An assistant nondual teachers primary job is to assist the primary teacher. It may sound one-sided, but the truth is, an assistant teacher’s job is pretty multi-faceted. Since they stay in the same classroom as the primary teacher and all the kids, they are easily susceptible to any form of task or duty. Because of this, an assistant teacher should be energetic and enthusiastic
An assistant teacher is expected to nurture relationships both with the primary teacher and the kids. The primary teacher and the assistant teacher will be working together. Although the assistant teacher takes directions from the supervising teacher, the assistant teacher’s role is quite important because the primary teacher will find it difficult to work without assistance.
Since the primary teacher will have to pay attention to the lesson, the assistant teacher will be freer to pay attention to the students. This is one of the most important roles of an assistant teacher. He or she will have to supervise the students and monitor them at all times. This also entails taking care of the children, despite the different developmental stages, especially in preschool or kindergarten. Some students may already be independent and can move around on their own without the need for round-the-clock supervision, while some students still need constant supervision and guidance.
It falls upon them to support children, especially those with special needs, since the primary teacher cannot possibly focus on one student alone. It is also their responsibility to help children in various activities, such as in eating, toileting, and keeping up with the activities that are part of the lessons. Assistant teachers should also be ready to entertain and play with the children, especially when some of the kids are uncomfortable and are upset. The age of the children in the class affects the mix of responsibilities of an assistant teacher.
Aside from the responsibilities already mentioned above, an assistant teacher is also responsible for the preparation of any materials needed for the class activities. In special classes such as art subjects, the assistant teacher is, of course, expected to help the students in the use of scissors, glue, and the like. It is also their responsibility to prepare the classroom or set it up for the activities, and to clean up afterwards.
Assistant teachers can be fully qualified and registered teachers. However, they can also be simply teaching assistants, with no academic teaching background and prior experience. Teaching assistants are not qualified teachers. Teaching assistants are naturally guided by the primary teacher. The qualifications for teaching assistants are lesser. They just have to have around two years of formal education after high school.
The good thing about being an assistant teacher is that they also have opportunities to advance in their teaching career. They have plenty of opportunities to attend seminars and workshops especially for assistant teachers. These can help them improve their knowledge and skills that they use relating to their job. As they improve as assistant teachers, they can move up and become fully qualified teachers after gaining experience in the field, given that they meet the qualifications.
