Is this the first time you've TA'd? From your writing here, I'd expect you to be good at it -- you communicate clearly, and you remember what it's like to struggle. In my experience, these things are more important to the students than you grasp of the material, although it is also very, very important. To quote one of my old advisors, though "The questions you're afraid they will ask are the hard ones. The ones they don't know enough to ask." That is, you're almost guaranteed to know more than they do, and it'll be much easier for you to absorb the material and stay 2 steps ahead.
I loved TAing, and found it (depending on the professor, of course) to be an excellent way to transition from student to teacher. Sometimes (ie for some classes) you'll just answer questions, others you'll present lectures on points brought up in lecture. Also, I found that, because I was in closer contact with the students, I was able to pick during lecture what would bother them, and go back to it later in recitation. My students, judging by the reviews, loved working with me even though I was a hardass, and I loved working with them.
I'm sort of on the opposite side of the fence than you are with respect to TAs. I think that a school with a very strong gaduate program is likely to have excellent TA's and because they are often closer in age and experience to the student than is the professor provide invaluable assistance. I think every single class should have a TA (of course, I also think that every class should be taught by a professor). With the caveat, of course, that the best researchers are seldom the best teachers (hence the usefulness of good TAs).
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Posted by Chartreuse Circe to academicsecret at 8/16/2006 09:45:14 AM
