TA jobs

[vibrant]

Being a TA is something no orientation can prepare you for. The one thing I notice they don't tell you in those orientations is that students will hate their mark. It's so frustrating and sometimes upsetting.

What have you had to struggle with as a T.A.? What did you learn?

 

[arunma]

As a grad student, I had to TA for a year. Sometimes students would complain about their grades, which is fine if I've made a genuine mistake. Often times though, they would complain because they didn't understand why they got something wrong, and thought that their ignorance entitled them to better grades. And then there was the time my students got into an intelligent design debate in class (what do you do as a student who believes the Bible, but is forced to teach in a secular educationaly system?).

For the most part though, TAing was honestly a great experience. I liked most of my students, and they were interested in the subject material. I'd do it again...if my advisor would let me.