If I had a difficult student or class I knew I only had to “put up with” that student for 50 minutes, then a whole new set of kids would come in.

I believe a teacher can do a better job teaching a subject when they have master that topic. In high school teachers only have to concentrate on mastering one subject – the one they teach. In elementary, teachers have to know just enough about all the subjects. It doesn’t give them much time to really become experts in the subject matter because there is simply so much information out there. It is much easier to teach the same 50-minute lesson 6 times a day than to have to plan for and teach an entire 6-7 hour day of different topics to keep young kids interested and engaged all day long.

In high school you really get a chance to become part of your student’s lives. You can support them by attending the games or concerts they perform in (often when parents don’t have or make the time.) High school students are at a time in their lives when they are beginning to think about their future career and life on their own. You’ll get to help shape and guide them into this new life.

I also found that I had complete freedom to teach however I wanted, never had to turn in lesson plans to a priciple. My elementary teaching colleages were always fretting about the hours they had to spend creating lesson plans for their supervisor to approve.

Our class sizes were smaller in my district. High school classes had 20-25 whereas the elementary had 30-40 (with a teacher aide). Fewer students = more time with each student = easier to teach.

I, personally, could not immaging putting up with the same set of 30-40 potentially cranky/misbehaving kids for 7 hours each day for 5 days a week for the ENTIRE school year!