A TA stands for teacher assistant, and is usually a student who helps a teacher or school faculty with classroom tasks and other various tasks needed to be done. Their job usually consists of running errands for counseling office staff, like making copies and handing out slips of papers to classrooms.
“Be an office aid if you can. We appreciate it. And we definitely need the help,” the counselor receptionist, Ms. Rita Montegomery, said. “We have students we need to call down from classes, and we don’t want to call on the phone and interrupt the teacher. So we send out passes and our TAs deliver those passes. They deliver other things for us as well.”
Being an office TA can result in being beneficial for one’s future.
When asked how being a TA can benefit students, Evie Cotton (11) said, “It’s good for college applications and it shows that I’ve had experience working in a school office setting.”
It can also benefit students by developing skills like communication, time management, and being organized. As well as in college applications, because TA experience can be valuable not only for college, but for job applications too.
“So you have to talk to teachers, hand them things that they need from the office. And like you’re more social , you pretty much are known all throughout every office. Like everybody knows your name,” Cotton said.
Being a TA can also help build one’s confidence.
“Well, students who are aids have to take the initiative to do what they need to do without being directed by somebody… so we look for students who are responsible and who are dependable to be here… it gives them an opportunity to do some leadership skills around the school here,” Montgomery said.
When trying to become an office aid, students must first talk to their counselors about whether they have a free period in their schedule and/or have enough credits for a free hour.
“They have to be able to have that free period in their schedule based on how many credits they have. So not every student can be an office aid,” Montgomery said.