Long, long ago, I was a Teaching Assistant (TA) in grad school. One awful quarter, our department secretary decided (what did I ever do to her) that I should be the TA for two graduate courses that quarter. Those were two huge classes and there was no reader. Which meant yours truly had to do the grading too besides holding office hours and stuff.
Coming to the PhD comics spying on me part. Many of my weekends that quarter went precisely like this:
If the scenario is popular enough to appear on PhD comics, then I guess this pain has been felt by TAs across the academic world. Misery loves company. And so, yaaay!
p.s. I still believe though, that quarter was God's way of showing me just how wrong I had been during all my years in primary school when my life's only fervent ambition was to become a teacher when I grew up - just so I could write big check and cross marks on notebooks with a red pen and then sign on them with flourish.
6 comments:
I had heard of 1/2 TA's but 2 TA's that's really too much! I think you just qualified to write a detailed survivor story :-).
And btw, your heater a/c was really interesting. You are bold!
Hahah, those comic strips are really funny. :--)) Portrays a grad students life very accurately.
hahaha:)) unaku mattum eppadi idhellam nadakuthu :)) very nice read!
Hey arch,
Whats new?? seems like you have been busy filling your blogsite. I havent really had time or the motivation to blog for a long time now. Was nice dropping in after a long time to read your wonderful blogposts.
Cheers
ROBBIE (SAI)
TA for 2 classes?? Aren't you glad you are done and working now?
Archana - don't even ask! It was supposed to be 25% TA each (aaargh, aargh, aaargh!)
SK - ya, PhD comics rocks :-D!
J - thank you :-D!
Robbie - heyyy :-)! Long time no see! How have you been?
Joy - whenever I think back to that quarter, I can't help grinning about my current status no matter how the day at work was :-D!
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