This Teaching Fellow seminar was held specifically for senior teaching fellows, was a time for us seniors to spend time with alumni teaching fellows who are currently teaching in various school systems. I found this time very beneficial. We were broken up into content areas for the first part of the seminar, so I was able to spend time with a math teacher. She was a third year teacher and in the small group setting we were able to ask many questions to find out what the first three years of teaching are really like. Since this math teacher was exactly where I want to be in three years, it was great to get real advice on what to expect as a new teacher.

We then spent time in a large group setting and had a panel discussion with the teachers to get multiple perspectives on how to handle the first few years as a teacher. Probably the biggest thing I learned from this was the fact that no one has the same experience in teaching. The best advice I heard was, "The day you lose your passion for teaching is the day you need to look for a new job, because the kids can tell if you love what you're doing, and if they know you dread being there, then they will dread being there."

This experience was also a great one to have right before student teaching. I still do have nerves about my lack of experience as a math teacher, but I am excited to work with students on a daily basis!