Teacher’s Pet!
I am the daughter of teachers, the wife of one, and the friend of lots of them too! I know all the ball aches of being a teacher but all of the joys as well, and of that ilk, there are many. It isn’t a profession you go into unless it’s a true vocation and a love of the job has to hold you, otherwise I think you’d get eaten up by the level you have to put in. Contrary to popular belief it really isn’t worth the work-load for the holidays alone, and those short days? They are merely myth!
Teachers all work super hard, all hours, all weekends and all holidays. They have to. They work well outside their contracted (and paid for hours) because it’s necessary to get the job done and yes, even in the long holidays you’ll find a teacher in the classroom planning and prepping for the next part of term. Of course, and again this is contrary to popular belief, teachers aren’t paid for holiday time either; even though good chunks of them are spent working! Teachers are paid on a monthly basis but, and it’s a big but, that’s because their contracted hours (Monday to Friday term time only) are spread out that way. When a teacher is classroom bound mid-summer, it really is from the goodness of their own hearts that they do it. Like I said, it’s a vocation, teachers who teach, and continue to do so without becoming jaded, do so because they want to make a difference. And they do. Good teachers, we have all had them, are remembered by pupils for their entire lifetimes, now what better accolade could there be than that?!
But teachers, in the teaching profession as it is today, cannot do it alone! One thing they all say is that without the help of their Teaching Assistant their job would be fair on impossible. And while a good teacher is one to hold onto, a good T.A is worth their weight in gold! Often wise it’s the T.A who winds up doing a big chunk of the teaching. In fact, while teachers deal with paper work and other things which government guidelines insist upon, the T.As take over and have the classes ship shape in a way teachers could absolutely not do without. They, like teachers, work their socks off when they’re good at their jobs but where do you go to find the good ones?
Schools often employ locally, utilising parents of children in the school and while I see benefits to the TAs themselves, I’m not sure that’s always in the best interests of pupils, or other parents in fact. Every good teacher I know would say they’d never live where they work for it creates conflict of interests and it goes the same for TAs but without knowing them personally where do schools find the best? By visiting a teaching assistant agency of course, it would be the very best first port of call.
By visiting an agency you can be sure the creme de la creme rather than just what’s available in the local area. An agency will ensure TAs have been finely hand picked, specifically to the needs of the school. Acting as a middle man gives no ground for any grey areas or nepotism, while those wonderfully hard working T.As, the ones the teachers rely upon and require in order to do their job to their best ability, can be found with ease.
A great TA, one who can take the helm, is exactly what all classes in all schools need, it’s just a mine field fining them. But it doesn’t have to be!
Collaboration.
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