Educators: Who are they? What do they do?
Editor’s notes – Many thanks to website “Teacher.org” for thoughts and organization. For a related but distinct career category, see “Child Care – Day Care.”
WHO COULD CONSIDER A CAREER IN EDUCATION
People who are interested in encouraging the growth and development of young people so they may become future thinkers and leaders. Teachers teach indirectly by example (e.g. always being prepared and calmly dealing with different personalities and behaviors). In addition to preparing daily lesson plans, providing instruction and supervision within the classroom, teachers must also engage in informal, psychological counseling for their students. Teachers should be willing to function within a team concept including their fellow teachers, administrators and parents.
ADVANTAGES WITHIN A CAREER IN EDUCATION
* Job security – There will always be a need for teachers and school administrators. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts growth in almost all the educational careers. Note continuous news stories regarding shortages for teachers and substitutes.
* Benefits – Teachers receive pensions and insurance coverage for themselves and their families. Additionally, teachers can take advantage of tenure and built-in salary increase plans as they gain experience. Paid holidays are often included in union contracts.
* Teaching What You Love – Teachers get to share their passion for interesting subjects, from writing to history to art to music to science to math and many more subjects.
* Helping Others – A student always remembers the “best” teachers for what was learned as a school subject and also life lessons. Teaching a classroom of individuals has a broader, multiplying effect when your students proceed into the world and positively affect others.
* Outside jobs – Once a good local reputation is established for teaching a specific skill, teachers have the opportunity to earn extra income after school hours and/or during school vacations, to tutor individual students or present courses in evenings in such settings as community colleges.
* Sports coaches – Teachers within the same school district often have the priority opportunity to coach the school’s sports teams.
* Did we forget to mention summers off-duty while your salary is usually paid out in equal installments over a 12 month basis?
TYPES OF CAREERS IN EDUCATION WITH THEIR REQUIREMENTS
Within publicly funded education, all teachers and school administrators are required to have graduated from college and passed certification tests for their specific level (e.g. elementary or middle or high school) or course(s) to be taught. Common duties include lesson planning, testing, grading, student supervision, parent meetings and curriculum development.
ART TEACHER – Educates students about the creation of art, which usually involves creating art in a classroom setting. In advanced settings, teachers focus in part on art history.
BIOLOGY TEACHER – Biology teachers create basic science experiments and help students carry out scientific investigations. Teaching opportunities are at the high school or college levels.
COLLEGE PROFESSOR – Teaches young adults in specific subject areas for which they are trained. Opportunities are found at private, public and/or online schools. Full time and part time (“Adjunct”) professors are also responsibile for writing letters of recommendation.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER (typically First through Fifth Grades) – Teaches basic subjects such as introductory science, math and english. They prepare students for later grades and encourage their students to persevere with challenging tasks.
ENGLISH TEACHER – Instructs students in written, verbal and spoken language. Requires a strong knowledge base in writing, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and visual literacy. Most opportunities are from the sixth grade through college.
ESL (ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE) TEACHER – Teaches students to read, write and speak in English. They often focus on teaching practical words and phrases necessary for conversation in work and daily life. Since students are usually from many countries, different strategies are used to meet the needs of an entire class, including one-on-one when time permits.
HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER (typically Ninth through Twelfth Grades) – These grade levels usually involve teachers for specific, in-depth subject areas such as English, math, government, history and science. Teachers are often requested to write letters of recommendation for college applications.
HISTORY OR SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER – Opportunities within Middle and High School grade levels to teach topics related to various historical events and periods. Some districts require specific histories to be taught, such as a state’s history or specific time periods. The teacher’s personal political views must be hidden while respectfully presenting many sides to historical and current society issues in order to encourage critical thinking (see its definition within the Introduction to these career stories.)
KINDERGARTEN TEACHER – Students are typically age 5 or 6. A kindergarden teacher introduces basic math and literacy skills required to build all future education upon, while also guiding students in emotional, physical and mental development.
MATH TEACHER – Opportunities to solely teach math subjects are mostly within Middle and High Schools. Teaching at higher levels in speific math types, such as algebra, geometry or statistics will likely require certification in that subject.
MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER (usually grades 6-8; “Junior High” is typically grades 7-9) – Specializes and teaches single subjects, in contrast to elementary school teachers. Students at these ages are often coping with effects of hormones and increasing awareness of gender differences.
MONTESSORI TEACHER – Unlike traditional public and private school teachers, Montessori teachers do not strictly “teach” but provide guidance to students in a prepared environment. Their goal is to allow students to find their own knowledge over time. Most opportunities for teaching this way occur for early childhood age students.
MUSIC TEACHER – Teaches the basics of music theory and ability within various age groups. At the elementary level, music teachers are involved with multiple age groups and offer instruction in singing on key, reading music and appreciating basic instruments. At the Middle School level, a music teacher may also be a choir director or band leader. At the High School level, music theory is often introduced. At the college level, music appreciation classes are offered along with specific skills based on instruments or voice.
P.E. (PHYSICAL EDUCATION) TEACHER – Focuses on physical development and abilities in students of all ages. Gym teachers encourage studeents to stay active and healthy as part of an overall life sltyle. PE teachers should encourage students to respect different levels of athleticism and overall abilities, including those who are “disabled” (differently abled) for many possible reasons including significant mental and physical differences since birth.
PRESCHOOL TEACHER – Educate and provide care to children usually 3 to 5 years old. These teachers focus on language, motor and social skills including respect for others through play and social interaction. Some preschools involve children with computers but most preschools opt to provide intellectual stimulation without use of technology.
PRINCIPAL – Oversees all school activities and staff. A Principal is responsible to develop and maintain curriculums (usually with teachers’ involvement), manage school budgets, supplies and maintenance. They are also the public representative for their school, interacting with parents and community groups. They report to the district Superintendent.
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR – Includes such roles as principals, vice principals, instructional specialists, coordinators and more. They lead teachers and other professional staff in the daily activities of the school at all levels: elementary, middle and high school. Usually a Master’s Degree or higher is required for this type of position.
SCHOOL COUNSELOR – Addresses the psychological and social needs of school students through one-on-one counseling, administering and interpreting psychological tests, making diagnoses and coordinating with teachers and parents to help access resources available to students depending upon their individual needs. They also maintain student records such as special education reports, behavioral data and confidential records.
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN – Help students understand ways to find information and conduct research. Responsible for organizing and maintaining databases plus the physical library materials. May also help plan programs such as story time for children or literacy efforts.
SCHOOL SECRETARY – Is often the “heartbeat” of the school, involved in compiling attendance, dealing with students coming or going during the school day, working with parent volunteers and answering phones. Also keep lunch counts, monitor teacher attendance and substitute needs plus coordinate with budgeting personnel. While a college degree is not required, most secretaries hold at least two year post high school degrees.
SCIENCE TEACHER – Opportunies commence in Middle School to provide instruction specific to science in general or in a specific area such as biology, chemistry or life sciences (e.g. forestry, environmental science). Guide and conduct experiments which are age appropriate for the students.
SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER – Teach and work with students who have learning, mental, emotional and/or physical disabilities, sometimes referred to as “differently abled.” Usually the lessons must be adapted according to what the students are able to understand and do. Special Ed teachers must have high levels of patience and compassion.
SPORTS COACH – Teaches the skills for a specific sport while also providing overall lessons and examples for sportsmanship and team play.
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER – Replacement teachers are often called upon with minimal, same day notice to take over classrooms when regular teachers are temporarily unavailable. Substitutes use lesson plans prepared by the main teacher if their absence was anticipated in advance. This is often an entry level position which provides an opportunity to be noticed and recommended for hiring as a full time teacher.
SUPERINTENDENT – Responsible for the management and administration of (usually) a number of public schools within the school district. Supervises each school’s Principal and reports to their publicly elected School Board. Often required to serve as the district’s spokesperson to parents, elected officials and to the news media.
TEACHING ASSISTANT – Also called teacher aides, instruction aides or paraprofessionals. Work with or under the guidance of a licensed teacher, providing support and feedback to teachers while helping to monitor students’ progress.
VICE PRINCIPAL – Acts as the Interim Principal if the Principal is on leave. They support the Principal in administrative work and are involved with matters of student discipline, inventory and supervision of logistics such as lunch and bus schedules.
