IT IS that time of the year again when teachers are confronted with a puzzling situation of new faces before them. A new year comes with new challenges and a teacher may often feel stressed by some of these new developments. However they should not deter you if you are determined to have a good year in class.The new term often kicks off with the frustration caused by students who delay to arrive and thus complicate your teaching plans since you feel pain having to teach half empty classes with the thought of having to repeat for those who are so lazy to leave their homes on time. To deal with this situation it is often advisable that a teacher strikes a balance between waiting for the critical mass to start serious lessons and not punishing those who came early in order to cater for the laggards. How you go about that is precisely your own decision. Another major challenge with a new school term could be the surprising changes that may have been decided by the school management. It is possible to find that you have not only been given new classes to handle but also new subjects. This is always challenging as it clearly interrupts the pattern that you had gotten used to. However change is indeed the only constant in life and so any wise teacher would immediately go ahead and embark on the new task with the same zeal that is expected of a teacher who enjoys their job. If you have some issues then you can still discuss with the school management about what you feel you can or cannot do in your new role. It is also wise to have a chat with the teacher who you may have replaced in the new role so that you get a better picture of what to expect. You should not worry a lot about such new changes because I am sure they cannot be as bad as your first day on the job, something you eventually overcame. Talking of new changes at the beginning of the New Year, nothing seems to beat the prospect of having to face a new class where you barely know even 10 students by name. I have been faced with this situation a couple of times and I have always used the same trick to gradually deal with it. A new class with new faces and no names is always a big challenge. You barely know who is who and so it is quite difficult to effect discipline onto a group of anonymous students. If you find a student walking out of the class you may not know if he was supposed to be in your class or was simply returning to the class he really belongs. In this case, the first step is usually to introduce yourself to the students on the first day and also ask them to introduce themselves to you. While they do this, they should also tell you something brief about themselves. This often goes a long way in helping you memorise their names. Of course you will not get all the 40+ names in one day. So make it a point to be certain of at least five names each day so that in about three weeks you know everyone in your class. Knowing the identity of all your students is usually the first step when it comes to understanding the individual needs of your students.The mark of a good teacher is the ability to know your students well enough in order to assist them in their individual capacities so that no one is left behind as you move along. Once the students know that you know each of them then they are more likely to behave better and also to work with you better in order to achieve the success they are in school for.