Should I Be An Elementary Or High School Teacher?

Written by Mr Mustafa in Teachers' Lounge 

Deciding to become a teacher is an excellent choice. It’s a fulfilling, meaningful career where you help to shape lives and make a difference in your community. But deciding which grade level to teach is another matter. So, should you be a high school or elementary school teacher? This is an important discussion for any current and potential educators.

The key difference between teaching high school and elementary school is the age of the students, which determines their developmental level. This impacts teaching responsibilities; the subjects taught, and the qualifications teachers need. The teacher’s interests will also determine the best fit.

Whether you teach in the high school or elementary school environment, you will have the opportunity to grow and guide future generations. Read on to discover what it means to be an elementary school teacher and what it takes to teach high school.

Should I Be An Elementary School Teacher?

Elementary or primary school teachers work with first to fifth-grade students. These are crucial years to lay the foundations for students’ progress in learning and development.

If you’re considering teaching elementary school, you need to understand the age, stage of development, and abilities of elementary school students. Do you have the energy and personality to keep up with rambunctious kids, being cheerful and fair all day?

What Are Elementary School Students Like?

Elementary schools include children from grades one to five, roughly ages five to 11. Even within this age group, there are vast differences.

Some elementary school teachers work with a specific grade level only. In contrast, others, usually subject specialists like art or music teachers, will work across grades.

You can expect elementary school students to have the following characteristics.

Abilities

Because they are young, elementary students are still developing their abilities to read and write, including fine motor skills like using scissors and holding a pen. If you enjoy this phase of childhood development and helping children learn foundational abilities, then elementary teaching is for you.

The educational focus is on cooperative learning strategies and overlapping subject matter rather than specialist content. Every moment is a teaching moment: an art lesson is as much about sharing paint tubs as it is about creating a painting.

Behavior

The critical behavioral learning with small children is independence. Elementary students can not yet function independently and mostly require hands-on attention from their teacher. Depending on their grade level, students may need help from tying shoelaces to organizing personal possessions.

Your focus as a teacher will be helping students to develop socially and emotionally. Behavioral issues elementary school teachers face are usually around their students managing and understanding their emotions.

Younger children are generally cheerful and enthusiastic but can still have tantrums and get overwhelmed. They are willing to be very silly and enjoy laughing.

Older elementary school students are edging towards adolescence and beginning to become more independent and passionate, pushing more boundaries. However, they are young enough to be playful and have fun.

What Are An Elementary Teacher’s Responsibilities?

Being an elementary school teacher is physically demanding and busy. Your day will include preparing lessons, teaching time, and additional school-related responsibilities.

Teaching-Related Responsibilities

The typical duties of an elementary school teacher on any given day include the following:

  • Preparing lesson plans
  • Preparing and setting out books and supplies for the day’s activities
  • Enforcing rules around behavior inside the classroom (e.g., putting on and taking off coats, taking books out of bags, putting away backpacks)
  • Enforcing behavior rules outside the schoolroom (e.g., lining up before lessons)
  • Teaching lessons one after the other, with each class lasting an hour or so
  • Adjusting lessons according to student’s needs and interests
  • Working one-on-one with students who need extra attention
  • Grading all student materials submitted, including tests and worksheets
  • Writing progress reports

Additional Responsibilities

Apart from teaching activities, teachers also have other duties as assigned, such as the following responsibilities:

  • Supervision duty at recess, on the bus, after-school, and in the lunchroom
  • Supervising snack time
  • Administrative tasks, including writing incident reports
  • Attending meetings
  • Answering emails from parents, other teachers, heads of department, and the head teacher
  • Tidying and organizing the classroom
  • Coaching sports or other extra-curricular activities
  • Planning and hosting social and academic events (e.g., book fairs, field trips, etc.).

Is Teaching Elementary School A Good Fit For Me?

Working with primary students may be a good fit if you’re keen to teach younger students and feel capable of delivering multiple subjects and responsibilities.

Additionally, you should consider whether you have the personality and plan to get the appropriate qualifications to be an elementary teacher.

Try this quiz to see if you’ve got what it takes to be an elementary school teacher.

Do I Have The Personality Of An Elementary School Teacher?

There is no typical personality of a school teacher. Still, certain personality traits lend themselves to teaching elementary school.

To be a successful elementary school teacher, you must be very organized. You are attending to the students all day, so you won’t have much time for lessons and supplies prep between classes. Much of the success of each class depends on the work you’ve already done behind the scenes.

Elementary school teachers are “on show” all the time. You teach most of the day and must retain the students’ interest by being cheerful, engaging, and animated. You must also be a role model, as they observe you closely.

Loads of energy and enthusiasm are essential, as you will be on your feet all day, moving around and working hands-on. Students will need physical assistance, and your own personal space will become secondary.

Creativity is essential, especially as students do a lot of crafts and art to develop small muscle skills. Your classroom needs to be cute and appealing while also well-organized.

Elementary school teachers require endless patience, accepting both routine and repetition, and unpredictability, commotion, and noise.

Emotional intelligence is necessary as students tend to bond closely with their elementary school teachers – you spend every day with the same group of students.

Finally, a sense of humor will go a long way. Young children are excited and funny and love jokes.

Do I Have The Qualifications To Be An Elementary School Teacher?

All teachers require a tertiary qualification in education, usually a bachelor’s degree and sometimes postgrad specialization, along with practical classroom experience.

Elementary teachers tend to specialize in early childhood studies, elementary education, literacy, or special needs education rather than subject specialization.

Following formal studies, elementary teachers must complete between one and three years of supervised classroom experience. You will also need state licensing and certification.

At the elementary level, you teach most school subjects to a single group unless you teach drama, art, or music.

An interdisciplinary approach is standard at elementary school. You need a broad knowledge of subject areas, including math, English, science, social studies, and possibly, physical education, music, and art.

Should I Be A High School Teacher?

High school teachers work in secondary schools where students are between ninth and twelfth grades.

High school teachers focus on educating students for their future lives and education beyond school, looking towards college and a career.

If you plan on teaching high school, you need to consider the age, stage of development, and abilities of high school students. Are you passionate about sharing your subject specialization and motivating teenagers?

What Are High School Students Like?

High school students can range in age from 13 to 18 and have very different abilities, behavior, and educational level to elementary students.

Most high school teachers work across grades, teaching a single specialist subject, so you will get to know students of different ages.

You can expect high school students to have the following characteristics.

Abilities

High school students can start learning independently and regulating their studies, time, and activities. However, they are not a blank slate to mold, as they would be in first grade.

Students of this age should be doing the majority of the work in the classroom, with you teaching, guiding, and mentoring far less.

Your focus as a teacher is two-fold: first, you are passing on the skills and knowledge of your specialist field, developing a passion for the subject in students. Most high school teachers are subject specialists and love sharing their field, whether American history or calculus.

High school students also need to learn higher-order thinking strategies, such as how to study, think critically, and develop analytical skills. These so-called soft skills are in demand in many workplaces, rather than content knowledge.

Behavior

High school students are teenagers. Unlike elementary students, these students are independent and relatively mature.

They’re not yet adults, but they face many of the challenges, fears, and traumas that adults do. However, their bodies and brains are still developing, with all the associated adolescent physical and mental changes.

Many teenagers push boundaries and can be described as impulsive, rebellious, irritable, unruly, and disruptive. They can be sullen and withdrawn, so high school teachers need to be able to connect with detached students and help them through this challenging time.

However, teenagers can also be gloriously intelligent, engaged, motivated, and hard-working. Seniors, in particular, develop ambition and are looking toward a successful future.

High school teachers must be sensitive to students’ changing moods and personalities, looking for signs of abuse, neglect, and addiction. Sometimes, a teacher may be the only adult in a student’s life who shows them encouragement and compassion.

You will likely be seen as a role model, helping students develop life skills, confidence, self-esteem, and positivity. You are an example of how to grow into an independent, responsible adult, so your words and actions are of tremendous importance.

What Are A High School Teacher’s Responsibilities?

The pressure on high school teachers differs from elementary school teachers: you’re not so physically engaged and hands-on, dealing with foundational skills and behavior.

Instead, you are responsible for shaping students’ interests and abilities. You help them meet state and national testing standards, admission requirements for college, and potential career demands.

The typical duties of a high school teacher on any given day include the following:

  • Planning and preparing lessons (during the day and after hours)
  • Keeping up-to-date on your specialist field
  • Teaching 60-90 minute lessons to different grade levels (often with breaks in between)
  • Assigning homework
  • Enforcing behavioral rules inside the classroom (e.g., punctuality, respect for others)
  • Enforcing behavioral rules around the school campus (e.g., no smoking)
  • Grading and evaluating student performance on assignments submitted, tests, and exams
  • Helping students prepare for state or national exams
  • Writing progress reports
  • Hosting study sessions
  • Building a relationship of trust and respect with students
  • Mentoring students
  • Creating a positive learning environment
  • Motivating students to perform to the best of their ability.

Additional Responsibilities

Apart from teaching activities, teachers also have other duties as assigned, for example:

  • Being available during office hours to students with questions or issues
  • Administrative tasks, including writing incident reports
  • Attending meetings
  • Answering emails from parents, other teachers, heads of department, and the head teacher
  • Coaching sports or other extra-curricular activities
  • Planning and hosting social and academic events (e.g., science fairs, math competitions, talent shows, field trips, etc.).

Is Teaching High School A Good Fit For Me?

Being a high school teacher can be fulfilling if you enjoy working with relatively independent students with existing skills you’d like to refine.

Try this quiz to see if being a high school teacher is right for you.

Do I Have The Personality Of A High School Teacher?

High school teachers do not have a typical personality because of the wide range of subject specialists. Still, there are some handy traits to cultivate.

Most high school teachers have a deep sense of social responsibility. They become teachers not only to share their subjects but to develop young people who are fair, just, and responsible citizens.

Any teacher needs to be friendly and open, as you will be working with youngsters all day. Teenagers can challenge your opinions, so you need to be flexible, thoughtful, and adaptable.

Being overly authoritarian is not helpful, as high school students will seek independence and be treated as mature adults, even if you know better.

Working with teenagers also means you should be able to interact with, persuade, engage, and motivate young people on a personal level. It helps high school teachers to have a sense of humor, curiosity, and imagination.

Being observant and having high emotional intelligence are essential to getting to know high school students, who often behave in peculiar and unpredictable ways out of a desire to be cool or popular.

Do I Have The Qualifications To Be A High School Teacher?

Most high school teachers will have a bachelor’s degree in education and/or their subject specialization, and sometimes a master’s degree.

Teaching practice, supervised teaching after graduation, and state certification are also necessary.

High school teachers are specialists rather than generalists, often content experts in their field. They have a passion for sharing their subject and developing future experts.

Subject specializations will include traditional academic subjects like languages and the sciences. You also get high school teachers specializing in vocational or CTE (career and technical education) subjects.

Conclusion

Deciding which grade level to teach involves researching, conducting school visits, and reflecting on your personality and interests.

Remember that you can move from one level to the next: many teachers start at elementary and later teach high school.

Watch Michele Rose’s vlog as she discusses her decisions around teaching elementary vs. high school art.

Ask yourself these questions to help determine where you fit best, teaching elementary or high school:

  • How do I want to impact students’ lives?
  • Do I have the energy and personality to spend the day with 20 small, busy children?
  • Do I enjoy being hands-on and creative with kids?
  • Do I enjoy working with teenagers or find them intimidating and moody?
  • Do I want to work across subjects or share my subject specialization?

Sources

Mr Mustafa

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