There are many educators out there who are parapros. They are the real TeacherAde's of the world. It is a blessing for a teacher to have a paraprofessional in the room although some do not realize it. It gives you another set of eyes and ears and they can help you get the non teaching part of teaching done.
Of course this isn't how it works in every classroom! Sometimes there is problems with having someone else in the room. Why is help ever a problem?
There are a couple of inherent problems with this teacher-para relationship. The teachers are not paid well, but the para is really not paid well. Where I worked as a para for two years the starting salary was $13,000 a year.
That is before taxes, insurance, retirement, and any other deductions from your paycheck. By the end of the month there is not a lot of money leftover to go have fun with.
So what quality of worker can schools hire for $13,000? Not the best! There are a lot of really awesome paras out there, but there are also some pretty questionable ones also!
In the county I worked, it was not a requirement for para's to have a High School diploma! So you could never graduate high school and wind up working for..... the high school!
(note: If you did not have high school diploma you did have to have a GED at least, and be able to pass the Paraprofessional GACE test but it was a joke.)
So perhaps parapros are not the highest quality of educators out there.
The paraprofessional in your classroom may not be the most intelligent, hardest working, or perhaps even caring person on a school campus, but before you judge them put yourself in there shoes. How much are you going to care about working hard and producing quality work when you make poverty wages.
This post is not a sob story for para's. It is, however, pointed remarks on the reality of the situation that exists in public schools.Para's have nothing to fill bad about! They know what they make, and they know what the job is. If as a para you are not willing to do the job for the money paid do something else. No one has twisted the arms of para's to force them into the job situation that they are in.
However, despite the problems that may face the teacher-para relationship it can be a positive one if there are a few understandings.
To the Teacher:
- If you feel superior to your parapro you are not helping! You are not. A degree and a higher paying job gives you no right to feel superior to anyone! That is not a productive attitude!
- If you bark orders you are not helping.
- If you do not communicate what your expectations are then they will most likely not be met.
- If your expectations of the class para are not realistic then they will most likely not be met. (keep in mind they make 1/3 or less than you when creating your expectations)
- Be friendly regardless of your attitude towards the para or the stress level in which you work!
- The para is there to help you, let them!
To the Parapro:
- If the teacher has to help you, help them, then you are not helping.
- If you do not actively participate in the classroom you are not helping.
- If all you do is let people know what you can't/want do you are not helping.
- If you are teaching the students the wrong information you are not helping. (there is no shame in saying "I'm not sure let me get back to you." Teaching incorrect information is never okay!)
- If you take initiative and take care of certain aspects of the classroom without the teacher having to instruct you, then you are helping. (attendance, keeping problem students on task, collecting homework, etc. whatever it is let your teacher know you will handle it and be okay with their response)
- You are in the teacher's classroom! Ultimately they are responsible for the students. They may not be receptive of all of your ideas and that is okay! Know it, Accept it!
- Never go over the teachers head without first addressing your concern with the teacher.
- If you take pride in your work and are committed to being a positive addition to a classroom then you will ultimately be a help.
- Your job description is the minumum you are expected to do. That means you are doing the bare requirements of your job. Despite what you make, it is okay to do more than the minimum. A bad attitude is not helping!
Most of all just communicate with one another and have the right attitude about the situation.
