Jeanne, do not confuse knowing your students with being a buddy. Guides know their students well but know the difference between being a friend and taking the role of a mentor, guide and leader. Friends tend to not challenge each other or take friends out of their comfort zones. Guides are experts at taking students outside of their comfort zones and to just the correct levels to enhance the overall learning process. Continue to learn all you can about your students but use that information to challenge them and take them as far along the learning path as possible. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you, I am eager to assist those new to teaching. You may want to consider visiting the MaxKnowledge Lounge located at http://www.careercollegelounge.com. You can always find other instructors willing to share ideas and provide suggestions with any situation you can imagine. James Jackson