I have been asked by many to start cataloging some of my experiences so far as a TA, so I thought I would just give yall the high points.
I am happy to report that my fear of non-trads has been subsided thanks to a great first class, no non-trads, or athletes-PTL! One guido, but I'll take it. I teach an 8-week class called Business and Professional Speaking to 25 kids. I will be getting a new batch of kids next week, but so far this class has been an experience in and of itself. They give two speeches during this time, one informative and one persuasive. Sounds easy enough... might need to define easy.
Some parts of the job you just have to take at pure entertainment value.
Like when students give an entire speech chronicling Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan's tweets from jail.
Or when they ask if it's OK to present and entice the class into their pyramid scheme as their persuasive speech.
Or when they bring me unsigned, clearly photo-copied doctors notes to excuse them from giving a speech.
Or when I get papers such as these turned in and I am left to comprehend how someone made it this far in life with hand-writing like this:
(taken from one of my kids evaluations of another classmates speech.)
and in case you were wondering, he was right. She didn't read over her speech.Or even write it herself. she also included "so ya, i think that's pretty much it, Cya later." as her closing statement. Professional.
Or having to sift through emails, such as this one:
"Hi Miss Hall!
Tuesday morning I woke up and noticed that the filling in one of my molars was missing along with a part of my tooth. Unfortunately, I grind my teeth at night but it hasn't been that bad of a problem until now. I was able to find a dentist and had an "emergency" appointment this morning. They found decay forming under my filling which caused it to push up through the tooth. :x (Sorry if this is too much information!) They need to uproot all of the filling and clean out my tooth tomorrow before taking more x-rays to ensure that I don't need a root canal! The only time they could get me in without having to wait another two weeks is tomorrow at noon! I can get a doctor's note for you if you would like! I feel awful because I love the class but this is something I need to get fixed before it becomes more of an issue. Please let me know how I can get my two papers to you tomorrow to ensure that I get the credit! I was also wondering if that would be ok if I do two evaluations on Tuesday (even though I have my speech that day) so I can get my 2 lowest quiz scores replaced! Please let me know how you feel about all of this!
Thank you so much!"
I would love to let you know how I feel about all of this! As much as I enjoy hearing about students dental history, and how much they "love my class" (wow... really?) It might be in your best interest to leave the emoticons and sucking up at the door.
You have to be able to answer the tough questions they throw at you.
-"Can I leave class early to study for another test I have?" Don't let the door hit you on your way out.
-"Do we need to cite the sources that we used in our speech?"- sure, why not for old times sake?
-"Is it ok if my speech goes over time a minute or two so I can fit in a story about my High School Ex?"- ya, anything to spice up this snooze-fest.
-"I have my speech outline to turn in, but its at home on my computer still, can I run home and get it?" -That depends, Is there a Starbucks on your way home?
-"I've had a really busy week, can I give my speech next class instead of tomorrow?" - Oh wow, have you? Have you had grad school finals, work, family in town, and research papers due this week too? what are the odds!!
Overall, it really hasn't been bad, I actually really love teaching. I am nervous to have to re-board the crazy train next week tho and start all over with a new group. We will have to see how it goes, might have another blog post ahead of us...
-Miss Hall
