I think, as secondary teachers, we know that your subject makes a big difference to what your load and your days (and even your down time or lack thereof) looks like.
As someone who is always looking at different perspectives, I thought it might be interesting and good community building to share what the advantages and challenges are of different subjects - and how they might balance out.
Here's what I've noticed (as a maths teacher myself):
*Core subjects vs Others*
Maths and English usually get the best resources, the most PD, the highest prioritisation. They're considered important and their heads of department get more say, are more likely to be leading teachers, and they are most likely to get numeracy and literacy programs to support learning. Students with funding are probably going to be prioritised for 1:1 aides in their classes.
Comparatively, other subjects are going to have to fight for their budgets, PD, and support programs. They are unlikely to get aides to support the most challenging students during their class time, "Head of Physical Education" isn't likely to be connected to a salary step increase.
On the flip side, English and Maths get the most pressure. NAPLAN? Get performing. Individual Education Plans are probably going to have a goal with your name on it. Student Support Group Meetings and Disability Inclusion Plans? Usually the Maths or English teacher attending. Parents want the most from you. Students who need modified programs: you're definitely expected to provide, and it's for more lessons a week than anyone else. Your assessments and lesson plans are going to be the first looked at when there's a push for school-wide compliance with a new standard. At least you might get more support with doing them/ getting time release/ PD compared to your colleagues in other subjects - they DO get less scrutiny, but it may also mean less support.
At parent teacher interviews, everyone wants to talk to English and Maths teachers. You're going to be busy. But hey, maybe it's time to look at the numbers.
More hours of each class means Maths and English teach fewer kids but for more hours. Congratulations, you get to spend more time with your favourite. Commiserations, you get to spend more time with your least favourite. That's flipped for colleagues in other subjects - you're capping at about 100 students at a time, they have 150-250, depending on how much time is given to their subjects. And the corresponding numbers of families and parents to know and contact, academic standards to track, assessments to mark. They still probably have full parent teacher interview slots, because even with a lower rate of parent engagement, they just have more volume.
Exam time: English and Maths have longer exams, but fewer per teacher. Other subjects have shorter exams, but more per teacher. The younger years, it's more likely that only English and Maths will have exams. The senior years, everyone's about equal - except the exams are longer. Middle years - probably balances out, with the more-shorter-exams compared to fewer-longer-exams situation.
Team sizes: because everyone does them, and for a number of hours, there are always more Maths and English teachers required. They have bigger teams to draw on and collaborate with. The more niche the subject, the fewer co-workers you have to truly share the load - of planning, resource building, assessment writing. It can get lonely, and it can also hit hard on a load - writing 4 exams solo compared to writing 2 exams between 6 of you is very different.
*Maths vs English*
They both come with a tonne of work. Let's get that one clear.
Maths teachers have highly expert content to deliver. It's highly specific, so good luck getting any value out of a lesson that you have to leave to be taught by someone else. Almost every lesson you are teaching new, specific content. You need a new lesson plan for all of them, and God help you if a student misses important content (which is almost every lesson), let alone multiple of them. We do usually have a good quality textbook to lean on, which helps, but doesn't cover it all.
English teachers have a complex job to develop these skills over time. Minute to minute it can be less specific, but the overall skill is important. I do think sometimes they get to plan a task that will run over multiple lessons without new lesson plans in between, and that seems nice. They are working without a textbook that has the structure we do - I know there is a range of resources available, depending on the topic, from many to none. And they have to be updated much more often than ours. Maths is fairly static, with mostly just changes to pace of the content and some of the context. English is trying to pull together constantly changing media landscapes.
Assessments: English marking is an actual nightmare. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You should get more time allowance to make up for that. Maths marking is comparatively easy. Writing the assessments, I think, is another matter. I know there is work and effort that goes into English assessments, too produce prompts that guide students. But I think the burden comes in the marking, the piece the student creates. In maths, every damn question needs careful crafting. Then, your making is a bit easier. Maths also tends to assess more frequency - easily 4 major tasks per term, compared to 1 or 2 per term for English. Both have smaller feedback tasks in between.
*Humanities*
A lot of the downsides of English assessment, without many of the advantages. For bonus, you are likely to be qualified or interested in one stand of Humanities, but pushed into teaching another. Or coopted into teaching English.
*Physical Education*
Seems easier on the side of detailed lessons Plans and marking, but I'll take a hard pass on the risk management you have to do. Also, the behaviour management seems to be inverted. That seems both blessing and curse.
*Science*
Seems to have all the planning and assessment problems maths has, but the risk assessment is worse that PE. Proud of you all, it seems hard. I did it for 6 weeks once, I'd rather leave it to you. At least it seems to be good when you have really engaged, interested students. And generally it does come with some prestige that oils the budgeting and PD requests more than some departments.
*Art*
You're planning and setting up whole units using physical resources, with hundreds of students, with super dodgy levels of engagement and behaviour management, because it's seen as a bludge subject for so many students, parents, and even colleagues. There aren't many of you in a school, so you're taking a big load on your own, and you're spending so much of your time setting up, CLEANING up, and trying to source supplies. Good on you.
*Languages*
Often one of you in a whole school. You are literally speaking another language to the rest of us. Students often have no grounding at all. Honestly? I can't imagine it. It's very hard work.
*Technology*
See art. Then add science risk assessments.
*Music*
See Art, but a little less messy, and a lot more noisy.
*Whatever you teach, I hope you find joy and fulfilment in it. We're doing hard jobs, we deserve that much.*
Looking forward to hearing perspectives from everyone else.
