What does a secondary teacher do?
A secondary teacher plans subject lessons and presents them to learners using creative and engaging teaching methods. They assess the learners' abilities, strengths, and weaknesses and handle them appropriately. These professionals ensure a disciplined classroom by creating and maintaining rules that allow learners to ask questions with no fear and feel comfortable when brainstorming. Moreover, secondary teachers create lesson plans for learners who struggle with specific challenging concepts or when the classroom sizes change.
Secondary teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real secondary teacher resumes:
- Lead IEP meetings, and participate in all team meetings focuses on emotional and behavior issues.
- Manage FBLA, assist with meeting notes, financial records, and agendas for meetings, events, and fundraisers.
- Conduct group and one-on-one math, reading and writing activities.
- Develop and teach ESL curriculum to Taiwanese elementary, junior high, and high school students.
- Participate in quarterly curriculum reviews and trainings with other math teachers in the school network and district.
- Provide students with the fundamentals of a life-long love of literature and a comprehension of its place in society.
- Provide students with academic, social, or behavioral interventions and accommodations base on their unique needs and IEP.
- Design and create several PowerPoint presentations and project-base lessons to support and reinforce learning and engagement.
- Provide students a superior secondary education in chemistry with hands on approach combining written and experimental curriculum.
- Receive excellent ratings on evaluations for coaching, counseling and leadership skills.
- Provide informative presentations to students regarding different areas of study.
- Prepare students to compete in various business management and leadership events at DECA regional, state and national conferences.
- Develop behavior management and leadership skills.
Secondary teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Secondary Teachers are proficient in Public Schools, Classroom Management, and Mathematics.
We break down the percentage of Secondary Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Public Schools, 11%
Provided engaging instruction and developed positive relationships with students who had not been successful in comprehensive public schools.
- Classroom Management, 9%
Promote a productive learning environment, while implementing effective classroom management strategies targeted to the growing and developing adolescent.
- Mathematics, 9%
Utilized Connected Mathematics Curriculum to teach sixth grade students.
- Math, 9%
Participated in seventh grade team meetings and math Professional Learning Community (PLC.)
- Professional Development, 5%
Participated in ongoing professional development geared towards increasing behavioral and academic strategies to implement in the classroom.
- Language Arts, 5%
Prepared syllabi, course schedules, and provided instruction to middle and high school students in Language Arts and Directed Reading
Most secondary teachers use their skills in "public schools," "classroom management," and "mathematics" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential secondary teacher responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a secondary teacher to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "teachers must share ideas with their students, other teachers, and school administrators and staff." Additionally, a secondary teacher resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "fostered a classroom environment in which open communication and interaction conducive to positive learning outcomes was consistently encouraged. "
The three companies that hire the most secondary teachers are:
- Denver Public Schools10 secondary teachers jobs
- Democracy Prep Public Schools5 secondary teachers jobs
- Pasadena Unified School District4 secondary teachers jobs
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Secondary teacher vs. Teacher associate
A teacher associate is responsible for assisting the teacher in classroom operations and providing teaching support for the students. Teacher associates develop learning materials according to the instructions of the headteachers, helping them to track students' progress and observing class behaviors. They also take class responsibility if the teacher is away, ensuring to keep activity records and attendance for reference. A teacher associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling students' difficulties and working with the teacher to develop techniques to address those challenges.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a secondary teacher are more likely to require skills like "public schools," "professional development," "curriculum development," and "student learning." On the other hand, a job as a teacher associate requires skills like "child care," "cpr," "child development," and "cleanliness." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Teacher associates earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $32,745. On the other hand, secondary teachers are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $56,239.On average, teacher associates reach lower levels of education than secondary teachers. Teacher associates are 15.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Secondary teacher vs. Teacher and coach
A teacher/tutor is primarily in charge of facilitating discussions and other learning activities for students. Their duties typically revolve around developing lesson plans and teaching materials, assessing the progress of students through quizzes and examinations, assisting students in areas they find difficult, and helping them develop their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills. Furthermore, as a teacher/tutor, it is essential to monitor the progress and behavior of students, all while maintaining a healthy and safe learning environment for them.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that secondary teacher responsibilities requires skills like "mathematics," "language arts," "curriculum development," and "academic problems." But a teacher and coach might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "girls basketball," "varsity football," "student athletes," and "softball."
Teacher and coaches earn a lower average salary than secondary teachers. But teacher and coaches earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $48,513. Additionally, secondary teachers earn the highest salaries in the education with average pay of $56,239 annually.teacher and coaches earn lower levels of education than secondary teachers in general. They're 6.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for secondary teachers in the next 3-5 years?
Secondary teacher vs. Teacher/tutor
Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world. Every teacher is unique and has their own teaching styles and methods depending on the subject they teach and the age of their students. Oftentimes they also function as a parent, counselor, coach, friend, and even a lawmaker. There is essentially no limit to the roles a teacher portrays.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, secondary teachers are more likely to have skills like "curriculum development," "academic problems," "student achievement," and "administrative regulations." But a teacher/tutor is more likely to have skills like "kids," "study," "develop rapport," and "language."
Teacher/tutors earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $43,459. Comparatively, secondary teachers have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $56,239.Most teacher/tutors achieve a lower degree level compared to secondary teachers. For example, they're 6.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Secondary teacher vs. Teacher
Even though a few skill sets overlap between secondary teachers and teachers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a secondary teacher might have more use for skills like "academic problems," "administrative regulations," "instructional strategies," and "english language." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of teachers require skills like "handle scheduling," "kids," "cpr," and "early childhood development. "
Teachers enjoy the best pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $49,700. For comparison, secondary teachers earn the highest salary in the education industry.The average resume of teachers showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to secondary teachers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 8.9% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.5%.Types of secondary teacher
Updated January 8, 2025











