Teaching Assistant Salvador Vazquez del Mercado had to literally push back a group of liberal students who were ganging up on a conservative-leaning student in a discussion section on gay rights. Although he had prepared a lesson plan for the class, he did not anticipate everyone getting so fired up.
“I felt like Oprah,” said Vazquez del Mercado, a second-year doctoral candidate in political science. “But the student had some clear thoughts on what he was saying and I really appreciate students being so candid.”
While TAs are seen taking notes in lecture and leading discussion sections, their work and commitments span far beyond what students observe. Not all of them might sleep in the library and shower at Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center, but they are some of the busiest people on campus, from mediating heated student debates to grading stacks of blue books.
In a typical week, TAs spend about eight hours reading the texts they teach, preparing for discussion section and attending lectures with undergraduates. They also spend an average of 10 hours of reading for their own classes and studying for upcoming final written and oral exams depending upon their area of study.
“Time, there’s never enough time,” said second year English doctoral candidate Scott Proudfit. “I have a novel and a presentation to prepare, a novel and criticism to read for my second-year seminar. I have to read the book I am teaching, plus oral exams are also coming up on May 31, so it doesn’t all happen.”
Although prepping for discussion and reading might be time consuming, most TAs said grading is very taxing on their time.
“It’s a grind and it’s mind-numbing because you have to concentrate for a long period of time doing the same thing over and over again,” said Vasquez del Mercado with an exasperated look. “If I could pay someone to do the grading I would, but I cannot.”
While the requirements vary between schools and degrees, most TAs must teach for two years. This “TA-ship” pays for tuition and includes a $1,400 monthly stipend.
The pay might not be enough to live on, but most TAs said the opportunity to teach a topic they love is worth it.
“The best part is getting to talk to a bunch of people about books that you are already interested in,” said second-year English doctoral candidate Janaka Bowman.
In large lectures, most of the grading is done by the TAs under the professor’s supervision. Professors said TAs do a lot of the busy work, but they are crucial to their class.
“TAs make it possible to have classes larger than 40 or 50,” said Ian Hurd, a political science assistant professor who works with Vasquez del Mercado. “But they also give grad students a chance to practice their teaching skills.”
Some professors have TAs contribute to the structure and syllabus of the class.
“I worked with the TAs to design the class,” said Brian Reiser, a learning science professor.
But with the teaching comes the amusing side of being a TA — hearing excuses. From the standard ‘my dog died’ to the more creative ‘I left my paper on the El,’ TAs keep a watchful eye on their students.
Proudfit recounted how one of his students missed three classes and after the fact said she had been sick. In the same class, he had a student suffering from kidney failure show up for discussion every week.
“A lot of it is surveillance,” said Proudfit. “We’re the ones who really know the students and we gauge the grades.”
Although TAs do decide the grades in many classes, they said they hope that students take away more than just a letter.
“I like being able to take what I know and finding ways to interact and interest students,” said third-year learning sciences doctoral candidate Tiffany Simons. “I hope I am able to help them in some way and have them look back and say ‘Wow, that TA was really helpful.'”
Reach Spencer Kallick at [email protected].
