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Should We Respect Teachers’ Aides?

Teacher’s aides have a pretty clear job in the classroom: help the teacher and help the students in the class. However, when it comes to their place in the hierarchy of the student body and the faculty, their position seems to be a bit skewed by both their perspective and the perspective of the students.

TAs technically have not earned the same respect as a teacher because they have not yet earned their credentials as a teacher, and the rest of the students still see them as just another student. Yet, they cannot be seen entirely as a peer since they a have slight power over the rest of the students in regards to observing their work and possibly influencing the grades by association with the professor.

In the eyes of some students, TAs don’t hold any higher position than the rest of the students. They may help out the teacher and correct the class’s homework, but the TAs are still just students – peers. Or, are they?

The position of a TA seems to alter in the rest of the students’ eyes once the class sees the impact these TAs can have on their grade. TAs can either earn respect by praising students’ work, or become the class’s worst enemy by giving low scores or criticisms to the class.

I can remember feeling very frustrated when I received a paper back with comments from the TA that I completely disagreed with. Although the TA was a grad student, she was still a student nonetheless, and I was not about to take her comments lightly if they were a form of criticism.

I do not encourage this behavior, however. Other TAs have worked hard to earn the respect of the professor, so I would assume that the TAs are capable of helping out sufficiently in the classroom, and have therefore earned enough respect for their opinions at the very least. In my own previous situation, I just happened to have experienced a TA that was giving herself a higher role than she deserved. When a TA’s opinions are contradicting what the instructor is teaching in class, you have a problem.

From the TAs’ perspective, I believe some begin to feel a bit self-important. Even though the rest of the class may not view them with respect, TAs are in the position to help out a teacher because they have proven that they have the ability or enough education to do so. At universities, most of the TAs walking around campus are graduate students; they have completed a level of their education where the rest of the students have yet to do so. I can understand how this would give the TAs something to be proud of, though the rest of the students who make up the class may not give this same recognition.

Then again, there are also plenty of TAs who are friendly, helpful, and yet struggle to have even the slightest respect. Some of my friends, who were aides, complain that they try to do their job by helping the class with their assignments, which is appreciated until they have to remind students to keep quiet in the labs, or not to eat in class. With a slight reprimand, the class will ignore the aides and become obnoxious with comments under their breath or slowly get louder. Reactions like these from the class certainly make it difficult for a TA to do his or her job.

Obviously, most young adults do not like to be told what to do, particularly when the rules are enforced by someone close in age. In my experience, students are usually more accepting of a teacher giving out orders, but when someone who appears to be more of a peer tries this, it can be translated into something insulting. This would explain why a TA’s criticisms are not always welcome.

So, what is the proper place of a TA? In a way, their positions remind me of the struggles of the old-time governess – they aren’t part of the family since they take care of the children, but they aren’t exactly on the same level as the servants since they walk and talk among the employers where the rest of the servants cannot. Shunned from both sides, not quite fitting in because their level is too high or too low, the governess and TA are in the middle levels on the hierarchy of the school bodies.

Do you have an experience with a TA you’d like to share? Are there any teachers’ aides out there who would like to comment? Your opinions and experiences would be more than welcome.