Getting Started as an IA
My first year in education, I worked as an Instructional Assistant at a middle school in Indianapolis, IN. What an unbelievable experience. You might wonder, what does an Instructional Assistant do exactly? Great question. Well, for the first few weeks of of school, I was clueless. I was given a schedule of classes to attend. I basically sat in the back of each class and observed. I had nothing better to do. Now, I don't know how IA's fit into the classroom environment at other schools, but I felt useless at first. My job was to help students with work, and with no work I mostly just sat there. Now, there may be a reason for this. The first few weeks of school, most teachers fill their agendas with icebreakers, and an introduction of school and classroom rules and expectations. There's not much teaching going on. So, I decided to use my time taking notes. I knew that the beginning of the year was critical as teachers set their tone and expectations for their individual classrooms. What I loved most about being an IA was building relationships with the students.
Building relationships with Students
As an IA, I was able to build rapport and engage with the students in a way that teachers can't. That is not to say that teacher can't build good relationships with students, but they do have to teach and are not able to devote all their time to the kids. I was able to work closely with students, build a rapport, and use what I learned to motivate them to do their work. Here are 4 strategies I used to build rapport:
1. Get to know them. The kids I often worked with were not too excited to read, write, or complete whatever project was assigned at the time. So, I was not always able to dive into work immediately because most students would get discouraged and shut down. I had to get to know them first. Does that mean sometimes we did not complete an assignment? Absolutely! But it was worth it because they were beginning to trust me.
2. Let them talk. Middle school students just want to be heard. In my position, students felt comfortable enough to complain about their "problems" with other students or even with their teachers. Whether I agreed or disagreed, I let them talk. If you have every tried to have a mature conversation with a middle school student, there are times when what they are saying makes absolutely no sense. It doesn't matter. Let them talk, and do not immediately dismiss what they are saying. It may not sound important to you, but it's important to them.
3. Find out their likes and dislikes. As a prior sales agent, I recall that my most powerful tool was my customers likes and wants. Once you have that information, your sale is in the palm of your hand. Find out what your students like: basketball, video games, YouTube, etc. This information can be used to encourage students and motivate them. You can't be on the basketball team if you don't make decent grades. A gamer would much rather go home to play on their Xbox, than do homework. So encourage them to get it done now.
4. Be relatable. I put myself in my students shoes and try to help them found relevant tools to overcome their obstacles. Let's be honest. Most reading material read in school are boring to the average 7th grader. There is no sense in trying to convince them otherwise. When something is boring to read, it's harder to comprehend, so some students will struggle getting through it. For this specific instance, I tell students how it is helpful for me to read aloud to myself. Hearing the material sometimes makes it easier to digest. By relating to my students first, I find it easier to help them overcome their obstacles.
