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

[KarlWrenbury]

This is a thing I’ve noticed recently. Is it because they can’t be asked to describe what they really do or is it slightly more disingenuous? For reference no I don’t think it’s a great amazing thing to be a teacher but it’s interesting that they do.

assistants *

Most independent schools employ unqualified teachers. In many secondary schools HLTAs teach lessons and many cover supervisors have a few of their own classes. So even though they may not be qualified, they are still teaching.

@ClassicStripe yes I had the same but was an after-school swimming instructor

Lots of teachers in independent schools aren’t qualified teachers, but have been experts in their field. I’d prefer that real life experience over someone with a teaching degree who went straight from uni to teaching.

I was a cover supervisor for 20 years, over the years and with different teachers and subjects it varied wildly between what my job was supposed to be -no new topics, subject matter, reinforcement, revision or testing and been expected to teach whole units of subjects. Some teachers knew my subject expertise and trusted me to deliver to the Trust standards. I have a pcet, but without qts and frankly, I was happiest at that. But in times of shortage I was given my own classes (yr 9 drama,yr 7 re and job share health and social care, yr 7 and 8 history and two years of a shite vocational qualification) I taught myself gcse foundation maths when i was long term cover for that. To the kids I was the adult in front of the class who was teaching them. I never referred to myself as A teacher, but I was their teacher.
And yeah, I had the lower pay, but at 4 I walked out and didn’t have to work until midnight, I had my weekends and holidays to spend with my family.

A TA calling themselves a teacher should not threaten you in any way. If you believe you are superior and more professional than them, well that’s on you.

My husband and I are both teachers, one primary, one secondary and we both agree that excellent subject knowledge alone isnt enough. You can be an expert in your field but not have the pedagogical underpinnings or behaviour management skills necessary to facilitate the learning of the students. Does anyone remember that documentary where Janie Oliver put together a school of experts and got them to teach a group of disadvantaged students. It didn't work. It's not just about the subject knowledge. Teachers have to learn how to literally teach the stuff.

That’s a bit like preferring someone who is a professor of biology to take your appendix out than an actual surgeon!

But most cover teachers are qualified teachers.

Lots of qualified teachers choose to work as TAs or cover supervisors because it's far fewer hours and it means they mainly get to do the parts of a teaching job they actually enjoy (working with the children).

In my experience as a qualified primary school teacher, TAs who misleadingly and deliberately tell people they are a 'teacher' when they aren't actually qualified are the type of TAs who are a real pain in the butt to work with, are often on a power trip and have a superior attitude. They often make the actusl teacher's job harder.

The vast majority of TAs are amazing and worth their weight in gold. They are absolutely essential and deserve a huge amount of respect and gratitude. They are also appallingly underpaid and under appreciated. This does not mean they do the same job as a teacher. They are not teachers. They do some of the same duties but it is not the same.

When it's acceptable for nurses to call themselves doctors or cabin crew to call themselves pilots, then I'll think it's okay for TAs to tell people they are teachers.

DD is a teacher. However there aren't any teaching jobs here, so she works as an LSA. Loads of her colleagues are in the same boat. They've all got two degrees, have studied for four years and therefore have earned the right to call themselves teachers, because that's their profession.

They actually do as much teaching/lesson planning/marking etc as the teachers anyway. The school is essentially getting several teachers for LSA money (almost exactly minimum wage). It's almost as if it were intentional...

I think in the long run, the TA suffers. They are not qualified teachers, and as a result are paid far less than teachers are. If they are just saying they are teachers but still accepting the low pay then it blurs the responsibilities between the TA and the teacher. It could mean they end up doing more and more for not much more than minimum wage when they shouldn't be.

Teachers are teachers because they are actually teachers. Everyone else is not a teacher and should not claim to be.

There is a vast difference between a teacher and all of the other people in the school that work with the children due to the huge difference in qualifications.

Many LSAs are qualified teachers, though.

My friend is a HLTA and is often asked to take classes on her own for most of the week due to shortages

That doesn’t make her a teacher.

Teaching assistants do a lot of teaching, just usually to smaller groups or one to one

They really aren’t.

Also. They WERE teachers. Now they are TA’s on account of the fact they aren’t teachers.

They aren’t teachers then. They are teaching assistants.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

You are a teacher if you qualified as a teacher