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I'm familiar with coaching in Pennsylvania. Many coaches today are not teachers and many teachers coach in other school districts. This is more common with varsity football and basketball. There is an agreement with the teachers' union that teachers have preference for coaching positions but this usually doesn't apply to varsity football and basketball.
Regarding a connection between social studies teachers and coaching, in my surrounding districts I can list the following with which I'm familiar. My local district has a social studies teacher from another district coaching football. The previous two head coaches were math and biology teachers. Another has a math teacher from that school coaching football. Another has a PE teacher coaching football. Another has a junior high biology teacher coaching varsity football.
My local district has a non-teacher coaching boys' varsity basketball. Another local district has a retired elementary teacher coaching boys' varsity basketball.
I've seen several state troopers who coached football and basketball.
Times have changed. At one time PE teachers were expected to coach. Many social studies teachers were also probably hired with an expectation that they would coach. You also could not coach once you retired. When I was in high school 45 years ago, all coaches taught in the school district and that was the norm. My local school district has more coaches who are not district teachers than are district teachers. I'm one of them.
Huh. I had wondered about that. I noticed when I was in high school all my SS/history teachers were also coaches. I wasn't in a small district by any mean.
I had thought it was just an oddity with the way the school organized things (there were a lot back then) or a coincidence.
I think it's mostly the fact that (and this is not to put anyone down) because if someone wants to be a coach, they most likely realize it's not a lucrative, full-time job. Of courses, coaches are necessary and many kids get a lot out of playing a sport, etc. But no one can make a living being a full-time high school coach. So, IMO they tend to teach history because it's sort of the "easiest" way to become a teacher, especially if you're not good at/interested in a more specific subject.
I teach math and would not enjoy teaching history at all, but I'm sure I could do it if I was forced to. Learning about events and re-telling the story.
So, I think it's sort of the "easy way out" more than anything.
And of course, not all history teachers are like that. I know many great history teachers who have no interest in coaching a sport. I tend to think they are more dedicated than those who coach, because they chose the content area out of interest, not desperation.
I think it's mostly the fact that (and this is not to put anyone down) because if someone wants to be a coach, they most likely realize it's not a lucrative, full-time job. Of courses, coaches are necessary and many kids get a lot out of playing a sport, etc. But no one can make a living being a full-time high school coach. So, IMO they tend to teach history because it's sort of the "easiest" way to become a teacher, especially if you're not good at/interested in a more specific subject.
I teach math and would not enjoy teaching history at all, but I'm sure I could do it if I was forced to. Learning about events and re-telling the story.
So, I think it's sort of the "easy way out" more than anything.
And of course, not all history teachers are like that. I know many great history teachers who have no interest in coaching a sport. I tend to think they are more dedicated than those who coach, because they chose the content area out of interest, not desperation.
Again, not to beat a dead horse but at a my local high school, none of the social studies teachers coach any sports. The previous two football coaches were math and biology teachers.
BTW, my HS basketball coach was a math teacher.
I think most people who really want to go into coaching pick P.E. as their college major.
Again, not to beat a dead horse but at a my local high school, none of the social studies teachers coach any sports. The previous two football coaches were math and biology teachers.
BTW, my HS basketball coach was a math teacher.
I think most people who really want to go into coaching pick P.E. as their college major.
Not really, and advisors for PE majors generally have an honest discussion with them about job prospects. Unless they are into all sports, along with the workings of the human body, they are generally asked what classes in their general studies they like best or do the best in and encouraged to go for that certification. STEM certifications require passing some grueling classes, English certification requires a lot of writing, Elementary certification requires having the patience to deal with little kids, so Social Studies tends to be the fallback. For a while there were a large number of want-to-be coaches that went the special ed route but that seems to have finally died down a bit. Frankly, I'm glad that is waning, special education students deserve teachers who view them as their primary job, not just as a means to coach. Of course, these are all gross generalizations, and there are plenty of exceptions. There are other eventual coaches who wanted to teach a particular subject and happened to know enough about a sport that they also ended up coaching.
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I found it is connected a lot with English too, which is surprising, because football coaches really just yell and scream profane and mindless pump up statements, so they don't practice what they preach out in the real world.
Again, not to beat a dead horse but at a my local high school, none of the social studies teachers coach any sports. The previous two football coaches were math and biology teachers.
BTW, my HS basketball coach was a math teacher.
I think most people who really want to go into coaching pick P.E. as their college major.
Very few of the PE teachers I had growing up were coaches of any of the teams. They were mostly ELA and Social Studies teachers.
I had one who taught PE and Math and was also a baseball coach.
I'm the only non-coaching social studies teacher at my high school.
That said, two of the very young individuals in that pile are terrific young men and solid teachers. Kids love them. And they're good at it and love it.
I think the days of the history teacher showing football films in history class may not be over unfortunately, but there's hope on the horizon with some of these very dedicated "youngsters" coming up. (department head here)
Male Teacher (me): Does not coach sports and never has. Male Teacher: Does not coach and never has. Male Teacher: Does not coach sports and never has but does coach debate. Male Teacher: Does not coach currently but used to be a football, wrestling, and hockey coach at various times over his career. Will tell you that he started his career primarily as a coach who did a bit of teaching on the side but now loves teaching and will never go back to coaching. Male Teacher: Coaches football, basketball, track... But also is only a member of our department on paper. He only teaches one social studies prep along side credit recovery using a computer program and multiple periods of freshman study hall. Female Teacher: Coaches gymnastics and used to coach swim/dive and track at various times in her career. Female Teacher: Does not Coach. Never has. Female Teacher: Does not, has not coached. Female Teacher: Does not coach but did coach cheer for one year way way back and currently coaches debate.
There used to be two other male teachers in the department that were primarily hired for coaching and still are in the school. One is now in admin and the other became a PE coach.
Last edited by history nerd; 10-01-2017 at 12:32 AM..
I just looked at the coaching staff at my granddaughter's high school. It's a huge school so not everyone coaches, of course.
English teacher - female - head cheerleading coach
Art teacher - male - golf coach
History teacher - male - coach boys basketball and football
Chemistry teacher - female - assistant coach swimming and water polo
History teacher - male - coaches, but not sure what
History teacher - male - coach boys soccer
Math teacher - male - coach track and field
English teacher - female - cheerleading coach
Chemistry teacher - male - girls basketball coach
PE teacher - female - coach volley ball and boys basketball
PE teacher - female - girls athletics
History Teacher - boys athletics
Aquatic Science teacher - head baseball coach
Physics teacher - male - varsity soccer coach
History teacher - female - aquatics coach
Math teacher - male - football and baseball
PE teacher - male - basketball coach
Physics teacher - female - basketball and track
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