People who described themselves as teachers when they’re actually teaching assistance or cover supervisor

If you left your job as a lawyer and started a job as a receptionist in a law firm, I’m fairly sure your employers would have something to say if you introduced yourself as a lawyer.

I’m a teacher and have two TAs in my class. One covers my PPA. I refer to both of them as ‘teachers’ when talking to the children. Neither of them call themselves teachers but honestly it’s just semantics; our roles and pay reflect our job titles and I think both of them are fabulous so I’ve no ego over someone not qualified being known by my job title!

I found myself chuckling at this thread as a lawyer with a primary school teacher sister and a HLTA mum.

When discussing both my sister and mum, I say they both "teach" in primary schools. Or if describing my mums role solely (say, she's given me advice) I'll say "my mum teaches in a school and always says ABC". I never say my mum is a primary school teacher, but as some have said here she takes one day a week lessons and having worked at the same school with the same teachers for years, shares the prep with them including reports etc. I've gone as far as to ask her whether work she was doing (a decade ago when I lived at home) was the teachers work and she said "we're all a team".... except the teachers get a bigger salary and disgustingly let her take some of their work load home with her.

On a separate note, my sister has had to leave the profession to care for her son and I still say (and tell her) she's a teacher as she's qualified, worked as one for several years and always will be. I'd feel the same if I left my profession, I'd still be a qualified lawyer, just not a practicing one perhaps.

Just to add a different view to it. And I believe OP you said you don't want to "sound snobby" because you're a profession that can sign things - I still advise people to use an accountant/lawyer etc. rather than nurse/teacher.... people in glass houses!

They're not working as teachers, but they are teachers, in the same way that a doctor or solicitor, who's not practicing but maintains their professional registration is still a doctor or solicitor.

DD does all this. Plus the stress of teaching.

They can't win
Some are saying if you have QTS but don't teach they're not teachers
Some are saying if they do the job of a teacher but don't have QTS they're not teachers.

This.

I wonder how many qualified teachers who now work as TAs feel the need to tell people they are teachers.

Far fewer than those TAs who are not qualified teachers yet tell people 'I'm a teacher'...

Interestingly a school teacher is a regulated profession so you cannot just claim to be one if unqualified Regulated Professions Register | School Teacher

Teacher is obviously a bit more loose when it comes to other areas such as Yoga or Piano

This absolutely does happen in secondary

It’s fine with me, next time I’m asked to countersign a passport I’ll direct the person asking to the nearest teaching assistant and say they can do it.

But if the qualified pilot who is working as cabin crew flies the plane for most of his working week, he's a pilot, no?

They are really not- at least not in secondary.

As a teacher myself, I see how bloody hard the TAs work and how the whole school would crumble without them, so I couldn’t care less if they refer to themselves as “teacher” or not.

He can but he won’t do the job of one or be paid as such.

But they are doing the job of a TA. So they are a TA. They don’t plan, do parent’s evenings, write reports or teach the majority of lessons. They were a teacher. Now they are a TA. Probably because they think teaching is really stressful and being a TA has far less responsibility and far fewer hours.

No but he's still entitled to call himself a pilot (does that ever happen? 🤣)

So if you're a qualified teacher, you're not a teacher? Okay.

In independent secondary schools you can definitely be a teacher without being qualified to be a teacher. Presumably you wouldn't say that someone with years of teaching experience but no teaching qualification wasn't a teacher.

I've been a cover supervisor. I also have an Oxbridge degree in my subject, a PGCE and 30 years' teaching experience.

You are a teacher if you qualified as a teacher

What’s the context though?

If a child or parents calls me a teacher or talks about me as teacher a lot of the time I don’t correct them.

If someone asks me what I do , or I’m filling in forms or whatever, then I say I’m a TA.

If someone asks me about my day , sometimes I might say of I was teaching year x , or apple class because that’s what I was doing that day.

A pilot who is working as cabin crew doesn’t fly the plane.

A teacher who's working as a TA is still a qualified teacher.

I've noticed SIL says "I teach", she doesn't quite go so far as to call herself a teacher.

What do mean they can't be asked what they actually do? Why can't you ask them?

Teachers have government numbers like nurses and midwives. They can be struck off like nurses and midwives.