What Do Secondary School Special Ed Teachers Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Secondary School Special Ed Teachers teach secondary school subjects to educationally and physically handicapped students. Includes teachers who specialize and work with audibly and visually handicapped students and those who teach basic academic and life processes skills to the mentally impaired. They also develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.

Other tasks include:

• Observe and evaluate students’ performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
• Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
• Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
• Employ special educational strategies and techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills, language, cognition, and memory.

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

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73% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 73% 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, Secondary School Special Ed Teachers prepare materials and classrooms for class activities. They use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.

A typical day for a Secondary School Special Education Teacher will also include:

• Maintain accurate and complete student records, and prepare reports on children and activities, as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations.
• Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
• Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
• Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
• Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.

We asked some Secondary School Special Ed 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?	27% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	48% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	69% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	34% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	40% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	55% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Secondary School Special Ed Teachers also attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required. They may also meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children’s progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Secondary School Special Ed Teachers Attend professional meetings, educational conferences, and teacher training workshops to maintain and improve professional competence. They might also Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students’ behavioral and academic problems.

In addition, they Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, and professionals to develop individual educational plans designed to promote students’ educational, physical, and social development.

To some Secondary School Special Ed Teachers, it is also their responsibility to Provide additional instruction in vocational areas.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Secondary School Special Education 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 ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

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

http://www.cec.sped.org/

http://www.naset.org/

http://www.aft.org/