Spend a lot of time getting to know individual pupils and their likes and dislikes. Find out what their favorite subjects are, and what they would like to achieve in life. Assess their individual learning styles as this can be used in conjunction with individual knowledge of students to develop effective lesson plans and strategies for getting the best from each pupil.
Recognize that rigid ideas about education will not get good results for each pupil. It is crucial to find the key to unlock the individual pupil's interest at the outset. A particular pupil may be fascinated with cars and engines. If the teacher can begin by taking this seriously and getting the student to believe that a knowledge of mathematics and science may help him to further his interest in engines, then she has found the key to make him learn.
Spend more time in hands-on, experiential learning, including more practical activities. This may feel threatening to begin with, but more conventional teaching methods can be interspersed with the practical. The theory would also dictate that even when the teaching moves away from the student's area of interest, she has now become engaged and has developed a liking for school and learning that will persist even if classes change in nature.