Role of a Teacher Aide
A teacher's aide serves many purposes in the classroom. The teacher depends on aides for help in all aspects of the school day, from instruction to recess. Schools differ in how they utilize assistants--some aides have more responsibilities than others--but most have to work in a busy environment and serve in several capacities.
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Instructional Assistant
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Teacher's aides do not introduce concepts, but they do reinforce instruction by helping during class and reviewing material with students. The aide monitors the class while the students work on assignments to see if anyone has trouble understanding the procedure or instructions. The teacher is not able to see everybody at once, and the aide provides an extra set of eyes and ears in the room, which helps decrease the chance that a student in need of help will get overlooked.
Disciplinarian
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Teacher's aides can enforce the behavior management plan established by the teacher and/or school. If they observe misbehavior, they can take corrective action. Teacher's aides should establish their position of authority with the students, as they frequently get called upon to watch the class when the teacher has a parent conference or an emergency that requires them to leave.
Tutor
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Teacher's aides are especially valuable as one-on-one tutors to children that need extra, intensive help. Academic interventions are designed so that a paraprofessional, such as an assistant, can administer them if he has been trained by the teacher. If the class has many students who are at risk for failure, an aide becomes essential, as the teacher will not have enough time to devote to each of these children and the rest of the class.
Record-Keeper
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Teacher's aides often help the teacher with record management in the classroom. This usually consists of filing student papers and maintaining personal files with students' addresses and home contact numbers. Calculating averages in the grade book and writing lesson plans are jobs reserved for the teacher, but the aide can check classwork and homework assignments periodically.
Safety Officer
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Student safety is a major concern for schools. Aides are crucial to the oversight of students when they are transitioning from the classroom to another area, such as the library, gym or playground. Part of a teacher's aide's official duties involve rotating throughout the school in the morning or afternoon to oversee kids as they enter and leave the building. Some school districts even offer first-aid training for teacher's aides in case if emergency.
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