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The following is an excerpt from the book 'The Ten Commandments of Good Teaching' by Vickie Gill, a Californian teacher. The book offers the teachers, particularly new teachers courage to follow their instincts and illuminates the ideas they need to succeed.

1. Thou shalt have a calling to teach

Teaching is the greatest profession of all professions. It is one of the hardest jobs requiring a profound commitment. Teachers are an elite group of people who can truly change the world. They bear an awesome responsibility because even a casual comment by a teacher may affect a student's life forever.

It is an incredibly important and demanding job. Thou shalt not become a teacher unless you feel a calling to this mother of all professions. Depending on your talent, profound commitment and disposition, it can be the best or the worst way to earn your living.

2. Thou shalt demonstrate the joy of learning

Good teachers clearly demonstrate and protect the joy of learning. They never stop learning themselves and share with their students some new discovery or insight that had delighted or amazed.

Teaching has a great deal in common with acting and sales. It is not enough that teachers are completely knowledgeable in the subjects they teach and also make the students want to buy what they are offering.

3. Thou shalt know where you are going

Teaching is a process of planning and reflection. Teachers have to find out the needs of their students before they create the objectives.

Make sure the objectives match what students will need to be successful in life. Preparing the students for the public examination has become the sole objective of most teachers but good teachers promise practical applications for the facts they are presenting, so that they are preparing students to be more than great trivial pursuit players. When deciding what to teach, teachers have to be original and teach in the style that works best for them.

4. Thou shalt be organised and accountable

Getting organized will pay off for you in a number of ways. You gain your students' confidence in what you are teaching. Well organized lesson leaves no room for arising disciplinary problems. As long as the students are engaged themselves in useful and interesting activities, you do not worry over their disciplines. And you should have the documentation at your fingertips in case the parents need to know their children's performance.

5. Thou shalt ask and you may receive

Figure out specifically the tools you need to do the best job you can and then ask for them. You will have to seek elsewhere or modify your plans, if your request is rejected. 'No' is not a rejection, just a detour. Every problem has a solution. Sometimes you need to be a little more clever or look at from a totally different perspective. True wisdom is knowing the difference between the things we can do something about and the things we can't do anything about.

6. Thou shalt be fair and prepared

Discipline is the biggest challenge teachers face in the classroom and it is certainly the weakest point of most teachers. One of the main goals of teachers should be to help students learn self discipline.

One of the best ways to eliminate discipline problem is to have a reputation as a good teacher who tries to make learning enjoyable. The students should definitely have the idea that their teachers have rules in their class not to exert the power of authority but to eliminate chaos and make their learning enjoyable.

7. Thou shalt use some common sense

Teaching is a people's business and stuff happens. There are times you will have to make a judgement based on common sense. Teachers can develop a set of rules by which to run their class. Nevertheless, teachers would be called on to make a decision based on your instincts rather than the normal situations.

8. Thou shalt be open minded and flexible

Schools are filled with different types of personalities. Teachers have to be a little open minded about people who act differently. People should be judged by their actions not by their appearances. Teaching is a profession of people business and you have to remain flexible to survive. Teachers have to be ready to embrace the unexpected and make it work.

9. Thou shalt not work in fear

You have to understand the balance of power in the system. The most important people in the school system are the students and their parents.

One of the main goals in a school is to provide a safe teaching - learning environment and much responsibility of it lies with the principal. You should not fear of authority figures. Just be sure you're right. Listen to all suggestions but use your instincts and experiences to filter out the ones that don't work for you.

10. Thou shalt raise your expectations

You have to raise your expectations for yourself and your students. Students come to school with various levels of skills, knowledge, expectations and experiences and the challenge of our teachers is to move them all forward. It is indeed an overwhelming task. You have to stay up-to-date with materials, methods and approaches. You need not fear evaluation.

Learn something from any evaluation. The only people who fear evaluation are who refuse to grow. In the long run, our most useful evaluators are our students, who better know the quality of work.

If teaching is easy any one could do it. It is true we are never be paid what we are worth, and many of the tasks we accomplish will go unappreciated. But as a teacher, you are part of an elite group who can improve the life of another human being. Undoubtedly you have the power to change this world.

- Rohana Andaraweera

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