Teaching can sometimes be a daunting task, moulding the young minds of the future and many of you may be constantly worrying that you might make a big mistake. A good teacher understands that being great at your job does not mean that you have to make perfect and flawless lesson plans, it is about the image you portray of yourself and how this helps your students because in the end, it's all about them.

Secret number one is to never stop being passionate about your job. When they day comes when you are just teaching to earn a pay check, then the quality of your lessons will drop and the students will start to notice. Keep alive that desire that you felt when you first started because in order to achieve something, you must truly want it. Teaching can be a challenging profession, but don't just do it to make the money.

Secret number two is to make sure that your students are engaged in your lessons at all times. Studies show that after ten minutes of lecturing or teaching, student's attention drops dramatically. Keep them alert by introducing new methods of teaching into the classroom. Look on the internet for examples of graphic organizers to structure writing programs and help in problem solving. Try bringing in word searches or printables that will help to stimulate their minds in new and different ways.

Secret number three, show your students that you care about them. When a big exam is coming up, how about offering extra after school classes or lunch tutorials for those who want to learn that little bit more. Motivate and instil confidence in them whenever you can, offering constructive criticism that will help to improve their grades. Try to find a balance between an authoritative teacher and a friendly one. This will remind your students that you carry the power in the classroom and still give off the impression that they can approach you with any problem, personal or work related.

Secret number four, set challenges for yourself every day, week and month. Identify what you may be doing wrong and turn these into goals. These will help you to constantly improve in both small and big ways and make it easier for you to adjust to life as an educator. Also, try setting weekly original challenges for your students, remember to be fair, but don't make them too easy. The point is to push them a little bit each time. They may hate you for it at first, but they will be grateful in the future.

The final secret number five may be a bit hard to do sometimes, but criticizing can be useful. When you are grading a paper, don't just point out the good things they have written, but also point out what they can improve on, which will help them to do better next time. Don't be afraid to accept criticism too. Try not to take it too personally, and use it to improve your teaching methods.