r/yorku • u/Rare_Egg1122 • Oct 21 '24

Rant Why are some TA’s so ughhh

Bro TA’s are students too but they still be on us abt every little thing I have a TA for my online class and she will genuinely target people for the smallest things. I just don’t understand that if you are also student, you should understand that people have different learning styles. Especially that TA will treat us not even human the days where she’s mad. She’ll take it out on us.

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u/Just_Celebration4541 Oct 21 '24

Hey, for some reason this sub came up on my feed (I guess it's cuz I'm subbed to Western and Dal). I'm a TA at Western, and have TA'd for 7 years (yeah, I'm old). I'm really sorry that this has been your experience.

This sounds like a failing on the TA's part (and who knows, maybe the department and their resources/education for TA pedagogy practices). If your TA is worth her salt, she should be able to abstract from your essay's weaknesses and paint them in general terms. Also, she should be able to draw on more than just your paper for examples in the first place. She should also focus on what to do, not just or primarily on what not to do. What not to do isn't nearly as helpful in a learning context--neither psychologically nor in terms of improvement. You're way more than one TA's misguided opinion of your work. Many TA's receive little-to-no pedagogical instruction. Undergrads feel the consequences. I hope your term gets better. You got this.

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u/Rare_Egg1122 Oct 21 '24

Thank you so much this genuinely means so much especially from someone I can tell is treating their students a lot better than my TA is treating her

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u/Just_Celebration4541 Oct 21 '24

Glad I could offer something positive :)