TA's Appreciation Thread...and mini rant

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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Inspired by Ask the Exhausted Graduate Student, this is a thread to show my respect and appreciation to the following people:

  1. Thanks TA’s for (trying) to teach me something I find useless. Yes, I know you do it for the money, but many of you do a great job. You must be one(or a combination) of these: masochist, sadist, or patient. Or take a Valium…I really appreciate you guys, and the fact that you have to read what the students write about makes my respect grow.

  2. Thanks to those TA’s that help students like me in their office hours(again, I know that this is required, but you do great).

  3. Heck, you are the ones who are teaching me the stuff. Do you think that if the lecturer was so good, I would still go to see you? Or that if the lecturer explained better, I would still be at the help center?

  4. Thanks to the TA’s that try to explain confused students the material…specially when the student is not in your section or course. TA’s like you have helped me in my lab reports a couple of times, I appreciate that. Actually, you my adopted TA’s are the ones who help me, since my own TA’s hours conflict with my class hours.

  5. Finally, thanks also to the exhausted TA’s that can’t recognize one of their students have a crush with them (:D).
    PD. Also, a mini thanks of to those of you that remember the students faces and greet them when they see them(students) walking by. Universitý’s so big, it’s good now and then to realize someone notices me in the crowd.
    Mini-rant: Please TA, if I go to the help center, and ask you something, do not turn me down only because I am not taking the exactly same class(i.e., I am taking General Chemistry and you are the TA of Organic Chemistry). If you are not sure or not remember the material, say so. But darn it, don’t simply say you are not the tutor of that class!!! You are a graduate student(in this case, Chemistry), so you must already know what they are giving me(General Chemistry). Besides, there is no one of your section or your course asking for help, you are doing nothing in the center. Is it really that hard to say I don’t remember? Ok…done…rage finished.

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Was I the only one who read the title of this and thought “Wow! TroubleAgain is getting an appreciation thread! She certainly deserves it.” :smiley:

Of course, having relied on the ever present Teacher’s Assistants (of whom I’m hoping you speak, now that I’ve read the thread), they deserve a bit of appreciation too! :wink:

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Dear Manish-my-Orgo-Lab-TA,

Thanks for not giving a shit and giving me full credit anyway when I added too much acetone to my distillation product a few weeks ago and ended up completely wasting three precious hours of my life.

Love,

  • tsarina, locker # 104.
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Amen.

My fianceé is a TA. He has 2 sections of the introductory Art History course, which equals around 50 students. Ever try to grade 50 essay tests?

But if you have a crush on him, I might have to give you the death glare. I’ve been practicing. :smiley:

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Yes, TruePisces, I am talking about the Teaching Assistants…should have made that clear, right?
Tattva, don’t worry, my TA’s are Chemistry grad students (at least the ones that fall in the crush part). Of course, you giving the death glare to some student depends on you being there and noticing the student’s crush.