its my fault my assistant is a ___________

amother

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 9:19 pm

sorry its so long, I have to vent a lot here to make sure you get teh whole story

im a teacher in a special ed school. each student in my class has a 1:1 assistant. im very happy with all the assistants besides one. she said she can only workl with one student; it was hers in the beginning, no one else can take that student, she wants to be her 1:1. my first reaction was great, she loves this student, it will be great (thats what has happened in previous years, whoever chooses a specific student to work with in the beginning knows that student and loves her). she knew the student from last year, and she knows, for various reasons this is the student you can chill out the most with. she wanted to work with her, not because she loves her, but because a lot of the day is spent chilling (part of the student's program). ok, so you can like to chill, but at least then work when youre supposed to! she spends the entire day on her phone, I can yell until im blue in the face, nothing gets done with this student until I do it myself, then the assistant says oh I was going to do it. (yeah, after a 20 minute conversation with your friend). not to mention, I always tell her to please keep down the noise, as students are working. other assistants also tell her to pipe down. she doesnt. she comes to work just to have fun.

she knows how to make a good impression because shes really outgoing, so the students mother loves her from the second they met. if only shed know her child does nothing in school unless I do it, but I have a class to run, and very often I find myself being another student's 1:1 either because a staff member is out for the day, or to cover lunch breaks. so I physically cant do everything for the student. thats why the school hired a 1:1 for her.

this student is off of many foods. one day I got lunch for her & I was told she can have it. I checked the ingredients even, because its not only gluten & dairy that shes off of, its many other things. I was told spelt isnt gluten, so what do I know? I gave it to her. it was 100% the kitchens fault, they shouldve known that. mom found out & told me I should speak to kitchen to make sure it wont happen again. when they picked up their student the next day, her 1:1 knew nothing about the story that she ate gluten.

mom called me really (rightfully then) upset at me, how could I not have told the assistant who works with her the whole day? it could happen again if I dont say anything. I did say something, I told the entire class to make sure it never happens again & I will tell kitchen. we even spoke about it for a minute. I know this assistant was in the classroom then; I made sure. its quite possible she was on her phone. but the way I told the mother is, oh I told her, I think she was very busy then (implied with your daughter, but I wouldnt dare say that, its a lie!)the mother is still upset that I didnt make sure she knew, because it could happen again very easily if she doesnt know

first of all, she did say something like "omg, thats horrible" when I told the class. she acknowledged that she heard. she was probably on her phone so tuned out the whole conversation. now seriously, I should tell her 100x to make sure she heard one of those times?
2nd of all, she never ever ever does anything for the class. so I dont have to worry that shell get the wrong lunch. she just feeds the student the lunch that we bring back for her.

but because the mom loves this assistant, she cant wrap her head around the fact that I did the right thing, the assistant was 'busy' when I told her. I really dont think I deserve to have her mad at me.

naomi2

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 10:04 pm

please have her drop the phone in to a basket in the closet until her lunch break.
if she refuses, tell the principal.
This assistant has a terrible work ethic and I"m sorry for everyone she works for and with.

lk1234

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 10:07 pm

honestly- the assistant should be fired. I never heard of someone talking on the phone at work all day.

debsey

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 10:26 pm

Document, document, document. Otherwise, something could go seriously wrong and you will be liable. Tell the principal that she should make a school-wide announcement of a "no phone policy" and that then you can tell the assistant "I'm just enforcing the policy"
Document when you tell her something (like just write it down, and see if you can get someone else to countersign)
If anything goes wrong, you have proof you told the assistant. Otherwise, you could lose your job, your license or your pension for HER negligence.

debsey

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 10:34 pm

The more I think about it, the more I realize - this is not your problem. This is the principal's problem. The chain of command exists for a REASON. Tell the principal, document that you told her (maybe even send an email) and then let HER deal with it. That's why she makes the big bucks!

Ruchel

Mon, Sep 22 2014, 1:13 pm

I've seen morot on the phone, yes...

Fox

Mon, Sep 22 2014, 1:34 pm

ITA with Debsey: 100 percent the principal's or director's ultimate responsibility.

I've seen in many schools that the role of aides, shadows, etc., are somewhat undefined and vary according to the individual needs of the student; who is paying the salary; or other factors. Needless to say, this can lead to problems. In special ed settings, the roles are usually much better defined as a result of complying with various legal mandates, etc. For whatever reason, this doesn't seem to be the case.

Speak with your principal or director asap; outline the general problems along with specific examples; and let him/her guide you on your role in supervising this aide.

amother

Mon, Sep 22 2014, 11:00 pm

op here
thank you
I feel understood

Fave

Tue, Sep 23 2014, 12:02 am

Nip the problem in the bud before other assistants will learn from her bad habits and start chilling in the phone as well. If you don't resolve this issue now, you'll have uncontrolled chaos in the class and you'll lose your job!