[Afterguard]

“Teachers and para-professionals”

That the he!! is a “para-professional”? I see/hear this fairly often these days especially on our local news channel. Are they temp. teachers? Are they wanna-be security guards? Are they parachutists who drop in to assist during fights? Good Lord. What on earth is the education system and media doing?

Oh, and don’t get me started on the use of the word “teens” who it comes to these stories of ferals in the school systems. (Rant/off.)

[NorthstarMom]

Paraprofessionals are the staff who are not required to hold a teaching license, such as teachers’ aides. Special education requires a lot of paraprofessionals. It’s not uncommon for some students’ IEP to require a one to one aide.

I would imagine it’s the paraprofessionals who receive the most injuries.

[GOPJ]

Because the school systems are having a hard time keeping good teachers in violent schools they bring in people unqualified to teach. They use to be called subs, assistants etc... now they're there as many hours as the teachers. Since classes can't be disciplined or controlled - - it doesn't make any difference if the person at the head of the class knows anything, can teach, runs movies every class, or is trained.

The solution is for education professionals to grow backbones and stand up and say 'violent behavior is wrong - no matter what race the person is'... and stand by that EVEN if the majority of violent kids are black.

[Boogieman]

Well, since “paralegals” are legal assistants, I think people are probably just using “para” as a new fancy way to avoid saying “secretary”.

[Leaning Right]

> What the he!! is a “para-professional”? <

I’ll field that one. In my neck of the woods anyway, a para-professional is a full-time school employee who job it is to assists teachers. In some cases they replace a teacher where a teacher really isn’t necessary.

For example, a hallway monitor would be a para-professional. And so would someone who assists in a special education class. In that latter case, the para would help the kids with routine stuff, like getting their materials organized, etc.

The whole idea of para-professionals is a good one, as they save money for the taxpayers. You don’t need an expensive teacher to monitor a hallway. A para can do the job just as well.