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

I once had a grandparent come and lecture me about all the ways I was an awful teacher (in their opinion). Really went at me with loads of examples of what they do in their practice. I assumed they were a teacher or a TA. Turns out they were an after school club supervisor 🤣

Yawn

I used to be a TA and worked with someone who was pretty crap at her job - also a TA. She has a ‘famous’ son who is always quoting that his mum is a teacher. I laugh every time.

Who is calling themselves a teacher? And how do you know they aren’t

Maybe it's near their home.
Maybe it fits round their kids.
Maybe they're gaining experience before training.
Just because you wouldn't do it doesn't mean they are fools!

You sound really snobby tbh. What do you teach out of interest? I'm guessing not English...!

I think it’s fine. As long as people don’t mind a nurse calling themselves a doctor or a flight attendant calling themselves a pilot…..

It is almost impossible to cover a lesson without teaching in some capacity. Helping students with misconceptions, using your own knowledge to supplement the cover instructions, walking around the classroom to see if anyone needs help.

they can’t possibly have secondary teacher level knowledge.
Why couldn't they?
I no longer work in a school but if I were to get a job as a cover supervisor I could absolutely have secondary teacher level knowledge in 4 subjects. Because that is my qualification.

I don't think there is.

I'd be unimpressed at someone calling themselves, say, a physics teacher, if they didn't know the first thing about physics.

But just about any adult in charge of children is teaching them something.

Not true

I know a TA in secondary who was given her own classes (maths)

I was at a party many moons ago and had been accepted onto a PGCE. I got talking to a woman who was about 15 years my senior and she was talking about how she was a teacher. She was dropping it into the conversation left right and centre, and in my excitement I told her I would very soon be starting my PGCE and where did she train? She looked horrified, then stuttered and named a governing body that I know for a fact does not train teachers. I was really surprised and even though I instantly knew it was a lie, I involuntarily exclaimed '[xxxx] trains teachers?' and she literally made her excuses and could not get out of there fast enough. I don't want to say what her original response was as its a bit outing, but imagine sometime saying they trained to be a personal trainer in Sports Direct or a midwife in Mothercare. I thought, if you're going to lie, at least get your back story straight.

Edited to add: this teacher was in fact a teaching assistant at a local school, as I discovered.

I do agree that TAs teach, and spend a lot of their time doing so. The TAs in my school are worth their weight in gold and would be more than able to step into my shoes if I was absent, and are actually more skilled and knowledgeable than some qualified teachers I've worked with. However the training to be a teacher is very rigorous and the responsibility ultimately falls on the teacher, often necessitating a great deal of work during the weekends and in the evenings. For this reason, I do think that there is kind of a gravitas that the role carries which embodies more than just the act of teaching.

If a TA or cover supervisor is, in good faith, using the word 'teacher' to represent the main facet of the role which they feel they fulfil, I guess it's fair enough. However it's just disingenuous for anyone to deliberately use any kind of term which would mislead people into thinking that someone has gone through years of education and training that they haven't.

Who cares? I applaud them for still wanting to work in the absolute shit show that is our state schools.

I'm a teacher and I have no issue with this. I have always called the nursery staff at my kids' nursery "the teachers" even though most of them aren't technically teachers in terms of qualifications. But they've taught one or both of my kids to clap their hands, eat with cutlery, use a potty, put a coat on, write her name, etc etc. That's teaching. They're teachers, imo.

Yes.
It does sound snobby.

I’ve noticed this too. I worked bloody hard to be a teacher. A friend of mine who worked as bank in a nursery said to me once that she was practically a teacher. 🤣🤣🤣

I'm a teacher. I have QTS and more years of experience than I care to remember. If a cover supervisor takes classes and they say they're a teacher I wouldn't have a problem with that. Because that's what they're doing. They're not supervising.
If someone with QTS was working as a TA they too would be fine saying they're a teacher. It's what their qualification gives them the right to say.
OP how do you know the ins and outs of what these people do in their job? How do you know what their qualification is?

Assistant Teacher is a more accurate title than Teaching Assistant - it more accurately reflects what the job involves.
(Learning Support Assistant is too much of a mouthful).