Thursday, January 20, 2005
"TA-ing"
Today I discovered that half (10 hours) of my assistantship this semester will be spent as a teacher’s assistant for one of USM’s four Introductory Psych 110 classes. The other ten hours will be spent running subjects in the lab, much like last semester. It’s an appointment that I look forward to with more optimism than trepidation. Other graduate students and professors openly lambaste the intellect of our undergraduate counterparts and think nothing of it. Before harboring equally venomous suppositions, I’d like to assess the carnage for myself. It’s my distinct impression that most of my peers far outshined their classmates while studying at the undergraduate level in large universities and because my experience was anything but, I give thanks.
Returning to the teacher’s assistant position, I recall a conversation I had with Alf midway through his first year teaching English in China, where he described his frustration at the hands of his students’ lackadaisical attitudes and unwillingness to contribute in class. He vowed to change his own apathetic ways if ever he should return to the classroom because of the experience. Now, while I don’t actually believe him, I can say that I’m pulling hard for a similar experience.
Finally, earlier this morning I was studying my new set of chompers in the mirror, marveling the way the silver sparkled just so, when a stroke of pure genius struck. Well, had it been PURE genius, the idea would have occurred prior to having cut the check…alas, because it did not, I’ll settle for a stroke of moderate amusement. Even though I discussed these matters with no one, save Michelle, I’ll assume we all knew/figured that I opted for braces in a moment of profound weakness. I can assure you, the decision had little to do with excessive teeth grinding or a jaw that clicked…we’re talking VANITY here folks. What occurred to me this morning was that a few skillfully crafted gold teeth, right there in the front where the bling-bling shines brightest, could have compensated for the overcrowding and had me looking dyn-o-mite! Sure, the gold tooth on the bottom would have looked more like a gold sliver with all that crowding, but I’d have been the coolest graduate student in Southern Mississippi, hands down!
Returning to the teacher’s assistant position, I recall a conversation I had with Alf midway through his first year teaching English in China, where he described his frustration at the hands of his students’ lackadaisical attitudes and unwillingness to contribute in class. He vowed to change his own apathetic ways if ever he should return to the classroom because of the experience. Now, while I don’t actually believe him, I can say that I’m pulling hard for a similar experience.
Finally, earlier this morning I was studying my new set of chompers in the mirror, marveling the way the silver sparkled just so, when a stroke of pure genius struck. Well, had it been PURE genius, the idea would have occurred prior to having cut the check…alas, because it did not, I’ll settle for a stroke of moderate amusement. Even though I discussed these matters with no one, save Michelle, I’ll assume we all knew/figured that I opted for braces in a moment of profound weakness. I can assure you, the decision had little to do with excessive teeth grinding or a jaw that clicked…we’re talking VANITY here folks. What occurred to me this morning was that a few skillfully crafted gold teeth, right there in the front where the bling-bling shines brightest, could have compensated for the overcrowding and had me looking dyn-o-mite! Sure, the gold tooth on the bottom would have looked more like a gold sliver with all that crowding, but I’d have been the coolest graduate student in Southern Mississippi, hands down!
# posted by Jude : 1:54 PM
