From public and private religious high schools to private boarding schools, many academics from traditional doctoral programs choose to pursue a career in secondary education over higher education. Such a choice can be the result of a lifelong desire to teach in secondary education, but in many cases the decision is driven by a surprising mix of job availability, career potential, and personal circumstances. But as the contributions in this forum attest, the sometimes “serendipitous accident” of moving to secondary education can prove to be an enriching, fruitful, and also quite fun experience for academics-turned-high-school-teachers. And while the nature of this work prioritizes teaching and pedagogical development, many academics who have taken it up for themselves have found diverse ways to continue to pursue and publish research—but, crucially, only for their own personal satisfaction, free of any professional publication requirements. At the same time, the scholar-teacher who has chosen to reside in secondary education becomes for young students an essential sign of the love of learning and the noble pursuit of knowledge.
Sine Qua Non:
Teaching Latin in Public School
“[S]econdary-turned academics are indispensable not merely for their banausic training and credentials. At their best, scholars of the humanities embody love of learning and wisdom over mere appearance and sophistry. Where institutions of learning tilt toward test-prep and job training, PhD-trained teachers must fight to keep alive a humanistic appreciation of learning for its own sake.”
“Have You Thought About Teaching at a Boarding School?”: An Overview
by Alex Kocar
“Another apt turn of phrase for Boarding School Life is: ‘it is not a difficult job, but it is a demanding one.’ Living where you work, and working where you live entails a blending of these two spheres we might otherwise want to keep separate. But the benefits, in my mind, far outweigh the costs. If you really enjoy teaching, coaching, and mentoring excited and curious young people, this might be an avenue you should seriously consider.”
A Snow Day in the Life of a Classicist Turned High School English Teacher
“I loved teaching at the college level, but the pressures of the academic job market made it such that the emphasis of one’s working life was writing. A snow day represented an opportunity to shave off a few hours of teaching and commuting from my day to spend more time writing…. But today, on the brink of what is looking like my first high school snow day as an adult, it feels as if I am participating in a human experience.”
The Art of Introduction:
Teaching Religion in High School
by Elena Dugan
“I wish I’d known more about this kind of pathway as a graduate student. It would have saved me a white-knuckle drive from New Jersey to Massachusetts, not quite sure what I was getting myself into. But I also think it would have encouraged me to approach my graduate education with more curiosity, and to better recognize the rich and expansive world of teaching religion.”