Secondary school teachers in the Houston Independent School District were asked for their perceptions of variables that contributed to difficulty of teaching. A 60-item questionnaire included variables from school environment categories: student characteristics, managerial efficiency, instructional program, material resources, teacher personal needs, teaching assignment characteristics, family/home characteristics, and facilities. Results revealed that the 19 highest ranked variables clustered around classroom management and administrative management. Classroom management concerns were at the top of the list for the teachers; they ranked a lack of administrative support for discipline first, and teaching hostile and disruptive students second. Fifteen of the 19 highest ranked variables concerned responsibilities of either building or upper management. The findings emphasized a need for less administrative paperwork, fewer interruptions over the school intercom, and smooth management of necessary changes in the daily routine. There was a desire for administrative support in dealing with parents, for adequate security measures, and for control of hall traffic during classtime. The findings indicated that racial and socioeconomic demographies of students and personal family life do not create difficult teaching settings, but that problems were created by disruptive students, emotionally disturbed students, student absenteeism, and parents who do not value education. A rank order list of the sixty variables from the questionnaire is appended. (JD)