A high school teacher is a fundamental piece in the machinery of society. They are responsible for educating the impressionable young minds of the youth. The quality of the next generation rests upon the high school teacher to mold them into upstanding citizens.
The teenage years are a delicate age for youth because of various negative influences that might arise. It is up to the teacher to teach and guide them the proper way towards adulthood.
Education and Training Requirements
The qualifications to becoming a high school teacher are a degree in the subject that you wish to teach in, or an equivalent certificate obtained through teaching courses. Most schools also conduct training programs that enable additional skills to be learned so you can practice teaching albeit as a substitute teacher. From there you can move up to permanent teaching duties as the need arises.
Duties and Responsibilities
Students spend a third of their day at school so it’s a teacher’s job to create an ideal environment for learning.
High school teachers are responsible for teaching and guiding the students through the troublesome teenage years. They will have to set activities and teaching programs designed to be conducive to the mental and emotional development of the youth.
It is a teacher’s job to develop pupils’ academic, mental, are physical wellbeing while guiding them with various life problems that they may encounter. Teachers inform about student performance and wellbeing by liaising with parents, students, and fellow faculty. It is also up to teachers to detect potential problems regarding the students so that they can be remedied early.
Routine teachers’ responsibilities include: setting learning programs, talking with parents and students, keeping records of pupils’ grades and performance, participation in faculty meetings and activities, organizing class activities and programs, supervising the class on field trips, and ensuring the safety of students at all times.
Qualifications
To become a teacher, you must have completed a college education and have a degree on the subject you wish to teach in, or have attended teaching courses and have a certificate to teach. You will be dealing with youth who have a potential to be rebellious or hard to control so you must be calm under fire and have good problem solving skills.
People skills and organizational skills are also equally important to become a teacher so you must have an eye for detail to be able to organize an efficient learning program for large numbers of people.
Passion for teaching is another oft overlooked but important characteristic in becoming a high school teacher. You must have the passion and dedication to help guide young minds that will be the nation’s future.
Compensation and Salary
Most teacher salaries ranges from $40,000 to $45,000 although it depends on the age level of the students and the area. The older the students the more a teacher gets paid to teach them. Schools, especially government run ones, provide excellent health care benefits and retirement benefits for teachers.
Being a high school teacher isn’t at the top of the list for financially rewarding careers but the satisfaction it brings because of the academic and emotional development of the future generation is well worth it.
