Students do best when they are actively engaged in hands-on learning in a classroom environment that fosters social and emotional well-being. RAFT joins hands with Stanford's Cleo Eulau Center Resilience Consultant, Lisa Medoff, Ph.D., and EnCorps to share ideas and thoughts on how new teachers can best prepare for success in the classroom and in their professional careers. Teachers are given many ideas on how to foster resilience, to create positive classroom and school communities, and how to promote emotional and social competence. Motivating students involves preparing goals, addressing communication, engagement, and identifying a positive sense of self. Hands-on learning benefits students (and teachers) by addressing these concerns through collaborative groupwork, team building, multilevel interactions, active listening and risk taking, engagement, communication and organizational skill building. These skills promote a positive environment in which to learn