A Few Things Your Teaching Assistant Would Like You to Know
1. We’re in it for the money.
-Many students assume that we chose to be TAs. While we do enjoy teaching, the truth is that most public graduate programs require grad students to teach while they earn their degrees. Love and blind idealism are not our currencies—this is a job, first and foremost, and we’re doing it to survive.
2. We’re not martyrs.
-Like you, we have lives. Unlike you, we’re suddenly expected to overlook that once we walk through the classroom door. Movies about teaching often feature protagonists who sacrifice everything—their time, their relationships, their health—in order to help their students. This might make for a more engaging viewing experience, but it unfortunately also creates distorted expectations of what teachers (and, by extension, TAs) actually do. We won’t answer emails 24/7. We’re not at your every beck and call. As it is, the bulk of the work we do forces us to go beyond the window of time “officially” designated for TAing (class-time and office hours). For example, we would never get any grading done if we didn’t operate outside of this schedule. But it helps a great deal when students keep their requests restricted to normal classroom and/or office hour times as often as possible.
3. Be up front when it comes to asking for a change of grade.
-Grade disputes are a normal part of our job. You’re not the first person to request a grade change, and, chances are, you won’t be the last. But as with most other transactions in life, the best thing is for you to be clear, direct and respectful. Please don’t couch your grade change request in niceties about how you “just want to understand how you could improve in the future” because it’s what you think we want to hear. Be straightforward. Say something along the lines of: “I see that I received X grade. I think I actually deserve a higher one. Here are some reasons why. Thanks very much.” Doing it this way saves everyone—including yourself—a lot of time and headache. There IS a difference between giving a student a run-down of a grade and actually doing the paperwork to switch it, and no, we’re not going to automatically know which one you’re really interested in because we’re not living in a George Orwell novel.
4. Don’t forget to say please and thank you.
-Nothing is more aggravating than receiving an email saying only, “Did you grade our essays yet?” Universities often “sell” TAs as being more relatable because they’re frequently closer to the students in age. This doesn’t mean that basic etiquette no longer applies. Just because a TA is more approachable than a professor, it doesn’t mean you should treat them with less respect.
5. You’re not the only student in the class.
-While we’re on the topic of grading, please know that the more students there are, the longer it will take for us to get essays and tests back to you. Also bear in mind that many of us are teaching more than one class. We understand the temptation to “check-in” with your TA and see whether or not they graded your paper, or how far along they are in grading that test you took three days ago, but it doesn’t really serve a purpose. We know when we’re behind. We don’t want to be, and we’re not purposely neglecting you or your work.
6. Your feedback is often sexist
-It surprises me how much student evaluations perpetuate problematic gender constructs. Women TAs are criticized for not being “nurturing” enough, whereas men will be called out for being “unconfident” and “too quiet.” Of course, this is only a small sampling of the attitudes that will continue to plague academics, especially womyn of color, as they go from TA to researcher. Don’t play into this oppression. When you submit your feedback, ask yourself how many of your concerns are tied to gender stereotypes. Doing so will go a long way toward helping the university become a more egalitarian space for everyone.