“Beside every great teacher is a great education assistant!”
A slight twist on the famous quote about great men and great women – but what do EA’s really do for our SCEA schools?
The Education Assistant (EA) role in SCEA schools is the epitome of servant leadership.
They are often unnoticed and work tirelessly to make their students flourish, their classrooms shine, and their teachers breathe in the stressful schedule of the day.
They are there to wipe tears and noses, calm quiet (and not so quiet!) fears, and they are quick to offer a smile.
Sometimes we don’t always see the work that our EA’s undertake behind the scenes, but we see the fruits of their labour in our students.
These students know that there is someone special in class that they can call when they just can’t read that one tricky word in the spelling list, the algebra equation that won’t compute, or they just need someone to listen to them while they recount all of the ‘hard stuff’ that happened that day.
A quick visit to Ellenbrook Christian College (ECC) this week demonstrated that Mary-Anne, Montana, Eloise, Mitzi, Olga and Shaye were diligently looking after our little ones and providing a strong foundation for our most vulnerable students.
Gaby, Stephanie, Amanda, Marianne, Megah, Linda, Deb and Gillian were helping the students learn the quintessential learning skills of reading, and arithmetic while delving into friendship issues and having fun in the learning spaces.
Sophie, Ida, Fred and Esther were helping our ECC students transition from ‘little learners’ into ‘big learners’ preparing to take on the world beyond school.
And that is just one SCEA school in one day!
The trip down to Swan Christian College (SCC) was very similar, with Principal Dr Darnelle Pretorius praising the amazing work of her EA staff across the large campus on Great Northern Highway:
“The Education Assistant staff at SCC are a fundamental part of the success of our teaching and learning. The support they offer is significant in allowing each student to achieve the outcomes equivalent to their gifts, talents, and abilities,” said Dr Pretorius yesterday.
“Our EA’s are also a blessing to our staff in their support of the classroom environment and the planning and implementation of the curriculum. Thank you, EA’s – we are grateful and thank God for you.”
A senior staffer who sat down to talk about their EA team in a SCEA school this week brought it all together with these words from Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica:
“…with this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.
We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ”
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
