Teaching

Leah

Nature of the Work• Teachers act as facilitators to help students learn and apply

concepts to math, science, english, and history.

• Teachers observe, evaluate, plan, assign lessons, prepare, present, listen, grade papers, and meet with parents.

• Secondary school teachers assist students who are choosing courses, careers, colleges, and jobs.

• Teachers work with students from varied religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.

• Also, teachers conduct various classroom activities, supervise extracurricular activities, accompany students on field trips, and participate in educational workshops and conferences.

Training and Education• Becoming a public school teacher requires completion of

a bachelor’s degree from a teacher education program. Then obtaining a license.

• Secondary school teachers most often major in the subject that they plan to teach.

• Not only do teachers have to be knowledgeable about the subject they teach, but they need to be able to communicate, trust, depend, and understand the needs of their students.

• Some teachers may attain a professional certification.• This certification may allow the teacher to earn special

benefits, such as higher salaries.

Employment• Kindergarten, elementary, middle, and

secondary school teachers held 3.5 million jobs in 2008.

• Of those 3.5 million jobs

–179,500 kindergarten teachers

–1.5 million elementary teachers

–659,500 middle school teachers

–1.1 million secondary school teachers

Job Outlook• Employment of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and

secondary school teachers is expected to grow as fast as the average for all occupations. Expected to grow 13% between 2008 and 2018.

• Now through 2018 the overall student enrollments are expected to rise more slowly than in the past as children of the baby-boom generation leave the school system.

• Job opportunities for teachers vary with the grade level, locality, and subject taught.

• Some schools have difficulty hiring qualified teachers in some subject areas.

• The supply of teachers will increase if there is better pay, improved job aspects, and greater public interest in education.

The Earnings• Annual wages of kindergarten, elementary, middle,

and secondary school teachers ranged from:– $47,100 to $51,180 in May 2008

• The lowest 10%– $30,970 to $34,280

• The top 10%– $75,190 to $80,970

• Teachers beginning with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $33, 227 in 2005-2006.

• Teachers can boost their earnings by receiving extra pay for coaching sports, supervising extracurricular activities, getting a masters degree, and teaching summer school classes.

What I Learned About My Career Interest• I learned what it takes to be a teacher. You have to not only

be knowledgeable, but you have to be able to communicate with your students, assist them when they need help, and be open to all opinions and suggestions.

• I also learned that job opportunities depend on what subject you can teach, what grade level you are certified to teach, and what school districts you can teach at.

Works Cited

• Physicist. 19 March 2010. 26 April 2010 <http://www.bls.gov/k12/math04.htm>. 

• Teachers—Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary. December 2009. 26 April 2010 <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos318.htm#nature>. 

• Works Cited. August 2004. 26 April 2009 <http://openc.k12.or.us/citeintro/citeintro.php?Grd=Sec >.