try not to do the same things year after year. Catch yourself before you fall into a rut and are afraid to change. Look for new practices and ideas to keep yourself fresh.

Try not to do the same things day after day. Everybody likes a little variety, kids can get very bored after only 2 weeks. David Johnson, a former NCTM board member,  asks, "Can kids accurately predict what you are going to do in math class?"

It takes time to become experienced; just hang in there and collect more strategies.

One of the things we are supposed to teach the kids is "lifelong" learning. Do you really believe that? Are you going to continue to learn after college? You will probably learn more about math during your first year of teaching than you've learned anywhere else.

Teaching the mathematics is the easy part. You will have to deal with discipline, parents, unmotivated students, committees, budgets, peer pressure, home life. Remember that you are a part of their life, be an encourager even though they might not appreciate your work for many years to come. One of the best parts about teaching is to have former studentscome back and chat with you. Can you remember a teacher in your life that had an impact on you? Why? What did they do?

David Johnson has a philosophy, T.B.W.A. (Teach By Walking Around). Don't sit at your desk, be out there with the kids. You'll have more work to do when you get home,but the students will learn more!