When working as a teacher’s aide, you are incredibly important in supporting teachers as they mould the next generation as they grow. Whether working in primary or secondary education, it’s a fantastically rewarding position, with no two days ever being quite the same. However, it is a job that requires certain personality traits.
This blog will try our best to help you decide whether it’s a career you want to pursue. We’ll do that by detailing 5 character traits that you’ll either have naturally or need to develop. So, if you’ve got your notebook ready, let’s look at the person you need to be.
Trait #1 - Good Student, Parent And Teacher Relationship Building
A key trait you’ll need from day one as a teacher’s aide is the ability to make connections with people and build relationships. Whether talking about the students themselves, your parents or your fellow teaching staff, you’ll spend much of your time interacting with people.
In fact, the role involves just as much interaction as a teacher would have, so it’s really important, as you want everybody you deal with to see you as an approachable person - especially the children.
Trait #2 - Classroom Cooperation: A Real ‘Team Player’
While there are jobs out there that are ideal for people who prefer to be alone, the teaching assistant is not one of them. The entire school staff represents one big team, with each member working together to offer consistent learning, regardless of subject or age group.
This teamwork can be seen throughout any school you look at, even down to the class level, where you’ll form a small team of two with yourself and the teacher. Being a team player is undoubtedly a prerequisite for any teacher’s aide position you might apply for. This is something that you will learn in a teacher's aide course.
Trait #3 - Teacher Energy & Passion
Your ability to be enthusiastic about the work you do is vital for anyone in an educational setting, as you can’t expect them to be eager to learn if you’re not. As with any job, you might feel tired or lack motivation, but you can’t let this transmit into how you interact with the kids you teach.
The great thing about energy and enthusiasm is that they can be worked on by getting proper sleep and a good diet. Do this right, and you’ll likely have the energy to spare!
Trait #4 - Effective Teacher To Student Communication
Something else you’ll need as a teacher’s aide in Australia is the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. School classrooms can be noisy, chaotic places at times, so getting your message across to students and colleagues is imperative. You could be required to explain something a student is struggling with or inform kids about where they need to go for specific lessons, so it will come up a lot.
Communication really does pervade through everything you do for pupils or the teachers you work with, so it’s not a trait you could do without.
Trait #5 - Lots & Lots of Patience For Students
One of the things that make the job of a teacher’s aide so rewarding is the interactions you have with the children in your care. However, there’s no getting around the fact that kids can be challenging; on occasion testing your patience to the limit.
What can’t happen is for you to lose your cool in these moments, as it will send the wrong message to the student in question entirely. For this reason and more, patience and understanding are key.
Develop Your Skills at Your Own Pace With An Online Course
Being a teacher's aide, education support officer or any other student-facing position takes a particular set of interpersonal skills! If you'd like to learn more about what else is involved, we suggest you research an online education course such as our Teacher's Aid Course Bundle. If you would like to dip your toe in, OCA has also created a teacher's career sampler course that will allow you to see if this is the right career path for you!
If you’d like to know more about this or any of our professional training that covers 20+ different industries, is CPD-approved and created with the help of top industry professionals, just head over to www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au today and take a look around. There you’ll also see that we’ve made accessing top-quality professional training easier with our flexible payment options.
However, if you would like to speak to us about your specific training needs, give us a call today at 1300 611 404, and we’ll do everything we can to give you the answers you need. Enquire about a teacher's aide course today!
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