Are you that new teacher slumped in a chair in the staff room? Do you count down the minutes at work or leave feeling defeated? Here are some tips that they didn’t teach you in college.

Always have confidence in yourself

A confident teacher is the first building block in education. If you don’t feel confident — fake it! Speak clearly and, when necessary, sternly without yelling. Look your students in the eyes when speaking and move around the room to interact with all your students. Students seek attention, whether negative or positive. Reward the positive, and try not to give attention to the negative. If you stay in control, so will your class.

Your students aren’t going to clap and applaud you after you planned for hours and hours to make a lesson “perfect.” Remembering why you chose teaching as a career will help you get through the days when nothing feels like it’s going right.

Try not to sink in the paperwork

Paper! Paper! Paper! The paper never stops. You have student work, student assessments, letters from home, school letters, principal newsletters, PTA forms, etc. Try to set up a system in the beginning to avoid piles accumulating on your desk.

Here are some tips to help organize your paperwork: Have plastic drawers in which to place paper, and label them. For example, I bought a four-drawer small plastic bin from the dollar store. The drawers are labeled “letters to the office,” “data,” “nurse notes” and “student work.” I also have another bin labeled “need to file.”

Having an organized classroom will help you have an organized mind and organized students. Another tip is to try to organize your data and lesson plans digitally. This will help you avoid getting caught in the paper trap.

Don’t spend all your money

According to a national survey conducted by the National School Supply and Equipment Association, the combined out-of-pocket and funded expenditures per teacher in the 2012–13 school year was an astounding $945, with $268 going toward school supplies, $491 for instructional materials, and $186 spent on other classroom supplies.

Be selective. It’s so easy to walk into a teacher supply store and want to buy everything you see. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in one day!

Look for other funding sources. One website that I strongly recommend is donorschoose.org. This website allows teachers to share their classroom needs with donors eager to help. I have gotten donations that include a listening center, an iPad, and math and literacy centers by posting on donorschoose.org.

Shop wisely. The dollar store is now your best friend. Keep your eyes peeled in the summer for discounts on school supplies. Another option is to check out garage sales.

Make parents your best friends

We all have had “that parent” who challenges us and sometimes even intimidates us. However, forming a rapport with your students’ parents from the start is crucial for success.

How do you do this? One suggestion is to call with good news and a compliment in the beginning of the school year. Parents love hearing good news, but most of the time they only get phone calls when their child misbehaves. Sharing good news in the beginning of the school year will go a long way toward preserving a good rapport when it is time to share not-so-good news.

It’s also important to always document communications with parents. I save all my forms of communication, including phone call conversation notes as well as the newsletters that I send home every week.

Make parents your partners. Try to promote parental involvement as much as possible in your classroom.

Keep at it and don’t give up

My first five years teaching were full of learning opportunities. Some days I would go home and wonder, “What other professions can I pursue? What did I get myself into?” Then I would remember the student who started reading for the first time or the student who wrote a letter telling me I made a difference in her life, and I’m reminded why it’s all worth it. Teaching is one of the most rewarding professions. Try not to stress out over the small stuff, and recall the passion that drew you into education in the first place.

To be a great teacher requires experience, reflection and patience. I wish they had told me that in college.