Teaching Assistants

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Teaching Assistants
By K

This is also a problem in my school. Granted, we are lucky to have full time assistants in k and 1st, and part time assistants up to 5th, i am certainly aware that many disticts do not have this. However, some of the TAs
are just totally and completely incompetent! Some individuals make mistakes constantly, whether it be with copies, filing, info given to the children, etc. Of course, we are all human and all of us make mistakes, but some people really are just not cut out for the classroom.
I am lucky this year, I have a wonderful assistant. We worked together last year as well, and we make a great

team. However, my first year teaching first grade was not like this. My TA was an older woman who was very slow and made lots of mistakes with everything. She even put the wrong report card into a child's homework folder. She had no control over the children whatsoever, and would just sit down and watch me teach, and then complain to the other TAs that she was bored. Mind you, there were always plenty of things to do around the classroom, but if I did not specifically ask her to do something, she would just sit and watch me teach. I tried everything, even putting papers that needed to be stapled, along with a stapler, on her table, yet she wouldn't do a thing unless I stopped to explain it to her first. It was ridiculous. I couldn't just stop teaching every five or ten minutes to tell her what to do. It was easier to just do everything myself.

I once asked her to read a story to the kids while I put up a bulletin board right outside our room. When I came back, the kids were all over the room, some wrestling on the rug, others playing with toys they had pulled out of their backpacks. Only a few were sitting on the rug, listening to the story. It was a mess. She couldn't take the class to any of the related arts because not all of the kids would get there and other teachers would complain about the noise in the hallway. The list could go on and on.

As it ended up, I had to do everything. At least that way if a mistake was made, it was on me. I didn't like having the parents think we were incompent, so to do things right, I had to do them myself. What a waste. I would have much rather had her salary to buy things for the classroom.

As I said before, this year I have a wonderful assistant. She is my co-teacher, and we really work together beautifully. Everything gets done quickly, correctly, and efficiantly. She has a wonderful way with the kids. We are both the teachers, and I always include her name on everything.

However, she will be leaving after this year to have another child. I am so worried about what kind of TA I will end up with next year. There are a few doosies around the school that have been there for years. Every year, they are moved to a new classroom because of teacher complaints. But they are never fired or replaced. Why is this? The principal wont fire them, and once you start the school year, you are pretty much stuck with who is placed in your room. Sometimes, I think it is better to not have a TA than to have one that is incompentent. At least that way you dont spend your time fixing someone else's mistakes!

This is a serious issue that really needs to be addressed. School districts should really look into this before wasting the money on TA's that are just not cut out for the job. Besides, its not fair to the teacher or the students to have an incompetent TA in the room. As a teacher, you have to share you space, as well as your reputation and entire day, with this person. There is a real need for reform in this area. Any ideas about what can be done? I am sure there are lots of us out there that have had similar experiences.