What Do Middle School Teachers Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Middle School Teachers teach students in one or more subjects in public or private schools at the middle, intermediate, or junior high level, which falls between elementary and senior high school as defined by applicable laws and regulations. They also prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.

Other tasks include:

• Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students’ varying needs and interests.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate these objectives to students.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students’ progress.
• Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.

We asked Middle School Teachers how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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72% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 84% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Middle School Teachers enforce all administration policies and rules governing students. They maintain accurate, complete, and correct student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.

A typical day for a Middle School Teacher will also include:

• Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
• Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
• Perform administrative duties, such as assisting in school libraries, hall and cafeteria monitoring, and bus loading and unloading.
• Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.

We asked some Middle School Teachers a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	18% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	51% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	77% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	51% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	34% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	60% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Middle School Teachers also attend staff meetings and serve on staff committees, as required. They may also attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Middle School Teachers Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students’ needs and progress. They might also Meet or correspond with parents or guardians to discuss children’s progress and to determine priorities and resource needs.

In addition, they Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.

To some Middle School Teachers, it is also their responsibility to Organize and label materials and display students’ work.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Middle School Teacher, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/education-training-and-library/middle-school-teachers.htm

http://www.teach.org/

http://www.aft.org/

http://www.caepsite.org/