ASSOCIATE TEACHERS BEWARE

by Chris Malkiewich

Originally published in Update, Jan. 12, 2005

Associate teachers often leave students alone with their classes in order to give the teacher candidate a chance to find out what it is like to be in control of a class and find out if they can in fact control the class. Associate teachers must never leave the teacher candidate alone; the associate teacher must be in the class or just outside of the class where he or she can hear/see what is happening.  Should anything happen in a classroom, while the associate teacher is not present, the associate teacher will most likely be found negligent and face prosecution, a law suit and action from the Ontario College of Teachers.

Teacher candidates are not qualified teachers and as such do not have any legal protection should anything occur  involving charges of assault or sexual misconduct. The net result could be the end of a teaching career before it starts. The associate teacher whose job it is to teach the class, is deemed to be responsible for the class at all times and therefore boards will not defend a negligent teacher in a law suit should something happen in the classroom while a qualified teacher is not present in their classroom.

The issue of whether or not a teacher candidate can act as a supply teacher also comes up each year. Teacher candidates sometimes are requested to or request themselves to act as a supply teacher and an associate teacher may ask the teacher candidate to cover their class. Rod Albert, General Secretary of OSSTF  raised this issue with the Assistant Deputy Minister of Education, Registrar of the Ontario College of Teachers, Ontario Principals Council, Council Of Directors of Education and the deans of education. All parties have concurred that teacher candidates are not to be used as supply teachers to cover absent teachers classes, except in the case of an extreme emergency. This does not include covering a class of someone who has gone on a field trip or to a sporting event or for a teacher who is ill.