A Day In The Life Of A Secondary Teacher At International School Of Aruba
Sean's role as Secondary Lead/Teacher at the International School of Aruba blends teaching and administrative duties; a typical day involves "about an hour and a half a day planning," lesson delivery, meetings, and significant time spent on professional development for teachers, with the vast majority of the time spent "interfacing directly with people."
Education, Teaching, Leadership, Curriculum Development, Communication
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Sean Holiday
Secondary Lead/Teacher
International School of Aruba
George Washington University, 2006
Masters in Education, Loyola Marymount University, 2008; Master in Public Administration, University of Southern California, 2012
International Relations & Affairs
Education
Education
Honors Student, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ
Video Highlights
1. A typical day involves a balance of lesson planning and delivery, with about 1.5 hours dedicated to planning and the rest spent teaching.
2. A significant portion of the role (80%) involves direct interaction with students, teachers, parents, and other staff through meetings, lessons, discussions, and professional development.
3. For those in leadership positions, a considerable amount of time is dedicated to planning and delivering professional development for teachers, focusing on skill-building and effective teaching strategies.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of your role look like?
I'll talk about being both a teacher and a principal. As a teacher, I spend about an hour and a half each day planning lessons and developing resources. Since I'm also the secondary lead, I might have to plan a meeting or create a presentation. The rest of my time is spent delivering lessons.
As a principal, my day generally started with greeting students as they entered the school. Then, we might have an assembly that I would need to speak at. I would also observe a couple of teachers, perhaps meet with some parents, and meet with my assistant principals.
I would sit in my office and get some work done. Then, I might meet with teachers to provide direct coaching, or deal with a behavior outburst or another problem that arose. I would end the day by seeing the students off, usually followed by some time after school working on my own.
All these jobs in education are roles where I've felt I spend the vast majority of my time interfacing directly with people. I would say that both as a teacher and as a principal, I probably spend 80% of my time in meetings, lessons, discussions, and delivering professional development. The other part of my time is spent preparing for that 80%.
As a principal, a big chunk of time is spent on preparing and delivering professional development. This involves thinking about what skills teachers need, putting together resources to help build those skills, and then delivering them effectively.
Advizer Personal Links
www.seanholiday.com; Instagram @sholiday