How to Work with Teacher's Aides

Teacher’s aides help classroom teachers with basic tasks to free up some of the teacher's time. The aides generally work with elementary school teachers but are also used in middle and high schools. Teachers working with aides have more time to spend preparing lessons and working with students. Work as a teacher’s aide and learn from an experience the teacher, students and the aide enjoy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Treat an aide with respect and courtesy. Be friendly and cordial instead of demanding. Remember the aides are there to help.
2. Assign them specific areas and projects to work on. When an aide starts, explain exactly what you need her to do. Let her do clerical work, help students during class, monitor hallways and recesses, record attendance and grade tests.
3. Help the aide if time allows. Aides become discouraged if they leave without completing their work. Treat them as an equal and help every so often. This fosters both appreciation and respect from the aide.
4. Asses the strengths of the teacher's aide and utilize those strengths. Watch your aide and see what he enjoys and what he is good at. Give him tasks that he excels in. For example, if the aide enjoys organizing, assign him a task like helping organize files and classwork.
5. Review the aide’s performance throughout the year. Praise her for good work and discuss areas of possible improvement. Communicate with her your concerns and set goals for the future.
6. Ask him for input on classroom issues. Listen to any comments or concerns he may have. Allowing the teacher's aide to share his opinion makes him feel more involved in the class.

Tips & Warnings

• Always refer to the aide by "Mr." or "Ms." in front of the class. Use first names away from the students. This teaches the students to treat the aide with the same respect they treat the teacher and other school employees.
• Never criticize an aide in front of the students. This causes the students to lose respect for the aide.
• Don’t overload an aide with too much work.