How to become a Chinese teacher?

How can I become a better teacher assistant?

• I just started a new job working as a teacher assistant in a public school. I am working primarily in a separate classroom with a group of kids with varying disabilities, e.g. autism and down's syndrome. This is my first time working with kids who have disabilities, and I can tell that I have a lot to learn! How can I become a better, more effective, more confident and relaxed teacher assistant? I can already tell that the biggest hurdle for me is confidence and learning how to be more directive and assertive with the kids. All of them have difficulties communicating but at varying levels--some can sustain conversations and one or two are functionally nonverbal. This work is totally new to me, and I'm still learning appropriate vocabulary, ways to interact with the kids, etc. I really want to find more support because I love the kids and the job so far but really am worried about anxiety and a fear of being assertive with the kids keeping me from doing a good job. I think that my strengths for the job are patience, compassion, and a sense of humor. My long-term goal is to become a speech language pathologist, which is why I took this job. What can I do to become a better teacher assistant in the meantime, beyond just "giving it time"? So far my ideas are to start going to a yoga class regularly (to keep stress levels down), to e-mail teachers I collaborate with about their class rules (so I know what the kids should be doing in class), and also to ask for suggestions on here. Even links to helpful books or websites to read would be great; personal anecdotes and general advice/tips are welcome, too. I am in NC with easy access to Duke and UNC-CH if that is helpful.

• Answer:

  First, realize that the kids are going to have good days and bad days. Roll with it. One big meltdown can trigger a domino effect in your class, so don't worry so much about rules, control situations. Also, see who's into being a helper, and draft those kids to help you. "Lisa, go over there with Robert and see if you guys can do the assignment together." I did this with my ESOL kids, I'd get a bilingual kid to explain the assignment. Most of the time, the kids don't mind, some really enjoy it. I also had a seriously mentally handicapped kid in my class, and one of the helpers glommed onto her, it was great. Taye helped Q get situated with the assignment, showed her where we were in the book. and when we worked on computers, Taye found a webpage with kittens on it for Q to look at. If I ever see Taye anywhere, I'm buying her a drink, she made my life a LOT easier. Talk to the inclusion advisors about each kid, they have lots of insights. Bribes also work well. My inclusion advisors kept a little fridge full of soda. I had one kid who could not sit still or be quiet. He couldn't do it. But we worked out a deal that if I didn't have to tell him too often to knock it off, he could go get a soda. That kid was never going to be perfect, but it got a lot better. Don't worry so much about the lesson. Special Ed is a lot more about the process than progress. Q was in my class for socialization, that took a lot of pressure off of me. Yes the classwork is important, but if you're having an enjoyable moment and everyone is happy and engaged, let them keep at it. Math can wait. Read the IEPs, then learn to read between the lines. Look at the accomodations, and don't worry if you can't always get it right. I had an average of 36 kids in my classes and usually abou 5 were ESOL and 10 had IEPs. Something's gotta give. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough. Use different modalities. I taught high school English, but I kept a box of crayons and markers and plain paper in the middle of each table. Kids could draw or doodle or do whatever they wanted to with the art supplies. Sometimes I incorporated art into my lesson plan. Kids who had a hard time expressing themselves in words, could do a beautiful job of doing so in pictures. Music is good too. I had Mozart, New Age, etc. Sometimes the kids wanted top 40 or Hip Hop. My rule, as long as you're working and it's not filthy, it's fine with me. I got out of the profession, but if I could go back and tell younger self anything, it would be to not take it all so seriously. Sure, we all want to be the one who made a huge impact. I now know that I made small impacts every day, and sometimes that's as good as it gets.