Wear sunscreen

My advice?...wear sunscreen. “The long-term benefits of sunscreen have long been proven by scientists; whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…” Don’t worry about the future—Dr. Rogers will take care of it. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts—students are sensitive about their work: be kind. Don’t put up with other people who are reckless with your heart—some students will not like you and nothing you do will change that. Let it go. Remember compliments—they will be few. But more importantly, remember that students will love you one day and despise you the next. Compliments are more about the mood of the giver than the state-of-being of the receiver. Be careful with advice—it’s recycled experience that is cheaply dispensed in faculty break rooms. A soda isn’t cheaper, but a soda is probably healthier. Skip the break room conversations and drink your beverage alone with your thoughts. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Most importantly: during the first fall semester, sit in on every 1010 class you possibly can. Baz Luhrman, “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen.”

Lessons from the First Review

My first reaction while grading the literature review was, "This is taking way too long." I could feel myself getting so tired that the quality of my grading was slipping.  I found myself writing "akw" next to sentences simply because I was too tired to explain what was actually wrong with them.  

For next time, I will start with a more concrete rubric. Hopefully if the students know exactly what I want and I know exactly what I am looking for, I will spend less time digging for it. I will also be able to give feedback simply by checking a box that already explains the problem.  

The peer editing will also help me in my grading.  The students have already checked each others' papers for technical items and formatting, so I should be able to get through that part more quickly. 

I also need to preplan my grading schedule.  I graded the summaries in three hour blocks on Sunday and Monday nights. This worked well for me when I was grading shorter papers because I could switch papers every few minutes, but when I was reading larger papers, it was too hard to go for three hours.  Next time I will divide my time based on the number of papers I am grading instead of the time I am spending. 

Prompt: Looking Back / Looking Forward

Now that we're getting to the end of the term, I'd like to see you all both reflect back on the semester and offer up a little advice for the TAs coming in next year.

So. How was the experience? What have you learned? What advice do you have?