Almost every Miami Palmetto Senior High student has walked into AP Human Geography teacher John Hayduk’s classroom to buy a bagel or some candy during their time at MPSH. Others ask their teachers to put their grades in as soon as possible. These things do not happen as fast or efficiently, unless teachers have a student aide to help.
Student aides like Taima Khouri and Paula Ortiz are key to teachers keeping up with their classes and various activities. Teachers and their aides create a friendly bond throughout the year. The aides have gained a trusted adult at MPSH for their high school career and beyond.
Khouri, a junior at MPSH, aides for Mr. Hayduk, a service that has blossomed into a friendship.
“I think my favorite part is just being able to know that there’s a teacher I can rely on if I need something,” Khouri said.
Like many MPSH students who challenge themselves to take academically challenging classes, senior Paula Ortiz decided that aiding a teacher would help lessen her workload, while still taking a class that requires much of the student.
“This is a great class for me to take in senior year; it’s not a bunch of homework and responsibility when I’m outside of school, but I still have an impact during school,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz is extremely involved in the work and activities that AP Environmental Science teacher Pamela Shlactman and Activities Director Elizabeth Valero run at MPSH. She dedicates a lot of her extracurricular time to make sure school activities run smoothly.
“Whether it is the haunted house, I was spending hours after school to make sure that everything was running smoothly, and just during school to make sure that every activity that [Valero] needs to get done is done correctly and in the way that [Valero] wants to,” Ortiz said.
However, students who have the privilege of aiding teachers must have the traits and composure to assist them. Responsibility and management are essential to becoming a good aide and thriving in this position.
Activities Office Assistant Sadhna Seunarine is in daily contact with all the student aides who help Valero.
“[Aiding] teaches them responsibility. You can give a kid a task, but it’s one thing to give a kid a task, and another thing to have them actually complete it and execute it with some precision and poise,” Seunarine said.
Valero and Seunarine constantly work with students and guide them along during their high school career. This method of allowing students to take a breath and have a safe space to talk to adults with similar mindsets in the school allows a comfortable workday in the most tense of days.
Aside from helping students grow in their management skills, being an aide for a faculty member also allows them to grow their social skills and step out of their comfort zone.
“I think it’s definitely helpful for my social skills. I have been able to talk to a lot of teachers when they come into Hayduk’s room in the morning [to buy bagels]. I feel it is a positive thing and it sets an impression on me, and it’s nice to have a connection,” Khouri said.
Combining a student’s love for MPSH, a great work ethic and wanting to help out a teacher is the recipe for a perfect student aide.
“To me, this school matters a lot. To help out a teacher and stuff just means a lot to me,” Ortiz said.
