Are you interested in working with children? Do you not think that becoming a teacher is really your ultimate career goal? Are you an organized and patient individual who seems to thrive when working as someone’s right hand? If you were able to answer a confident yes to each of these questions, then maybe you should consider pursuing a career as a teacher’s assistant. Although your duties and responsibilities will likely be similar no matter which specific capacity you work within, you may find that you are more inclined to work with one age group over another. For instance, you may discover that working with elementary age children is more to your liking and your ability level as opposed to working with middle school or high school age children. It is also important to understand that while there is a definite job description that you will want to familiarize yourself with, your specific job expectations will largely depend upon the teacher with whom you are assisting. Find teaching assistant schools near you!
Generally speaking, you will likely be expected to help the teacher prepare the materials that will be needed for a particular lesson. For instance, you may be expected to copy papers, gather necessary manipulatives, coordinate computer software programs, or group items that will be used by the students. You may also be expected to take care of creating bulletin board displays or to help supervise the students when they are outside of the classroom. In some situations you may also be asked to tutor or deliver instruction to small groups of students who are struggling with a particular skill or content area. Therefore, it is important for a teacher’s assistant to understand a specific set of material and to be able to accurately explain it to students. This is where choosing an age range that suits your strengths and abilities will likely prove beneficial.
The teacher with whom you are responsible for assisting may request that you handle gathering student’s returned papers in the mornings and for filling their folders just prior to going home in the afternoons. In some cases, you may even be asked to grade completed papers or to enter grades into a computer system or a grade book. In many cases, teacher assistants are primarily used in classrooms that contain students who have a disability or a handicap. This is largely due to the fact that students with a handicap or a disability will need additional help to simply function on their appropriate grade level. Get started on your teachers assistant training today!
No matter what your specific job duties are, one thing is for sure. You will be expected to help monitor students, to reinforce positive behavior that they exhibit, and to enforce the rules of the classroom and the school in order to curb negative behavior. Ultimately, you will be working each and every day to make the life of the teacher with whom you work much easier and more efficient.