Picture cell phones, text messaging, Ipods, MP3 players, lawsuits and attitudes. It's a brand new world in today's classrooms. Classroom teachers who were once respected, seldom challenged, and even revered at times bear little resemblance to modern educators who struggle to teach a generation of students unlike any ever seen before. Today's students bring to class with them a wide variety of academic and social challenges. Teachers struggle to meet these needs while at the same time keeping abreast of the latest educational theories, methodologies, strategies, and trends in technology. After decades of experience in the classroom and as an administrator, working at all levels from elementary school through graduate studies, the author has written this text in order to pass along what he has learned in his journey through the educational system. So much has changed in those years and yet so many of the issues and concerns that face teachers today are rooted in the past. In this work the author attempts to pass along "hands on" and "common sense" methodologies and strategies that have proven successful in diverse classrooms filled with an ever changing student population. This "how to" book is designed to help not only new teachers, but veteran educators as well. It is the hope of the author that those who read it will learn and in turn will be better able to meet the needs of their students.