inori
03-20-2002, 04:50 AM
As some of you know, I am a teaching assistant at Berkeley. For the most part, I really like this job, but there are some things that really suck about it. Unfortunately, tonight I feel the need to rant a bit about the things that suck. If you're not interested, just click the Back button now.
It sucks to spend an entire Saturday afternoon grading midterms, and then realize that many of your students are doing horribly on them. And then to realize you can't do anything about it. The university has decided that the median grade in your class will be a B-, which means that half the students will score below that, no matter how much they prepare.
It sucks that your students have to claw over each other, fighting for every point, because the university doesn't even let them declare as computer science majors until their junior year. Then, the admission is competitive, and not everyone is allowed to declare as a CS major. Those that don't make the cut are left out in the lurch.
It sucks to have a student come to you with tears in her eyes during the first week of class, because she failed the entrance exam for the class. It sucks even worse that you have to give an entrance exam, because there are 800 students who want to take your class, and you only have room for 600.
It sucks to have a student come to you, asking what they can do to improve their grade in the class, and not be able to offer a good answer. It sucks even worse when the best counseling you can give that student is to consider dropping the class and trying again next semester.
It sucks to have a student come to you and tell you the poor performance they showed on their midterm was partially due to the fact that they weren't emotionally all there. The reason for this is that they went to the Student Learning Center (the tutoring center on campus) and were the target of racist comments, for no more reason than their last name.
It sucks when the power goes out for two days in the computer science building, and you can't have your class meeting the week before the midterm. It sucks even worse when the material you would have covered is the material your students bomb on.
It sucks when you discover some of your students' exams are missing. It sucks worse when the reason they are missing is because the professor pulled them out on suspicion of cheating.
It sucks when you realize all of these things are happening to freshmen, and that for many of them, the class you're teaching is the first university computer science course they have ever taken. What a way to start.
Sorry for this long rant which may be irrelevant to many of you. Don't let me give you the wrong impression; I love to teach, and to watch my students learn. But it's not all fun; if I could change the things in my list above, I would in a heartbeat.
It sucks to spend an entire Saturday afternoon grading midterms, and then realize that many of your students are doing horribly on them. And then to realize you can't do anything about it. The university has decided that the median grade in your class will be a B-, which means that half the students will score below that, no matter how much they prepare.
It sucks that your students have to claw over each other, fighting for every point, because the university doesn't even let them declare as computer science majors until their junior year. Then, the admission is competitive, and not everyone is allowed to declare as a CS major. Those that don't make the cut are left out in the lurch.
It sucks to have a student come to you with tears in her eyes during the first week of class, because she failed the entrance exam for the class. It sucks even worse that you have to give an entrance exam, because there are 800 students who want to take your class, and you only have room for 600.
It sucks to have a student come to you, asking what they can do to improve their grade in the class, and not be able to offer a good answer. It sucks even worse when the best counseling you can give that student is to consider dropping the class and trying again next semester.
It sucks to have a student come to you and tell you the poor performance they showed on their midterm was partially due to the fact that they weren't emotionally all there. The reason for this is that they went to the Student Learning Center (the tutoring center on campus) and were the target of racist comments, for no more reason than their last name.
It sucks when the power goes out for two days in the computer science building, and you can't have your class meeting the week before the midterm. It sucks even worse when the material you would have covered is the material your students bomb on.
It sucks when you discover some of your students' exams are missing. It sucks worse when the reason they are missing is because the professor pulled them out on suspicion of cheating.
It sucks when you realize all of these things are happening to freshmen, and that for many of them, the class you're teaching is the first university computer science course they have ever taken. What a way to start.
Sorry for this long rant which may be irrelevant to many of you. Don't let me give you the wrong impression; I love to teach, and to watch my students learn. But it's not all fun; if I could change the things in my list above, I would in a heartbeat.