Paring the para out of Paraprofessional

If there is one word that I have come to hate in my career as a librarian, it is paraprofessional. Webster defines the word: : a trained aide who assists a professional person (as a teacher or doctor, but it seems that professionals have taken over the word to mean anyone who isn't them (professionals) almost as if creating a caste society within a workplace or professional field.

To me, having worked my way up to the position I have now and done more jobs than a lot of so called "professionals" in the library field, I find the paraprofessional word itself derogatory and offensive to those who work in a professional field yet don't have the degree or credentials that others might. I can only speak from the library and information field, but pick one person who has worked in the library seemingly forever and they will pretty much know how to run the library or at the very least be able to accomplish more tasks then some so called "professionals". Take away a cataloger who has been doing it for twenty years, ten years even and see how quickly the library structure breaks down. Or take away the children's programming aid who has been helping with or running programs for any amount of time and see how quickly parents and children complain. Yet in most libraries these staff members don't have degrees, and by some definitions would be classified as paraprofessionals. Really? If you work in a professional field- whatever it may be- and you do good work, or work hard, or just work at all you should be labeled a professional. End of story. 

This isn't to say that everyone is equal in terms of talent, skill level or hierarchy of the work place. I wouldn't go that far as not every medical doctor is the same, lawyers have different personalities and abilities, librarians seem to focus on specific areas of the library, etc., but I fail to see why we have to maintain this term paraprofessional just because some happen to have degrees or certificates and others don't. In my way of thinking, paraprofessional comes out as sub-professional. You are worthy enough to work in a given profession, yet you are lower class because you don't have a degree in this, that, or the other. 


So lets get rid of this term paraprofessional and start treating those who would be classified this way like the professionals that they are already acting like. And if you don't agree with me feel free to walk up to teachers aids,library assistants, assistants, and others and call them that name to their face. Be warned however, you may not survive the repercussions of doing so.