Hourly Rates up to | Jobs Available |
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$30 | 157,200+ |
What Does a Teaching Assistant Do?
Responsibilities
- Provide support for lead teacher
- Give one-on-one or small group instruction
- Help teacher with taking attendance, grading tests and other tasks
- Help prepare lesson plans, including gathering materials and setting up the classroom
- Help supervise students during class, lunch, recess, between classes and on outings
- Read to students or listen to them read
- Meet with lead teacher to discuss students’ progress
How To Become a Teacher Assistant: FAQs
The bottom line:
For someone who knows they want to work with children, being a teaching assistant is a smart way to be in the classroom with two years of training or less. Most teacher assistants know they love kids but may not know if they are cut out for this line of work. For the right person, it’s a deeply rewarding career. If this sounds like you, check out training options near you.
Being a teaching assistant
Patrice Hayes has been a teaching assistant for 14 years, but she never tires of engaging with kids and learning their personalities.
“I like that I am a big part of their life at a pivotal time in their life,” she says. “I love to see their personalities shine.”
She says there are many necessary qualities needed to do her job well. “You have to have patience. You have to be positive,” she says.
The most important quality? “You have to be able to handle the unexpected.”
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