The Diary of an Educational Assistant

“Am I fired?”

“You did better than the last guy.”

Ok. We are ten weeks into the school year. This is as good a time as any to list what has happened this far.

I have had a student:

Say they hated me.

Burp in my face.

Yell at me.

Tell me my job is not to tell them what to do.

Tell me to shut up.

Screech.

Lock themself in a bathroom stall for nearly an hour.

Pee on the floor.

However, I have also experienced:

A supportive network among the staff.

A feeling of being a valued member of a team.

Academic achievement in my students.

The reassurance that everyone cries about the students at least once.

A reason to look forward to getting up before the sun (I live in Canada. It's dark 16-17 hours of the day in the winter.)

My one to one student actually participated in phys ed class today. Apparently she loves dodge ball!

Today is rough. I feel all emotional and raw for some reason. I let my one to one sneak food past me and she's really testing my nerves today.

I never thought it would happen, but I'm Working in a high school here, 1 to 1 with a specific student.

Apparently I still look quite young - the substitute phys ed teacher was ready to lecture me about participation marks because I wasn't playing basketball. He was surprised when I told him I'm an EA.