How students today view college

Consolation
Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:06:30 +0000

The reality is that college professors AND TAs are rarely ever taught HOW to teach. As a student, you either luck out or don’t with someone who teaches well or doesn’t.



Theoretically, a graduate student at a university is usually supposed to be “taught” how to teach by being a TA under the supervision of a professor. (Apart from their own apprenticeship in scholarship, of course.)

The fact that some university professors actively dislike teaching and would prefer to spend all of their time on their own research tends to undercut this, of course. THey have no interest in teaching the TA how to teach OR teaching the undergraduates.

BTW, I just went back and read the article. I think his point regarding the impossibility of “working your way through college” is very well taken. I’m always astounded when people suggest it is a realistic possibility today.