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Serious question. What do teacher assistants in elementary school do? What do parent volunteers do? I only ask because where I went to school in NJ back in the early 8o's it was just me along w/ 20-25 other kids and the teacher. All day every day. And this was in a district that was well regarded. So the idea of assistants and volunteers is a foreign concept to me and I have no idea what duties they fulfill. Thanks!
There is so much more paper work now than when you were a student. It seems like they are on the computer or keeping track of some statistic all the time. I'm not a teacher but I've done enough volunteering to see they really need helpers. I volunteered in the 80's with my first set of kids and now with my second set and it is so very different.
Sometimes the helper will do story time so teacher can tend to paper work. Helpers are necessary in early grades and certainly helpful in higher grades. Also I bet the classes are bigger now than they were in the 80's. Hopefully a teacher can add more info.
Serious question. What do teacher assistants in elementary school do? What do parent volunteers do? I only ask because where I went to school in NJ back in the early 8o's it was just me along w/ 20-25 other kids and the teacher. All day every day. And this was in a district that was well regarded. So the idea of assistants and volunteers is a foreign concept to me and I have no idea what duties they fulfill. Thanks!
They do a lot of work that are paid positions up north like copying, lunch duty, bus duty, run carpool etc. etc. you probably had a "lunch aide" who is retired on a nice NJ pension right now!
Classes can tend to be bigger down here than up north although that hasn't been my experience but it often is. My kids all 17 or 18 in their kindy clAsses. Down here there can be up to 24. Trust me that is a HUGE difference.
They also watch the class while the teacher is out in the hall testing students all the live long day and proctor EOGs.
I volunteer in the classroom 2x a week as a parent helper. There are parents in the classroom 2-3x per day helping with reading or math centers. I've done everything from helping the children learn a math concept, work with them on sight words, set up the next activity for the teacher, make photo copies (and there are a TON), put information in the take home folders...you name it. It is all volunteer. and frees up time for the teacher to TEACH.
Those teachers make nothing, spend countless hours with our children and now they are going to have to learn an entire new way of teaching since Common Core was repealed. But overall, the most important thing I've notice with being a volunteer parent is that my presence in the classroom enables the teacher to identify those that are falling behind or just did not grasp the concept and they can pull that child/children aside and work with them individually. That would never be able to happen if an aide/parent was not in the classroom. And yes...this still happens in 4-5th grades....some kids just do not get the concept, especially in math, and they need it to be explained or demonstrated in a different manner than how it was shown to the classroom.
I went to Elem school in the 80's and we never had parents or aides in the classroom....the major difference is that the parents were more involved at home back then. Maybe not as many homes with 2 working parents. Also, we were not glued to TV's or electronic devices....we went outside and played after school, did homework, ate dinner and maybe watched some TV before bed. Today's parents get home closer to 7:30pm, rush to get something on the table for dinner and hope that their kid's homework was already done. The parent is fried (I know...used to commute 2 hours each way to NYC). Sometimes the child does not get the concepts and it falls on the teacher the next day to "re-teach" so they don't fall behind.
She also had a very devoted parent volunteer who was there 3 or 4 days a week. She is aware how lucky she was last year and wonders if somebody else will be as generous this year. I think one of the reasons our district is so highly regarded and has such success is because of the extraordinary parental involvement.
I would certainly agree that my elementary school - Lacy - is very lucky because of all the additional parent time and resources that are dedicated above and beyond what is provided by the system. There's not a time of the school day you can go to school and there not be 10-30 folks volunteering their time.
Funny you should mention that. Some of us are paying more taxes. Starting July 1, we now pay 7% sales tax on natural gas. Thanks NC GOP! Bought a concert ticket the other day, 7% sales tax. Thanks NC GOP! Small business tax deduction, gone! Thanks NC GOP. Increased vehicle registration fee! Steal us blind and still no money for education.
Well November is coming, don't forget to VOTE and them know how you feel about their decisions!
FYI, coming from AZ where the voters have time and time again rejected funding the schools where now EVERY Wed the children get out at 12 for teacher planning bc they have cut all of the specials (time for the teacher to prep for lessons, maybe go to the bathroom or for some strange reason eat or make a phone call), AZ is seeing companies leave left and right (hence why were are in NC now). The snowbirds say they already "paid" for schools for their kids so why bother with higher taxes. And..AZ has to ask for voter overrides each year to fund schools via bonds....it is not from your property taxes! Housing prices are plummeting and Charter Schools are eating public schools for lunch. It is not a Teacher's Union thing or a tax thing. We need to fund schools...it is our right as US citizens to have a decent public school education. This is not political at all....just want the best for my kids. We are giving our children (in many districts) a cruddy education.
Note, I have the $ to pay for private school and my 2 children were accepted into 2 great private schools in Raleigh but we really want them in public. Why...so they are not in a bubble and know how to deal with ALL types of people in the future. This country is so divided and people need to work together again. And learn how to work with all types, backgrounds and futures. I am a product of the finest private schools from age 2 through college and I am CHOOSING to send my children to public so they can see what the "real world" is all about. And I am NOT a liberal at all!
People complain left and right on this forum about how bad NC schools are....it is nothing compared to AZ but if the parents are involved like they were in my last Elem school, the kids will thrive. Just my 2 cents.
Good teaching assistants take the kids to recess, and lunch, they read to, and listen to your child read, they instruct small groups, individuals and whole classes while the teacher is at meetings. Spot behavior issues and things that deserve praise. They are extra eyes and ears. They pre-teach and re-teach. They sub while a teacher is out, they chaperone trips, patch grazed knees and elbows, wipe bottoms and noses, encourage, praise, sing, care for and nurture. They do not plan lessons, or deliver or administer certain tests. They photocopy, prep classes, put up bulletin boards, stuff bags, take attendance, collect monies, read notes from home. They take a poverty level wage. They bring in snacks for the children without them. They buy clothes for the kids that have accidents or no coat in winter. They drive kids home that miss the bus. Coach after school activities for free. They love kids.
They're valuable, you should be angry that they're being taken away.
I can't vote I'm not a citizen, but I did this job here and in the UK.
I have to say, the spending 8-9 hours/day at school and bringing work home is what I was accustomed to while teaching in WI. We had about 30 kids and no teaching assistants. My first year I had 34 kiddos. This was a low income district, so I know other surrounding districts had smaller class sizes and TAs. Teachers did lunch duty, but we got additional pay.
When I came here, I did have a TA for an hour/day, but being a special ed teacher with 3 grades at once in a resource room trying to give individual instruction in 3 subjects at the same time was nearly impossible. Then there was the paperwork until midnight on a regular basis.
So if this teacher is not used to an 8-9 hour day and work at night, she is lucky. I thought I had it rough in WI, but it was nothing compared to what they did to me in Wake. It really appears NC doesn't value education.
My son's special ed class had 2 TAs last year. There will only be 1 this year, which doesnt seem realistic given the dynamics of the room.
It's the current Governor and GA that don't value education. At least not as much as they value the wealthy contributors to their campaigns. In decades past N.C. was known to have an excellent public education system and we had some Governors who championed good schools above the coffers of their party. Unfortunately they are long dead or too old to be too involved any more.
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