Teaching: Have a Positive Impact on the Next Generation!
- Nela Friesen
- Mar 14, 2025
- 6 min read
Table of Contents
About Mr. Dupuis
In high school, Mr. Dupuis was very vocal in his class and enjoyed learning. When looking at potential careers, he was looking for a career where he could help others. He considered careers like journalism and law enforcement before deciding what he really loved was helping others learn, so he became a teacher. He has been serving in teaching roles as well as leadership roles within the school.
What is Working as a Teacher Like?
An Average Day
The average work day for a teacher starts when they arrive at school at around 7:00-7:30 AM. The time before the school day starts is used to prepare for the day's classes by doing any last-minute printing and any other preparation needed. They then go through the day teaching each of their classes. Teachers typically have one period each day where they do not teach, which is called a prep. Like the name suggests, this is used to prepare for the next lessons, do some marking, etc. For lunch break, they might have supervision duties on some days, while other days, they can use this time to rest and chat with colleagues. School ends at 3:20 PM for students, but the teachers usually don't leave until 4:00-4:30 PM. At home, teachers will often spend another 2 to 3 hours in the evening working on preparing the next day's lessons and doing marking.
Pay
Teachers get paid in what's called a grid structure. Most teachers will start at around $60,000 to $65,000 per year. The starting point on the grid will also depend on how many years of education you have completed to become a teacher. Teachers then get a pay increase every year until they have 10 years of experience, where most pay grids in Alberta cap at around $100,000 per year. After this, there are no pay increases unless pay is negotiated by the collective group of teachers through their union.
Work Conditions (Collaborative/Independent, Hours, Stress)
Work as a teacher is both independent and collaborative. A lot of the decision-making will be independent, for example, deciding how to teach your lessons and what activities to include for the class. However, teaching is, at its core, a very collaborative job. If you see that a student is struggling, you might go to other teachers for advice on how to best help the student succeed. Teachers also share ideas on how to make lessons engaging for students and may adopt each other's ideas in their classrooms. Teachers are constantly working with students and other teachers on the job.
Teachers often work around 9 hours per day and often have to do some work on weekends as well. It can be difficult to maintain a good work-life balance when there is work that needs to be done at home as well as at school. Teaching is an example of an identity profession. Teachers deal with not only the physical load of their job but also the mental load. Mr. Dupuis told me that every time he watches a movie or reads a book, he is thinking about how he could tie this in with his lessons, showing how his job as a teacher is constantly on his mind. However, there is also flexibility with summer break and other holidays throughout the school year where there is less work that needs to be completed, allowing for more rest.
It can be a stressful job because teachers have to be good at juggling a lot of things. Teachers are driven to help kids succeed, so it can be hard when they feel like they may not be doing enough to help their students succeed. Sometimes, teachers put more effort into helping a student succeed than the student does, which can be hard. However, as with any job, stress depends on the person. A good way to manage stress as a teacher is to take joy in all the small successes.
Qualities Needed
A teacher needs to be creative to keep lessons and learning interesting for students. They need to have quick-thinking skills and be observant of what is happening in their classroom. Teachers also need to be calm-tempered and approachable. They need to be able to build connections and trust with their students.
Hardest and Easiest Parts of the Job
This very much depends on the individual's personality and skill set. Some teachers might find the planning the hardest while others can find managing a complex class difficult. However, in general, the hardest part is trying to figure out how to meet the students' needs when you don't have a lot of resources to do it. The easiest part is often when you get to have a one-on-one conversation with a student to help them understand the course material.
Why Choose to be a Teacher?
One of the most rewarding moments as a teacher is the Aha Moment, when you have been trying to help a student understand a concept and all of a sudden, they get it.
Most people choose to become a teacher because they recognize the impact they are having on a life that will carry forward long after they have finished school. Most people can think of a teacher or two who were very influential in learning more about how life works and who they are as a person. Teachers want to have that positive influence on others.
Misconceptions
A misconception held by most people is that teachers only go to work from 8 AM to 3 PM and have evenings, weekends, and holidays completely off. They don't realize or recognize the amount of work that goes into being a teacher and doing it well outside of school hours.
Another misconception that people have is that teachers get paid during the summer. However, in reality, an amount is taken off their pay cheques throughout the school year that is then returned to them over the summer.
Post-Secondary
You will need to complete a teaching education program to become a teacher, which can be completed in one of three ways. Some universities have 4 year education degree programs, but most universities offer either a combined degree program or an after-degree program to become a teacher. Mr. Dupuis did a combined degree program, where he went to school for 3 years in an undergraduate degree for his major, which was political science. After this, he did 2 years in the education program and graduated with two university degrees simultaneously from the University of Lethbridge. In an after-degree program, you complete a Bachelor of Education degree if you already hold a Bachelor's degree in a different field. A lot of teachers are also beginning to pursue further education in a Master's degree, for example, a Master of Curriculum.
There technically aren't specific requirements for teaching high school vs elementary. However, some programs do specialize. For example, the University of Lethbridge has a new program called Bachelor of Education Early Years Education, which focuses on teaching Kindergarten to Grade 3. However, you are qualified to teach any class in any grade if you hold a Bachelor of Education degree. Whether you teach elementary or high school can also depend on experience and temperament.
It is fairly difficult to enter this industry because entry to the required university programs is often competitive and requires good grades. It is also a lot of schooling up front, and you are not able to start working as a teacher until you have completed your degree.
What can High School Students do to Prepare?
Students will need to find where their passion lies to see how they can connect with kids. Volunteer opportunities like helping with youth groups at church or volunteering at a local elementary school are great. When working in education, you will spend every day with kids for seven hours, and then if you have a family, you go home and spend time with them. This isn't meant negatively, but you have to make sure you are passionate about teaching and enjoy spending time with kids, or you may burn out.
You will also need to maintain good grades and build good study habits to get into and get through the competitive programs required to become a teacher.
Special thanks to Mr. Dupuis for agreeing to meet with me to teach me more about being a teacher and hopefully, it gave you a new perspective on teaching as a career!
Stay tuned for new posts, as the next one is coming out next week on Friday. Thanks!
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