Gary Toward - The Art of Being a Brilliant Classroom Assistant: (The Art of Being Brilliant series)

Im old enough now (eek!) to remember a time before we had fabulous teaching assistants and brilliant classroom assistants. They were the bad old days when the teacher was expected to do everything in classrooms full to the brim.

I will always remember the first time I ever had a classroom assistant. I wasnt alone any more hooray! A head chef cant function without the sous chef and its the same in the modern classroom. We simply need properly trained, totally brilliant classroom and teaching assistants to share the ever increasing load.

Working with children demands dedication, commitment and superhero powers. Adults who turn up every day of the school year and work with the interests of the children first and foremost in their minds are, to me, truly brilliant. At the drop of a hat, a superb classroom assistant might cover another staff members absence, take an extra playground or dinner duty and still help out at the disco on a school night. Phew!

In my opinion, teaching assistants are the most undervalued resource in education. Ask any teacher if they would rather have an interactive whiteboard or another adult to support them, and I bet every single one would opt for the fellow human being.

The job is exhausting. Very often there isnt a moment in the school day for a cuppa (or a wee!), and sometimes people forget to say thank you. This book is designed to inspire and invigorate you, but most of all its a reminder of how crucial you are. You impact on individual pupil learning, and the classroom climate and help to reduce teacher stress. You make a real difference in fact, you are a life changer. Thank you.

(Shonette is an early years teacher and internationally renowned speaker. Her work is showcased at www.shonettebasonwood.com.)

When Andy asked me to write this foreword, I said yes without hesitation.

And then I hesitated.

Three challenges came to mind a lack of time, talent and education and, on that last point alone, who am I to write the foreword to a book for classroom assistants, often the unsung heroes in our schools, society and communities, who work tirelessly alongside our wonderful teachers to help young people fulfil their potential?

Then I thought, well, who actually bothers to read the forewords in books? So, if these words ever actually get published, I urge you to skip them after all, Andy, Chris and Gary are such brilliant storytellers, share so many practical how-tos and have that rare gift of making each and every reader feel the book has been written just for them youll want to get on with reading the book.

And more this truly unique book is so much more than its title it is a guide, a bible that when applied will transform our education system academic and beyond because it inspires, empowers and gives permission to all who read it, to unlock and unleash the strengths, talents and passions in themselves, and in everyone else. This book deserves to be in every classroom, in every school in the world.

Andy is very kind about my books, saying that The Naked Leader Experience changed his life. Thank you, Andy. With this book, you, Gary and Chris will change lives every single day, every single hour and in every single second.

(David Taylor is an internationally renowned author, speaker and Princes Trust guru. His work is showcased at www.nakedleader.com.)

As a society we have fallen prey to what Larry Dossey calls time-sickness the belief that time is getting away and that you must pedal faster and faster to keep up. They are totally fluent in iPad and Xbox. Information is openly accessible and speed is the new intelligence.

Thinking aloud, we wonder whether children may lose the ability to seek the stillness that connects them to who they are, and instead find themselves engulfed in boredom and/or loneliness. We wonder whether the constant churn of trivia and their addiction to superficial information will keep young people from attending to relationships. Might the impatience and anxiety that speed entails diminish their gratitude and empathy? Will their desire to know about everything result in them knowing nothing? These are huge questions and, in our lifetimes, we may never get to know the answers.

Social science suggests that our brains did not evolve to operate instinctively in todays complex world. Humans are resilient and we will adapt. But the world is moving faster than our brains can adapt so we are playing catch-up. Speed frees up time but, ask yourself, what do you do with that extra time? Theres a strong likelihood that you invest that saved time in more fast stuff. Is that wise? We are living life fast but are we living it well?

This book is partly about your profession but it is entirely about you. The lessons of engagement, positivity and relationships are not just for the classroom, they extend across all domains of your life.

Were hoping that you might therefore consider slowing down, just a tad. Because thinking time, and in particular stillness, is an increasingly rare commodity. Theres a likelihood that you will feel compelled to race through this book, impatiently skimming for useful nuggets. If this is the case, you will have neither the time nor the mental space to make proper sense of the information or sustain it through deeper thought.

Our plea is to chew on it rather than swallow it whole.

Bon apptit!

Larry Dossey, Space, Time and Medicine (Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, 1982), pp. 5051.

(May 2010). Transcript available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_
on_the_revolution/transcript?language=en.