Teaching is a challenging enough job on its own.
Classroom
15 Facts About High School Teachers
Teaching is a challenging enough job on its own.
But when it comes to teaching high schoolers, there’s more pressure than ever to provide your students with the tools for their future. After all, the next step is college or the working world – so we’re the last point at which kids can turn over a new leaf and succeed in their education.
Education resources
Facts about high school teachers
If you’re wondering what exactly makes a high school teacher, or the impact we have on our students every year, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for 15 interesting facts all about high school teachers and everything we do for our students:
- High school teachers work hours as long as everyone else. Based on a survey in 2012 where teachers’ working hours were calculated, the average high school educator works around 10 hours and 40 minutes a day. That’s 53 hours a week on average.
- High school teachers hardly get any time off. On an average day, a teacher educates for 5 hours, planning for 45 minutes, and the rest of the time is spent handling anything from student supervision to grading and talking to parents. No time for long breaks or personal time in the average workday.
- Within the first five years of their career, an average of 46% of teachers leave education due to the long hours, lack of support, and the huge amount of work involved in managing and teaching classes. That percentage shows how difficult being a teacher can be, especially in high school.
- Teachers have a far bigger influence on the achievement of their high school students than any other form of variable. With 20x greater influence than class size or poverty, teaching quality can make a massive difference in high schoolers’ lives.
- Good teachers mean better students. A recent study has found that a great teacher can improve the lifetime earnings of the students in their high school class by as much as $266,000.
- High school teachers don’t get summers off every year; instead, much of that time is spent training through professional development, prepping, and learning new curriculum information ready to teach the following year.
- Teachers are the second-best job in the country when it comes to contributing to the well-being of society. For high school teachers, in particular, this statistic puts them only one behind the military regarding having a positive influence.
- Compared to similar job roles in other industries, the average high school teacher makes 14% less than similarly qualified job roles outside of education.
- The number of male teachers choosing to work in education has grown by an impressive 26% in recent years. While women still top the charts for high school education, with 8 out of 10 teachers being female, the scales may be tipping slightly towards greater equality.
- High school teaching allows educators to teach more specialized subject matter. Unlike elementary school teachers, your high school teacher is far more likely to be passionate about and interested in the subject.
- Teaching is one of the most stressful careers out there. High school teaching has been equated to the stress faced by firefighters and even pilots regarding the annual level of stress it causes.
- High school teachers are more loyal than you may think. A study in 2008 found that over 84% of teachers remained at the same school over a specific period, showing a commitment to the students they work with.
- High school teachers don’t know everything. While we may have years of experience in some cases, certain things can still surprise us. Like everyone else, it can be easy to forget things over time – from formulas to names and everything else in between.
- Most high school teachers consider standardized testing as just one element of classroom learning. Performance, assignments, and even participation are just as essential for the development and education of our students.
- We may not always like our students, but we want them to do well. No one indeed gets on with everyone in this life. The same is true for teachers. But disliking a high schooler doesn’t mean we don’t want them to do well – seeing problem students improve is more rewarding than just about anything else.
What are your favorite facts about high school teachers?
