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The Complete Guide to Becoming A Secondary School Teacher, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The real pay, real schedule, real requirements, and real daily grind of teaching secondary school - so you can decide with your eyes open before you invest a penny.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: What Does a Secondary School Teacher, Except Special and Career/Technical Education Actually Do?
Let’s start by clearing up what this job actually is, because the title "Secondary School Teacher, Except Special and Career/Technical Education" is a mouthful, and it hides a very specific, very busy daily reality. You are not a lecturer standing in front of a quiet room. You are the person responsible for the academic progress of 120 to 160 teenagers per semester, across five class periods, for 180 days a year. You are also, by default, a hall monitor, a counselor, a recordkeeper, a referee, and a public speaker who performs eight hours a day, ten months a year.
In plain terms, this occupation covers teachers of grades 6 through 12 (middle school and high school) who teach general academic subjects: English, math, science, social studies, world languages, and fine arts. It excludes special education teachers, who work with students who have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and it excludes Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers, who teach vocational skills like welding, auto repair, and cosmetology. Those are separate certifications and separate jobs. This guide is about the teacher standing in front of a mainstream biology class or a freshman English class.
Your core responsibility: instruction
Your primary job is to deliver instruction. That means you have a curriculum - a set of state or district-mandated standards - and you must plan lessons that help students learn that content. For a high school history teacher, that