A Day in the Life of a Teacher at a Public High School
Vanessa's day begins before 7:00 AM, involving classroom preparation, mentoring colleagues, and ensuring smooth school operations— "One person being out can really throw off the structure of a day". The day includes a class community meeting, reading and writing lessons, recess ("I get to play Foursquare every day"), math, project-based learning, and ends with lesson planning until around 5:00 PM, showcasing a demanding yet fulfilling career.
Education, Teaching, Elementary Education, Curriculum Development, Classroom Management
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Vanessa Bobbitt
Teacher
Public High School
St. Mary’s College of California
Eastern Kentucky University, Educational Leadership
Psychology
Education
Education
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. A typical day starts early, before 7:00 a.m., with preparation and collaboration with colleagues.
2. The school day involves a balance of whole-group and small-group instruction, incorporating reading, writing, math, and project-based learning.
3. Evenings are dedicated to lesson planning, often extending until 5:00 p.m. or later, reflecting the significant time commitment required for teaching.
Transcript
What does the day in the life of a teacher look like?
I wake up pretty early and get my family ready to go, and I'm at work before 7 o'clock. When I get in, I set up the room for my class. I make sure everything needed for the day is set, and then I check in with colleagues.
I mentor my first-year teacher, so I make sure he is set for the day. I check in with the other people down my hall to make sure that there's nothing that could be a mess in schools. One person being out can really throw off the structure of a day.
So, I want to make sure that I'm anticipating. My students and I come in, they eat breakfast with me, which is really lovely. Then we have our class community meeting, and we set ourselves up for what to expect throughout the day.
From there, we go into learning how to read. We do whole group reading and writing lessons, followed by some small group targeted instruction, and then go to recess and lunch. One of the biggest perks of my job is I get to play Foursquare every day with a bunch of really cool kids.
It's pretty awesome. We come back and we do math, and then we have a unique structure at my school where we do a project-based learning block at the very end of the day. From there, I send my kids home.
Some days I stay for the after-school program and help with that. Then I plan until probably about 5 o'clock. I head home to my family and put them to bed. And then I generally spend an hour to in the evening on lessons for the following week.
Advizer Personal Links
No