For me, the most challenging part of building my curricula from scratch is that there are so many available resources. I find it time-consuming to seek out the best way to teach each topic for the first time. It is nice to know that I will be able to use these materials in the future, though.

Every teaching experience I was required to complete in my classes before student teaching, as well as student teaching itself, was very beneficial to gain confidence in teaching material, but also to show me that as a teacher, your lessons aren’t always going to be perfect. In the long term, everything is a learning experience to learn what works and what doesn’t. You just have to be patient. Also, completing homework in a timely manner in general helped me realize the most efficient ways for me to complete my schoolwork and planning now.

Be prepared for rejection. There may be plenty of reasons why you don’t get the job you want. However, if I would have gotten my “ideal” job, I wouldn’t be where I am right now, and I am very happy here. Keep all of your educational materials organized, of course, and use the resources and seminars that the ECS offers. They are quite helpful! Just apply to as many things as you can and don’t give up.

Because I didn’t have to do a whole lot of job searching after graduation, I would recommend taking  the time to apply to as many internships or educational work opportunities you can, because you never know how important the connections you make can be. I think that connecting with people in the field is probably the most important thing you can do.