Grad Student as Instructor (Rant Warning)

This year I am enrolled in a pass/fail course that is now required of all TA's.  It's a two semester course titled Graduate Student as Instructor (GRAD 800) and is a new thing that USC is doing.  I believe this is the first year that they have done the TA training so extensively.  As with a lot of things in academia, it is little more than a waste of time.

The first requirement for this course was attending a half-day workshop before the fall semester began.  There was little that was said that was helpful or relevant to what I am or will be doing, and nothing that is not readily available online.  The panel that we were required to go to as part of that workshop had absolutely no relevance to those of us in the math department.  We've decided that the whole course was implemented to put butts in the seats at the workshops and forums that we are now required to attend.

This course has required attendance at 4 events, independently schedule by us busy grad students, with a 1000 word essay for each.  The problem with this is that it is counter productive.  I have had to miss class to attend forums and sacrifice study time to write essays.  I submitted several "assignments" at the end of last week, and they were graded by Monday.  It frustrates me to spend time on this course when I'm quite certain that the assignments are not read with any attention to quality.  With 150 students enrolled in my section alone, I expect my documents were, at most, quickly opened and checked for length of content.  This would be fine with me, expect that I'm not one who can blow off an assignment, whether it is being taken seriously or not.

All that being said, I'm happy to report that last night I uploaded my last pointless, time-consuming assignment.  All that remains are a could of exit surveys, which should take no time at all, and my teaching philosophy, which will take quite a bit of time, but it the one worthwhile thing that we are required to do.

The red tape of academia...but it could be worse...my university could be facing a forced merger with a lesser institution that would guarantee the inevitable and rapid deterioration into oblivion of an establishment that I love and respect.  Fortunately, us folks in academia and our trusted politicians have too much common sense and insight to ever let anything like that happen.  Oh, wait... Damn.

Student Evals

I try not to put much stake in student evaluations. Often, I think, students struggle with needing to have someone else to blame when their study skills fall flat. Fortunately (for now), students usually like their TAs and will blame the instructor of record.

My evals arrived in my inbox a few minutes ago and were very complimentary. I was a bit taken aback by one comment that said, "Not good at math." Then I realized that this was in response to the negative aspects of the course question, and the student was referring to his/her own ability. It's good reassurance, but I still don't give it much credence as I was surely being compared to the professor, who, as should be expected, was more demanding.

One thing concerns me, though... I received a photo copy of the responses. For the last few handwritten evaluations I did at LSUS, I was one of only a few students enrolled in the courses. I have no doubt that the professors knew my handwriting!!! So much for anonymity! I guess it's a good thing I've forgotten what I wrote---I hope they have as well!!!

Four Weeks Down

I'm trying to be better about keeping this updated, so I'll go ahead and babble a bit.

I "survived" the Algebra exam last week.  I'm anxious to get caught up in Analysis and Topology, but the necessary time still alludes me.  I'm trying to spend more time hiking and/or kayaking, but I count these as distractions that are unavoidable if I want to sustain some semblance of acceptable mental health.  I'm pretty behind in Analysis this week, but expect to get the emergent stuff done in the next day or two, and the less pressing things taken care of by the end of the weekend. 

My Calc 2 class had their first exam this week, and I was pleased with the results.  The students are pretty great.  My office hours are always busy, and the in class interaction is good.

One of the problems about TAing for different classes is that some instructors like to adapt the "accepted" syllabus to suit their personal styles.  I think this is a great thing, but that means that the three different classes I work with are not always on the same page.  Since the lab is planned by an instructor designated as the "lab coordinator", it also means that we are a bit off schedule.  This semester I am not meant to be writing the lab exams, but given that the material my students are covering differs from the norm in some places, I will likely be taking that on as well.

TLDR: All is well, but it's time to buckle down and get busy.  Anyone want to go kayaking?