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 *

I think it’s mainly TA’s that think they work as hard as teachers. They really, really don’t.

The mental load of a teacher, let alone the planning, assessments, reports, meetings, being a subject lead, to name just a few, is very different than taking or supporting lessons that have been planned for you.

I’m not saying some TA’s don’t work hard or do a great job, but it’s not the same as being a teacher.

I meant why would you recommend getting an accountant etc to do it rather than a teacher.
But yes OP comes across as very snobby

I've just started as TA but have volunteered for quite a while before this role. The head herself calls everyone, even the dinner staff (shock horror) 'teachers' and this is what she encourages the children to call all adults who work in the school. The ethos is that we all in some way will be teaching the children. She is very vocal about all staff being allowed in the staff room...my previous school I volunteered at the staff room was for 'real' teachers only and TA's were not allowed in. I would not describe myself as a teacher if someone outside of school asked me , nor would i have any desire to be one the stress is unbelievable, but maybe some do because so many people, including teachers, seem to look down on the role. I feel valued within the school environment because of the heads stance on it. I also would say that TA's are not just sitting twiddling their thumbs waiting to be told what to do by the teacher. In one instance I have known a TA to have two classes at once on their own with the door open between the two when staff illness took sway. We take the children out and teach on our own and have responsibilities within the classroom setting that go beyond just behaviour control. Often passed from pillar to post expected to take a lesson at the drop of a hat if needed. Ta's may not be classed as teachers but should certainly be classed as 'teaching staff'. Some teachers really got a bee in their bonnets and seem to be downplaying exactly what their TA's do. The pay is crap for what a TA does especially HLTA.

@KarlWrenbury I am a Nurse!! yes, a fully qualified nurse! but hey, all those care assistants are auxiliaries, they are not nurses!!

I think the point is, if they have the professional qualifications they are a teacher. If they don’t have the professional qualifications, they are not. I’m retired now, but I was a qualified teacher for over 30 years. I worked and studied to get the educational qualifications to call myself a teacher. Those who fail to mention that they are teaching assistants, etc, are willfully misleading.

Absolutely this, I think TAs are just massively underpaid teachers. Whole class planning and teaching is now normal for a TA. It really needs looking at.

How do you know they are qualified?

But not equal pay. It's an abuse of the system and the predominately female workforce are chronically underpaid for what they do.

Would you think it right if unqualified assistants in a legal office called themselves lawyers?

They should just take a teaching job then to be paid the same. Oh. Wait…

Unfortunately you have this wrong. All qualified teacher have a teacher registration number, TRN which is issued by the department of education. If a qualified teacher falls short of teaching standards they can be struck off.

i have no issue with TAs etc calling themselves teachers, many TAs decide to become qualified teachers. The teaching bit is the easy part, it’s the ‘outside the classroom’ part that’s the difficult part of the job.

Claiming you have a higher position than you have is a bit pathetic tbh. And you look a complete t*t if you’re outed.

I agree with certain comments around professions especially medical professionals. However the title of Dr for a majority of medical staff is honorary, they do not necessarily have PhD’s.

I have been a TA. During this period I had higher qualification than a your average teacher. I have a Masters in Education a level 7 qualification which requires180 credits. QTS is a Level 6 qualification and is only 60 credits towards a Masters. The difference between my Masters and QTS is that I have not studied pedagogy (how you teach) in depth, I am still an education expert, I focus on theory of education than the practice although, I believe both are valid and equal.

I am highly qualified in Education policies and can tell you in reasonable depth how education became mandatory and the start of teaching being a career. Very few teachers I know can tell you the political and social history of education and how teaching became a profession in its own right. Teachers were initially any adult who was appointed by their employer to govern the children. They then became the social class equivalent of a Weaver.

When I started my professional doctorate in education, the first assessment was a discussion of profession, and professionalism in your current employment. I wrote on the profession and professionalism of TAs, it has developed into a profession in its own right similar to how teaching became a profession in its own right. Rising from a upper working class profession to a middle class profession. Therefore, I would leave your elitism behind and maybe actually do some learning yourself, do make assumptions that just because an individual has not completed a qualification that they cannot teach. Plenty of teachers have a piece of paper with a QTS, it does not necessarily make them excellent teachers.

Thing is, these are roles within the school. Staff are employed as Teachers/ TAs/ cover supervisors. Also, TAs are not all working at the same level - there are TA1, 2 or 3. HLTAs are more highly qualified and so can be asked to take a higher level of responsibility.
What's wrong with people giving their actual job title?

This is the point thougn, they often work as teachers but because they are not qualified they are not paid. Many though are better at actually teaching than the teachers. I also think admin work should be done by admin people not teachers. This is true for doctors and nurses too. Let them do their bloody job not admin.

Im a lecturer part-time. It sounds too grand in some company so I say I teach part-time lol!

I hope your nursing assistant colleagues didn't introduce themselves to patients as a 'Nurse'.

I find that quite demeaning to registered nurses, who have to pay and go through the rigmarole of maintaining their status on the register.

I am a registered veterinary nurse, and as much as I love and value my ANA (animal nursing auxiliary) colleagues, if I heard one of them introducing themselves (to a client) as a RVN, I would be having words!

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.

The difference is those examples could have life and death consequences, and doing a one year PGCE is not equal to the difference in training in the other examples.

I find this quite interesting - you wouldn’t want an unqualified teacher teaching your child . However, there are a lot of school staff ( eg TA / HLTAs ) that have been working in education a lot longer than teachers . A lot of TA / HLTAs are actually covering classes - I know this because I am a teacher ( ex - thankfully ) and when I left a role mid year , I was replaced by a HLTA . Full time, she covered the class for the rest of the year , but it was never official and a bit hush hush. It’s common that support staff do cover classes. I was a first year teacher when I left, no one ever batted an eyelid at the fact I was brand new they just put their faith in me. The HLTA had been working in the school for 20 years. I have no doubt that she probably did better than I would have .

I did a PGCE for one year. My degree was actually in education, but it didn’t have to be and I didn’t really use anything from it in my practice. My pgce didn’t teach me subject knowledge . I pretty much learnt everything on the job yet people think that having the title ‘teacher’ automatically makes you an expert.

Nobody has said this.

Just that the job role of a TA is not that of a teacher.

This.

Well if they were just saying it when describing their job to others, I can’t imagine anyone would care. If they were doing it in terms of offering legal advice or acting as a solicitor then yeah I would because there is a consequence. An actual legal and tangible consequence.

There is no consequence, other than upsetting a few teachers egos, of a TA saying they are a teacher.

professional is being held to an agreed standard and sanctions if your work practice isn’t of adequate standard
TA, Nursing Asst are unregulated and won’t be held same expected standards
It really isn’t about signing passport or some such it’s about accountability

I'm a teacher working very part time in a primary setting. Sometimes I say to the children no you don't need to show me if you've shown one of the other teachers. Sometimes I say adults. Our children are pretty tricky. All of the fabulous TAs/HLTAs I work with teach children as part of their week and work incredibly hard while putting up with some awful behaviour. Me saying, "But I have a PGCE from Oxbridge." would make absolutely no difference to anyone apart from making me look a knob. We all teach the challenging children in our care. Some members of staff to it for an appallingly low salary.

Honestly, TA’s are now teaching classes all the time. So yes, job title may be TA officially and in terms of pay but they are teaching on a daily basis!