Educational assistants work with students who may be visually or hearing impaired or suffer from other physical, mental or sensory disabilities. Working at either the elementary or secondary school levels, they help students cope in the classroom. Also known as teacher assistants, they may be assigned to work with one particular child, with a group of children within one classroom, or several students throughout the school. Educational assistants commonly work for school boards but are also found in special treatment centres where educational programs are offered. They work under the direction of a teacher or principal.
As an educational assistant, you provide extra support to the children who need it. This might involve helping a child with a physical disability get dressed to go outside, or it might mean repeating what the teacher says in sign language. You do whatever is necessary to help the child learn. This includes the use of alternate teaching methods for those students who might benefit from them.
The daily activities of an educational assistant are varied. You supervise the students in the classroom, in the school yard and on field trips.
In the present school system, educational assistants work on contracts that extend for ten months of the year while teachers are paid an annual salary. In some cases, educational assistants have their own labour union which new employees are obligated to join. Language requirements depend on the school board.
Some training is conducted on the job, under the instruction of the teacher responsible for the class, a special education teacher or other consultant. Increasingly, however, school boards prefer to hire trained assistants. Additional training is given on professional development days and other special in-house training days.
You will enjoy working as an educational assistant if you are genuinely committed to helping children learn. You must understand and be sensitive to the obstacles facing the children in your care.
You will need a broad background to feel comfortable as an educational assistant, including knowledge of child development as well as some teaching experience. Special skills, such as sign language, or fluency in other languages, are also useful, depending on the type of client and place of work.
Another challenge of this occupation is assisting children who have serious behaviour problems. Your preparation in this area should be thorough. Experience in non-violent crisis intervention is also an asset.
You must be a team player who accepts the direction of the teacher in the classroom, or the instructions of other professionals responsible for the particular child or children under your care. Good interpersonal and communication skills are essential as are energy and enthusiasm for the job.
This is sometimes a physically demanding job. For example, working with disabled children often involves moving and lifting them.