Successful Education Assistants (EAs) change lives, help children reach their potential, and provide customized care and support. They are the helping hands that support children with mobility challenges, intellectual disabilities, and other learning difficulties.
If you are planning to enroll in an Education Assistant training program, or have already started your program, read on to learn how Stenberg graduates have developed their skills and made effective, inspiring use of their diplomas.
Education Assistants Rise to the Challenge
Education assistant students learn the ins and outs of supporting diverse learners, each with their own individual needs. This can present a variety of challenges on a daily basis—but experienced EAs have a confident, positive approach.
“You’ve got to look at the things these kids can accomplish and not at what they can’t do,” says Stenberg graduate Kody Lacroix.
Helping children learn at their own pace means “you need to be able to go with the flow,” according to Stenberg instructor Natalie Taylor-Lane. It won’t always be easy, but that’s what your training is for.
Skilled professionals with an informed, well-rounded understanding of disability are in high demand in B.C.’s education system. Increasingly we’re understanding that without specialized support, traditional educational systems can’t accommodate the needs of every child. Education Assistant programs prepare graduates with a wide range of techniques and tools to support learners with disabilities, helping to create truly inclusive classrooms where every student has the opportunity to shine.
For example, Stenberg’s Applied Behavioural Analysis course teaches students to adapt to the specific behaviour of each child they will encounter, instead of falling back on a one-size-fits-all approach. Along with patience, compassion, and an understanding of the bigger picture, this kind of training helps EAs make education accessible, one child at a time.
Making a Difference
Inclusive classrooms wouldn’t exist without the dedication and expertise of EAs. In addition to helping students with special needs make friends and stay engaged, inclusive classrooms promote the benefits of diversity to each and every learner, showing how difference enriches the educational experience – and our communities as a whole.
Many Stenberg grads have a personal reason for promoting inclusivity. For example, Stenberg graduate Lyne Boehm always dreamed of giving people with disabilities their best chance at success, because her own sister’s disability stopped her from ever being taught how to read or write. “She had potential, but nobody saw it,” says Boehm. These days Boehm feels “really privileged” to be a part of the education field.
Stenberg instructor Dr. Kenneth D. Cole understands; “It can be very, very energizing to make a real difference.”
The Stenberg Advantage
Stenberg students come from a wide range of backgrounds, united by their desire to help people. They choose Stenberg because it’s a comprehensive, cost-effective, 40-week program that can be taken both in-class and online.
Lyne Boehm came out of retirement to earn her diploma and loved the online options Stenberg offered. Studying from home helped her balance education and family life.
Kody Lacroix came to the career college after years of unfulfilling work at a minimum wage retail job. She landed her dream job on her first interview, and “can’t think of a more fulfilling career.”
If you want to make a meaningful difference, education assistant courses are the perfect place to start. Stenberg College Financial Aid can even help you finance your studies through loan programs and grants.
Stenberg instructor Lovey Sidhu sums it up perfectly: “Anybody who really has a passion for making a change, and has that ability to be adaptable and flexible, should be in this career.”
See for yourself how Stenberg grads and professionals developed their own inspiring EA careers by checking out this video.
Are you interested in pursuing education assistant training? Visit Stenberg to learn more, or to speak with an advisor.
