OHS is a home to a myriad of choices for students, especially when it comes to electives. For upperclassmen who feel a connection with a teacher and wish to learn more about the classroom, being a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) may be an appealing choice.
Teacher’s Assistants are upperclassmen who return to a class they have passed in order to help both the students and the teachers. For one total elective credit, they spend their semesters helping around the classroom in whatever way they can.
“I help organize the classroom, clean up some of the stations, and assist with experiments,” said Maya Cocolos, junior, Teacher Assistant for Mr. Burton.
Despite the name, students interested in being Teacher Assistants are not limited to only the classrooms. The office and counselors also accept assistants to help with a few clerical tasks.
“We hand out passes to teachers… sometimes we help the nurse’s office if we need to move stuff,” said Sophia Sima, senior, Counselor Teacher Assistant.
When not helping out in the classroom, Teacher’s Assistants benefit from their class turning into a study period for them to catch up on work.
“When I don’t have to do anything, it’s kind of like a free hour, so I can work on other things,” said Brooklyn Palmer, senior, Teacher Assistant to Dr. Palmer.
Handling organization and work are not the only responsibilities that Teacher Assistants have. They are also responsible for bringing together the classroom and tend to be the life of the classroom.
“I’m getting closer to people in my grade, and I’m meeting new people,” Cocolos said.
Teacher Assistants also have the opportunity to meet students they would not have met otherwise, may it be because of differing class schedules or grade gaps.
“Since I’m a senior and it’s a sophomore class, I’ve definitely met a lot more sophomores, and I’ll see them around and say hi, which is really cool,” Palmer said.
Counselor Teacher Assistants share a similar sentiment, able to see their friends around campus while doing their tasks.
“When I’m delivering passes, sometimes I see my friends, which is fun,” Sima said.
The role of a Teacher Assistant is something many look forward to achieving, often having been inspired by a former student themselves.
“I wanted to be a TA for a while because I feel like it’d be really fun to have that experience of being able to help younger students in lower grades and help a teacher out,” said Angela Lunde, junior.
Assisting younger students, whether with the content or with general high school life, comes second only to bonding with them.
“I feel like I’m a second little Burton, and I yell at them (jokingly), but it’s all love,” Lunde said.
Teacher Assistants may have to lay down the law sometimes, but only to spread one of the biggest lessons they have learnt onto the students.
“I’ve learnt a lot of responsibility… it gets me up, it gets me doing stuff,” Cocolos said.
The impact of these lessons is only made stronger when connections outside of school are in play.
“My Mom is the teacher I TA, so I get to see her every day, which is really cool”, Palmer said.
Overall, Teacher Assistants help not only make an impact on the classroom’s tidiness, but on the students nearby them – all thanks to the teacher who originally brought them all together.
“[I wanted to TA for him] because Burton made a really big impact on my life and I feel like I wanted to do something to help him,” Cocolos said.
