Running from Monday 2 September to Friday 6 September, Teacher’s Aide Appreciation Week acknowledges the hard work and dedication of those playing a crucial role in classrooms across Australia
In Queensland, more than 18,000 teacher aides are employed in state schools. These dedicated professionals are the backbone of classrooms, providing essential support to both teachers and students.
Teacher aides are not just support staff; they are integral to the educational success of students. Last month, the flagship Teacher Aide program hosted 150 teacher aides from across Queensland for two days of professional development.
One of the those involved was Sean Kearney, who is part of Caboolture State High School’s Special Education program. Kearney says students that would struggle coming to the class and engaging with the content are now actively working and trying their best to succeed. Seeing the metaphorical ‘flip of the switch’ in his students makes the job worthwhile, says Kearney.
"Engaging with a diverse range of students can be challenging but I generally focus on building positive relationships with my students first and foremost," Kearney told The Educator. "For me, I usually start conversations with my students irrelevant from the work to gauge my students' interests, attitudes towards learning and social dynamics."
Kearney said this information is integral to his work in building a professional but relaxed relationship with his students where he can engage students in learning using their personal interests.
"These interactions also inform me when a student is having a good day or may need some extra assistance depending on external factors from the learning. These seemingly inconsequential conversations are actually constant formative assessment of student wellbeing and readiness to learn."
Another teacher’s aide at the school is Elizabeth Hyndman, who works with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students of various ages. Since beginning my work as a Teacher Aide Educational Interpreter, Hyndman says she has never looked back.
"My approach to supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing students is to build a strong working relationship with them," Hyndman told The Educator. "Just as each student is unique, each Deaf/HH student is unique in their personality, learning style and communication preferences."
Hyndman said when trust and rapport is established, she guides her students to become independent, confident and advocate for themselves.
"This looks different for every individual, depending on their age, but the ultimate goal is to develop a well-rounded and contributing member of society," she said.
"When a high school student organises an interpreter to come to a sports event outside of school because 'it's best for me to have the interpreter give information in my language', or a primary school student tells their friend 'if you want to tell me a something in class, tap me on my shoulder then I can know to listen", that's when I know I've made a difference."
In conclusion, Hyndman said the reward of watching a student grow to full independence and advocating for themselves is "incredibly fulfilling."
'Teacher Aides are critical in the functioning of the whole school'
Kearney said while teacher aides are often seen as people that help with students in the classrooms in a hands on and direct manner, the role of a Teacher Aide extends much further.
"This includes manually handling resources for classes, faculty assistance, admin duties, first aide, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island programs, specialised learning support [such as Auslan] and more," he said.
"We have a wide variety of Teachers Aide staff that put in work that is not necessarily seen or recognised as easily but all of these roles that Teacher Aides fill are critical in the functioning of the school as a whole in order to provide an excellent education to all young people."
Hyndman said an invaluable support that Teacher Aides provide is working with students social and emotional development.
"Often this is unseen and quietly happens in the background. Teacher Aides have the unique opportunity to demonstrate and model to students how to interact with others, to express themselves appropriately and to improve their self-management skills and learn to be their best selves," she said.
"There is a strong link between improvement in grades and improvement within in the student themselves. Parents and carers may notice this difference but be unaware it is related to the holistic work of Teacher Aides."