The organization he or she manages is a group of students from diverse backgrounds and with differing skills and abilities. Some are already eager learners, while others have to be awakened to the joys and satisfactions of learning. Still others have special problems that must be dealt with effectively in order for them to learn and in order to maintain an environment conducive to learning for the whole group. .

             It's important, first, to provide students with opportunities to learn about things that interest them and then, to find ways to introduce the learning that peaks the student's interest. If the teacher can find ways to relate the topic to the student's present experience, and provide interactive learning activities that the student can actively participate in, then the student will gain motivation. The physical environment plays a role in learning too. Some students learn better in different lighting (softer or brighter), sitting at a desk or lying on the floor, with music on or in perfect silence, in a warmer or cooler place, etc. The teacher can establish areas in the room that meet these different needs and styles of learning. Students who learn better lying down, for example, could bring mats to school that can be unrolled for study time. A small tent in the corner could provide the dimmer light some students need. A radio or CD player with earphones could be allowed during study time provided it truly helps the student to learn.

             The importance of reasonable rules that everyone understands can hardly be overestimated. On the first or second day of school the teacher could initiate an interactive discussion with the students about why rules are needed in the classroom. Let students share a few experiences that happened when there were no rules. Then, ask them to come up with no more than five rules for classroom behavior. They could each write down a rule or two they think is important on an index card, and the teacher could then let each person read what he/she wrote down.