Whether they’re organizing student work, assisting with classroom activities, or stepping in when a teacher is unavailable, teacher’s assistants at Portola High take on responsibilities that offer valuable lessons beyond the typical high school experience.
Becoming a teacher’s assistant requires students to go through an application and approval process, ensuring they are prepared for the responsibilities of the role. Interested students apply through their counselors and are assigned to a teacher of their choice.
For Ceramics TA and senior Alexander Torpis, being a TA has helped him learn skills such as resourcefulness and leadership. When a substitute teacher came in, Torpis took initiative to lead the class in their assignments for that period.
“It was a really good experience for me,” Torpis said. “I was able to understand how a classroom worked as not just a student but also as a teacher. Since I am friendly with all of the kids that are in the beginning class since I am [an AP Ceramics student], I have built rapport with them. I’m friendly with them, I joke about things with them, so they will come to me for all kinds of questions whenever they have any.”
Torpis said his time as a TA allowed him to learn time management and balance responsibilities while maintaining flexibility. For example, if items break while loading a kiln, he acknowledges the incident and moves on, according to Torpis.
“It’s taught me how to manage my time better, how to plan through things,” Torpis said, “But also, things don’t always go as you plan. It’s taught me how to just accept things that are out of my grasp and learn to adapt with it and just move forward without dwelling too much on the past.”
Freshman English TA and sophomore Lavanya Srivastava has reaped many benefits from her experience. Being a TA has helped build soft skills, including organization and communication, according to Srivastava.
“I’ve learned to be more patient with people and really see others’ perspectives too,” Srivastava said. “Overall, just working with people helps with team building even though it’s not a team sport. But since we’re in the same age range, it really just feels more like a team.”
As a TA, Srivastava said she gives feedback on student work and helps with seating chart rearrangements.
“I would recommend being a TA because it’s so fun,” Srivastava said. “Even though semester two just started, I’ve already made so many memories doing it, and I would recommend it to anyone who’s even thinking about it.”
Senior Adela Tirla credits her time as a TA for special education teacher Melody Resendez’s class with developing her patience and personability.
“I learned to be more upbeat with them and not so mellow because normally I am a little bit,” Tirla said. “I’m more upbeat, and I play around with them a lot.”
Tirla especially enjoys spending quality time with special education students by helping them with arts and crafts and cooking activities.
“[I like] seeing the kids happy and seeing just their smiles every single time we walk in,” Tirla said.
