Teaching assistants - Essay Example

Assignment Three: Specific Essay Plan ''It has been argued that teaching assistants have too much responsibility without being given sufficient recognition for what they do. Discuss the evidence that is available to support or refute this statement indicating which appears to be more persuasive.'' There is a Chinese proverb," Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself." Teaching is an art and to learn is also an art. Learning depends upon the level of interest of a student and art of a teacher is that how she/he make the specific subject or lecture interesting that a student has no other option but to learn whatever is being taught to him/her. If someone asks you to categorize teachers you may say math teacher, science teacher etc etc or you might say a good teacher and a bad teacher but you will never say a teacher and a teacher assistant. Do you know why Because most of us don't give the sufficient recognition to teacher assistants, we even don't consider them as teachers but as a helper to teacher or just an assistant. Reformulated question: The question can be formulated i.e." despite of fulfilling their responsibilities informal educators don't get sufficient recognition" Central argument: Teacher assistants and informal educators work hard but couldn't get sufficient recognition. Structure: Just think when you will get into your practical life and some day sit down and try to remember your school days what would first came to your mind Your class room, your table, the teacher you most hated and your favorite teacher.that's it Had you ever taught about the teachers who use to come in your class in the absence of your teacher "Teaching assistants are often drawn from a highly able and talented group of women who are poorly paid and are subject to contracts which are seen as unfair and unreliable."1 The one we call teacher assistant or helper. You might not remember the face of the teacher assistant. "Teacher identities may be more, or less, stable and more or less fragmented at different times and in different ways according to a number of life, career and situational factors"2 These teacher assistants check your papers, copies and are indirectly related to you somehow and it won't be wrong if you had considered them one of your teachers. These teacher assistants are paid less then your class teacher may be that's why they are of less importance to you or the education system. She/he sits with the teacher in class and tries to judge if students are able to understand the lecture or not. Normally he/she is friendlier than your teacher. So in short the teacher assistant is a support for teacher, students, curriculum and school as well. They sometimes play the role of a mentor as well for the students as they interact with the students more than the teacher. In short "they exploit and create learning opportunities"3 The question that arises is if they are given the appropriate pay and recognition for what they do A teacher works come to an end after attending class but a teacher assistant have to make course outline, examination schedule etc etc. Teaching has been considered as one of the noblest professions of world especially for women. These women are very competent who choose teaching as a profession because it is not easy to teach someone; To make them understand what you want to. A teacher assistant is also a kind of teacher who works more hard than "teachers". Then why they couldn't get the respect that students usually give to the teachers The reasons would be because they are paid less, they sometimes have to face arrogance of the teacher if she/did did any mistake or if the word "assistant" had made them lesser important than teacher or they might think that assistant know less then teacher. Unqualified Teachers: In some areas of world even teachers are not qualified enough i.e. "a survey of teacher qualifications in Northern Ireland which indicates that a significant percentage of teachers are unqualified in the areas of mathematics, physics, ICT, history and Irish, and that Key Stage 3 teachers tend to be less well-qualified than those at Key Stage 4 or post-16. Unqualified teachers are less likely to be found in the grammar sector than the non-grammar sector"4. A teacher assistant can be hired for this purpose as well that he/she can help the teacher in this regard. Moreover, "Physics also appears to be using a higher percentage of unqualified staff than many other subjects suggesting a need to examine the recruitment and retention of qualified physics teachers".5 According to a survey among 10% of permanent teachers of physics and the mathematics most of them are incompetent. Informal Educators: So teacher assistants or informal educators should get the recognition they deserve. In this regard Tony Jeffs and Mark K. Smith say, "Like other educators, these informal educators are teachers they foster environments for learning"6. Relationship between teacher and teacher assistant also play an important role to increase the importance of assistant among the students ''With it becomes part of familiarized also daily teachers can incorporate the prices of relations and the ways the one with the other that encourages the comprehension of democracy and the learning. This is the promise of informal education''.7 Pros and Cons of Being an Informal Teacher: The informal teacher gets to learn many things from experts but normally they are treated as "assistants" from students. They don't gain as much respect as the teachers. They work hard but are paid less. Cause and Effect Analysis: All the arguments mentioned above prove that my hypothesis statement is true i.e. a teacher assistant and informal teacher do hard work, have more responsibilities, and get less recognition and capital. The causes are: There are treated as assistants. There is a general perception that assistants know less than teachers that's why they are assistants which is not necessary. They are paid less. A teacher assistant might have to face arrogance of teacher in front of the students may be because of his/her mistake and as a result he/she have to bear taunting eyes of the teacher and students as well. References Barkham, Jo, British educational Research Journal, Vol. 34, No. 6, December 2008, pp. 839-853 McCullough, John, Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol.36, No.4, December 2006, pp. 549-564 Jeffs Tony and K. Smith Mark Informal Education- Conversation, democracy and learning / Read More