as a teacher do you ever get assistants that .....?

Question

cause more problems than they help? What do you do if they have problems with parents and just seem to be trouble makers do you report them to superiors or just hold out for the end of school? Can you choose not to have them as your assistant again the next year or is it your choice?

Answer 1

Once I wrote on the assistant's eval. "I think she would be happier in a more structured class" A couple of times the assistant was so unprofessional, I documented for two weeks then went to the principal. Depends on your principal..if you are professional and have examples to support your concerns they ought to handle it. Don't let it go 'till the end of the year.. will just get resentful.

Answer 2

There is a bigger problem with TAs that I came across last year. On two separate I did activities with a class that the TA was not happy with. Instead of speaking to me about it after the lessons, she actually spoke to Senior Management and reported it as a breach of professional conduct. It was taken seriously enough that I had to have Union representation as the Senior Management of my school follow through fully on all complaints made against members of staff.

As it happens, there was absolutely nothing wrong with either the planning or execution of the lessons, which both classes enjoyed and learned from. The only problem was the unprofessional attitude of a high-minded TA. The only problem remaining now is that I cannot refuse to have her in any of my lessons, which is hampering what I want to do because of hte psychological effect of having to carefully think about everything I do in the classroom whenever she is in there.

Answer 3

I did, yes - I had a chat with her line manager - the Special Needs Coordinator - and she tactfully assigned her to another teacher.

Answer 4

My principal will reassign a TA in a heartbeat. I've had only one that drove me nuts. I gave her a week.