The role of teaching assistants

The role of teaching assistants This essay will discuss the different roles of teaching assistants in primary schools, through first hand observation and also by way of other resources such as government guidelines and journal articles. Teaching assistants (TAs) were originally given the title of non-teaching assistants, however, the non was dropped when it became clear that teaching assistant provided valuable input into the everyday workings of the classroom. TAs were introduced in an attempt to reduce the workload of teachers which would in turn raise the standards of the classroom in which the work (DfES, 2000). Between 1999-2001 the government injected considerable funds into Local Education Authorities to enable them to employ and train around 20,000 new teaching assistants (Ofsted, 2002). The DfES (2003) states that teaching assistants are providing effective and valuable support in a wide range of settings and envisages an enhanced role for teaching assistants to free teachers from non related tasks. My observations seem to mirror the governments guidelines and proposals for utilizing TAs to reduce the workload of teachers. From my observations of teaching assistants in the classroom, I have found that they have many roles and responsibilities. I have also observed that different teaching assistants have different roles. For example: the main TA for the class has duties varying from gathering resources and taking photographs, to playground duties and helping small groups of children stay on task in the classroom. This particular TA also has the responsibility of teaching small groups of children for Rocket Reading. In rocket reading, children gather from different classes and are grouped by ability rather than age. The TA has the responsibility of teaching the key sounds and words for their level. There is also a floating teaching assistant who moves between classes, as and when she is needed. This TA appears to mainly focus on tasks which do not involve the children such as photocopying resources and making up the display boards. However there is research that suggests, if not used effectively, that TAs could possibly have a detrimental effect (albeit inadvertently) on the educational and social wellbeing of some pupils, particularly those who have special educational needs. Children with special educational needs often have a TA who works almost exclusively with them. There is research which suggests that excessive proximity of teaching assistants could lead to things such as behavioural problems and social isolation as the child becomes to dependant on the TA (Giangreco Doyle, 2007). I have observed rare occasions when the teaching assistant has had responsibility for the whole class. However, this is only for very short amounts of time and usually during transition times for example, between the end of lunchtime play and the start of the afternoon session. I have not seen any evidence that the TAs are expected to do any whole class teaching. In the absence of the class teacher, a supply teacher is used rather than giving the responsibility to the teaching assistants. This may be due to the lack of adequate training of the TAs or the preference of the head teacher, unfortunately I have not, as yet had the opportunity to find out this information. However, the Secretary of State has suggested that the role of teaching assistants could be expanded to include supervising classes undertaking work set by the class teacher, administering tests and covering teacher absence (Ofsted, 2002). Cajkler Suschitzky ( 2007) suggest that TAs should be quite deeply invloved in the everday workings of the classroom. This should include knowing about the curriculum, schemes of work, policy and lesson planning. However, from my observations, the TAs do not have any input into what is taught or how but just follow instructions given by the teacher. These are usually things such as keeping children on task rather than giving any indepth help on the lesson being covered. The TAs often have to refer back to the teacher when asked a question by a child. The TAs do seem to be expected to know the curriculum in any depth, schemes of work or policy. These things do not appear to be relevant to the tasks which are expected of them. The only task in which i have seen the TAs using and needing any indepth knowledge is in the rocket reading exercises. Some of the TAs in the school have had training in this area and therefore have the extra knowledge which is used to the advantage of the rest of the teaching staff and also benefits the children as they can be taught in much smaller groups. Many reports and studies show that the use of teaching assistants in the classroom benefit the teacher as well as the children. However, a report by the Institute of Education suggests that less progress is made by children who have the support of a TA than those of a similar age and ability who do not receive the same level of assistance. The report claims that the more support they recieve the fewer gains they make. The findings are based on two main problems that are interlinked. It is claimed that teaching assistants are often assigned to the children in most need of educational help. However, this means that the child has less time with a qualified teacher , therefore reducing the amount of actual teaching they receive (Times, 2008). From my observations i would somewhat agree with these findings. One child in the class has recently oined the class after arriving from Poland.he receives extremly little support, guidence or teaching fom the class teacher.his day is spent either with a non speaking TA or working independently. However he is lucky enough to have another six year old in the class who is also Polish but speaks very good english who translates for him. In conclusion, i feel that that TAs are an extremely important part of the dailybrunning of the classroom. The main roles in which they are involved in allows the teacher to concentrate on actually teaching the class rather than concentrating on what could be seen as less important tasks. However, i feel that TAs need to be trained in all aspects of the roles which they are expected to undertake. Cajkler, W., Suschitzky, W. (2007). Teamwork in the primary classroom. In J. Moyles (Ed.), Beginning Teaching Beginning Learning in Primary Education (pp. 181-191). Maidenhead: Open University Press. DfES. (2003). Raising standards and tackling workload: a national agreement. London: DfES. DfES. (2000, October). Working with Teaching Assistants. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from www.tda.gov.uk: http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/w/working_with_tas.pdf Giangreco, M. F., Doyle, M. B. (2007). Teaching assistants in inclusive schools. In L.Florian, The Sage Handbook of Special Education (pp. 429-439). London: Sage. Ofsted. (2002, April 16). Ofsted. Retrieved March 8, 2010, from Ofsted: https://ofsted3.openanswers.com/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Education/Leadership/Management/Teaching-assistants-in-primary-schools-an-evaluation-of-the-quality-and-impact-of-their-work/(language)/eng-GB Times, T. (2008). Pupils using teaching assistants make less progress. Retrieved march 8, 2010, from Teaching Times: http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/teaching-assistants-less-progress.htm

Diversity of the Family

?Family Diversity Term Papers If there is any one constant concerning the diversity of family and family structure in the United States over the past one hundred years or so, it is change. Almost every familial characteristic one would choose to study – from the median age at the time of first marriage, to the number of children per household, to the rate of divorce – has either risen significantly, declined dramatically, or both. What is certain is that the study of family diversity, and the evolution of such diversity in the United States is intriguing. The very structure and character of the American family has evolved significantly from 1900 to 2000. From a strong patriarchical start at the turn of the century, the American family evolved into what is now referred to as a companionate marriage up until the 1960s, when individualism began winning out over traditional family values. The divorce rate first rose and later fell, but left in its wake a number of unmistakable trends. From 1970 to 1992 the number of single-family households in the United States increased from 13% to 32% . Cohabitation evolved from a fringe phenomenon reserved mostly for hippies to a mainstream trend, with the number of heterosexual couples cohabitating outside of marriage up ten-fold since 1960. The number of households with children, in the mean time, has declined to just over a quarter of all households, falling from a high of 45% in 1972 to 26% in 1999. The most common household composition in the United States today is an unmarried couple without children. More than anything else, the very diversity in the types of families and households has increased by what seems like an order of magnitude. In what follows, I examine and discuss the changes that have occurred in the diversity of family and familial structure in the United States over the past century. I begin with an examination of the evolution of family form. Next, I examine the diversity in family typology. I conclude with an examination of a variety of trends in family diversity.

Houstons Land Use Policy Essay

Houston is a large city with very unique qualities that most cities cannot even begin to understand, but is this just Houstonian pride talking? No, actually one of the unique qualities that Houston has is how we handle our land use planning. Houston is well known for not having any zoning ordinances, which has become a well-known topic for a while now. People argue weather our lack of zoning is chaotic, unorthodox, or independent and distinct. Another unique quality that we have is where our political culture stands. Dr. Elazar’s â€Å"Individualistic – Traditionalistic† study of political culture talks about three categories moralistic, individualistic, and traditionalistic, which entails what category Texas falls in and why. This study of Political culture can help relate to reasons why Houston lacks at land use planning and whether it is for the best or worse. The land use planning in Houston is different from other cities because we don’t have zoning o rdinance, meaning that we can have for example â€Å"the fanciest restaurant in town right next to a tattoo parlor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  ,UH of Architecture Dean Patricia Oliver. Other cities have a different system that involves color-coded maps that let people know where and what they can and can’t have in those properties. Cities that have regulations do it because they believe that if the government doesn’t tell them what to do with the land it would be chaotic. Houston, on the other hand thinks that property owners decide what works best for their property not the government. Even though everything seems unrestricted in Houston we do have a form of organizing certain areas like neighborhoods with â€Å"deed restrictions† where owners voluntarily agree to certain restrictions when they buy property. We also have â€Å"property rights† which means that one the government cannot tell you what to do with your land. Due to the system that Houston uses to administer the land use, most housing becomes affordable an example is also the way Houston evaded the real estate bubble. The broader picture to Houston is that it comes from the biggest state in the U.S, Texas. Texas has a vast amount of people and within these people there  are different types of mindsets but there are also similar ones things like this are what describe are Political culture which the book, Texas Politics 12th edition, defines it as a shared system of values, beliefs and habits of behavior with regard about politics. Dr. Elazar describes political culture as everyone being impacted by the beliefs and values of the dominant groups in society; these groups can range in between three categories of political culture moralistic, Individualistic, and traditionalistic. According to the book, moralistic political culture is when citizens understand the state and the nation as commonwealths designed to further the shared interest of everyone. In Individualistic political culture, citizens understand the state and the nation as marketplaces in which people strive to better their personal welfare, citizen participation is encouraged. In Traditionalistic political culture, citizens technically believe in democracy, but emphasize respect to elite rule within a hierarchal society and citizen participation is not encouraged. Texas stands right in between Individualistic and Traditionalistic in the scale of political culture. Texas is a midpoint between individualistic and traditionalistic; some people think that there is a correlation between the zoning and the political culture in Houston, Texas. Research has shown that the state has a very strong business oriented perspective which means they’re more open to the ideas of the public, Individualistic. This explains how in Houston we don’t have the government tell us where we can do with our property we can put any business where we please. The traditionalistic culture in Texas comes from the way the elite groups are the ones that rule, this idea is active through the projection of restriction with â€Å"deed restrictions† and â€Å"Property rights† where the majority choose what they want or only approve of government activity if they favor to their likings. The land use planning in Houston is unique compared to other cities in the U.S. We have no zoning restrictions meaning we chose where we want are properties and what we do with them. The only exception is when the majority of people make a decision on what can happen on a certain area like a neighborhood. The political culture of Texas, which is in between individualistic and traditionalistic and it is portrayed in the land use planning in Houston. Citations Newell, Charldean, David F. Prindle, and James W. Riddlesperger. â€Å"Texas Political Culture.†Texas Politics. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print. Teas, Anderew. â€Å"HCC Eagle Online: Login to the Site.† HCC Eagle Online: Login to the Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.

Adam Smith’s contribution to capitalism Essay - 2772 Words

Adam Smith is considered as one of the most influential economists in the 18th century. Although his theories have been criticized by several socialist economists, however, his idea of capitalism still has great impact to the rest of the economists during classical, neo classical periods and the structure of today’s economy. Even the former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher had praised on Smith’s contribution on today’s capitalism market. She commented â€Å"Adam Smith, in fact, heralded the end of the strait-jacket of feudalism and released all the innate energy of private initiative and enterprise which enable wealth to be created on a scale never before contemplated† (Copley and Sutherland 1995, 2). Smith is also being recognized†¦show more content†¦Smith believed that societies were being motivated by passions and self-interest. Therefore, motive of morality came in to explain what is backing up the passion of human beings. The ess ential components of passion are self-interest and reasons. Self-interest indicated the goal of an individual wanted to achieve in a certain period of time and the reason gives explanation why this individual wanted to achieve this goal in that period of time. With these two components, Smith was able to conclude that the behaviors of individuals are motivated by reasoning. Also because of human beings are always looking for better living standard, therefore, he explained that the motive of morality is one of the keys to improve our society. The â€Å"theory of moral sentiment† did not only explain how human behaviors are modified by sympathy, but in addition, the theory supported Smith’s view on what policies should be adopted based on these theories. Laissez-faire was the early form of attitudes that Smiths and some of economists pursued in Europe during 18th century. It suggested that government should reduce their intervention on import and export regulation, such as imposing taxes and tariffs on these transactions on private parties. In addition, governments should advocate perfect competition in the nation in order to maximize economic growth. The Theory of Moral Sentiment has properly backed Lassies-faire up and clarified why human beings can regulated themselves in anShow MoreRelatedThe Biography Of Adam Smith1505 Words   |  7 PagesThe Biography of Adam Smith Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland in the year 1923, and died in the year 1790 at the age of 67 (Stewart, 1861). His exact date of birth is unknown but was baptized on 5th June 1723. His father was a prosecutor, advocate, and solicitor but passed on two months after his birth, leaving his mother to bring him up. His mother, Margaret Douglas, played a great role in his upbringing, especially in education. 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