What Does a Teacher Do?

Teachers plan lessons, teach individual students and groups, keep the classroom orderly, adapt their materials to students’ different needs and evaluate how students are doing, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET profiles of elementary school teachers and secondary school teachers. What that looks like day to day depends on the subject and grade level.

Great teachers do it all. Across all ages, languages, ethnicities, and subjects, teachers are among the most widely skilled people around to be successful. A day in the life of a teacher can vary greatly depending on the subject and grade level in which they teach. From Kindergarten to high school and special education to statistics, one theme runs consistently throughout every great teacher’s career: their job does not end with the school day.

Although standing in front of the classroom is a huge part of a teacher’s responsibilities, they extend far beyond that into the lives of their students, their students’ families, and their community.

Teachers are uniquely positioned to have a direct impact on their students. Teachers can see their work in action, see the changes they create, and witness their goals come to fruition. No matter the goals, they can be summed up in a single sentence: You want to help people. And there are many ways you can help someone as a teacher. For example, teachers aspire to educate, inspire, learn, and effect positive change.

A Teacher’s Day-to-Day Responsibilities

The O*NET profiles for elementary and secondary school teachers list many of the same core duties for both groups. Five of them:

• Instruct students individually and in groups, through lectures, discussions and demonstrations.
• Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order.
• Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
• Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to students’ varying needs and interests.
• Observe and evaluate students’ performance, behavior, social development and physical health.

The profiles describe the two jobs differently, and the table pairs examples from each:

^{Many duties appear in both profiles, including planning instruction, guiding and counseling students, and preparing, administering, and grading tests and assignments, so the table shows examples, not duties unique to either group. The clearest difference in O*NET’s descriptions is scope: elementary school teachers teach academic and social skills, while secondary school teachers teach by subject. The work-week figures come from O*NET’s surveys of workers in each occupation. In the elementary school teacher survey, 62 people completed questionnaires (employee response rate 56.4%) and 21 answered the work-week question; in the secondary school teacher survey, 99 completed questionnaires (employee response rate 43.7%) and 36 answered it. They are rough indications, not counts of all teachers.}

For a closer look at how the two age ranges compare, see our overview of grade levels.

Educate

A great teacher should love educating students, and one of the principal goals many teachers set for themselves is to be the best educator they can be. There is something extremely gratifying about imparting information to your students and working with them to ensure they understand, not only concepts, but practical applications as well. There are different methods you can use to teach, and while your teaching style is unique to you, the most important thing is that you engage, motivate and inspire students to learn. Many people teach out of a passion for their subject. If you truly love a particular topic, you may have a desire to share that knowledge with others indeed, that passion can make you excel at it! Other people teach out of a concern for some of the issues facing the education system and because they want to be a part of the solution. Whatever the reason, a teacher can do nothing if not educate their students, so many teachers set this at the forefront of their goals: impart lessons that will last a lifetime.

Inspire

Teachers seek to inspire students in all aspects of their lives, and for many teachers, their greatest goal is to be a role model. A role model is someone who inspires and encourages students to strive for greatness, and teaches them through experience and commitment how to realize their full potential to become the best they can be. Teachers can inspire an uninterested student to become engrossed in learning. They can motivate them to participate and focus, and even bring introverted students out of their shells. A great teacher can get students reading, inspire a passion for languages, make math or science fun, and turn history lessons into fun and exciting stories. For many teachers, one of their simplest goals is to inspire their students to love learning. But the inspirational power of a teacher can transcend the classroom. So often, we hear people say that they were inspired to pursue their careers because of their teachers. A great teacher can leave an indelible mark that lasts a lifetime, and for many of us, some of our most important decisions were inspired by our teachers.

Learn

Teaching is one of those careers where you learn something new every day.

On a strictly professional level, the education you attain to become a teacher opens your eyes to many things you may never have been exposed to before. Pursuing a degree in education can teach you about learning itself. The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) expects providers of initial teacher preparation to show that their candidates can apply knowledge of learner development and learning differences, assess students, plan instruction and use varied teaching strategies, under its 2022 standards. Not every education degree is held to those standards, but preparation of that kind helps you understand how people learn and how teaching approaches differ. Additionally, so many other elements go into teaching that the process of becoming an educator in itself teaches you a great deal. No matter what you teach, your knowledge in many fields will deepen and expand. Then there’s the question of the teacher credentialing process which is also a learning experience.

Teachers also learn a great deal about themselves through teaching. Teaching requires you to step outside yourself in a way you may never have before, and through this, you learn about yourself as a teacher and as a person. You may learn more about how you work with others, particularly with children, and better understand how to communicate effectively and teach efficiently.

You can learn to handle stress better, and the organizational skills you’ll gain from planning lessons and grading assignments will be invaluable. Furthermore, the lessons you learn from your own students can be among the most rewarding parts of the job. Students bring a lot of their own life experiences to the classroom, and some of the things they have to say will enlighten you in ways you might not expect.

Listening to your students when they want to voice their opinions can broaden your perspective.

Change

Ambitious teachers are the ones who enter this career to affect change. They want to help m improve the quality of education for everyone. These teachers are willing to work in high needs schools, where students and communities may most need committed, talented teachers.

Very ambitious teachers take it a step further. Having a Master’s in Education or another advanced degree can be a step toward leadership roles. O*NET’s education administrators profile, which covers kindergarten through secondary education administrators, shows 62% of the 37 respondents who answered the education question saying a master’s degree is what a new hire needs to do the job (data updated 2026; 118 completed questionnaires; employee response rate 53.7%). At this level, you can effect real change by helping shape the future of education in your area.

When a teacher says their goal is to "make a difference", this is what they mean. They not only want to change the lives of their students, they want to change the face of education.

Questions About What Teachers Do

What is the main job of a teacher?

A teacher’s main job is to teach students and help them learn. O*NET breaks that into instructing, setting and enforcing classroom rules, preparing materials, adapting to students’ needs, and evaluating how students are doing.

Do teachers work only during school hours?

Often not. In O*NET’s survey data, 97% of the 21 elementary school teachers who answered the work-week question (data updated 2024) and 56% of the 36 secondary school teachers who answered (data updated 2025) said their typical work week is more than 40 hours. These are small samples of workers, not counts of all teachers.

Is the job different for elementary and high school teachers?

Partly. Most core duties appear in both O*NET profiles. The difference is scope: elementary school teachers teach academic and social skills, with tasks such as reading aloud and leading activities like games, arts and crafts, music and storytelling, while secondary school teachers teach one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics or social studies. The table above sets examples side by side.

How would you explain what a teacher does to a child?

A teacher helps students learn new things, keeps the classroom a good place to learn and checks how each student is doing so they can help.

Where to Go Next

If you are thinking about the profession, start with our guide to how to become a teacher. To see what the job asks of you, visit what teachers know, and for more on the difference teachers make, read about how teachers change lives. For pay and benefits, see our teacher salary and benefits guide.