TA life tough, but worth it

Correction appended

Though teaching assistants, better known as TAs, often
participate in a large majority of students’ classroom
experience, many fail to realize that these leaders are students
just like them, struggling to organize their lives and balance
their responsibilities.

Many are there not just to help students complete the course,
but to gain teaching experience and pass on their passion for the
subject along the way.

And though it is a job, many TAs boast about the wonderful
learning opportunity it has provided for them.

With 15 years of past teaching experience, Karen Hules, a
teaching assistant in the Asian American studies department,
thoroughly enjoys her job.

“It’s invaluable experience, where you work with
different professors and learn new ways to teach the
material,” Hules said.

Having taught before and experienced situations where there was
nobody else to talk to, Hules says the TA experience is great
because you know you aren’t alone.

She enjoys the added bonus of being able to run through material
with mentors, professors and other teaching assistants.

“It’s nice to have somebody there to ask questions
to and to get fresh ideas from,” she says. “And
it’s a golden opportunity to get to TA in any university
setting with a full range of support.”

Gabrielle Raley, a TA in the sociology department, also enjoys
teaching in a department with other passionate students to turn
to.

“TAs in the sociology department are really committed and
passionate about the discipline. After devoting six or seven years
to this subject, it’s wonderful to help others learn about
it,” Raley said.

The road to becoming a TA

Before the academic year starts, teaching assistants attend
courses and seminars to prepare for the upcoming year.

Joining UCLA’s staff last winter quarter caused Hules to
miss the TA workshops and seminars offered last fall, but she was
excited when she was able to attend the workshops this fall.

“This TA program is very proactive in supporting
TAs,” she said.

The UCLA Office of Instructional Development offers seminars and
conferences to help TAs adjust to the move from student to
instructor.

The process of becoming a teaching assistant varies from
department to department.

To become a TA in the Asian Studies department, Hules had to go
through an application process and select the courses in which she
had an interest in teaching. Then the professors looked at her
background and experience to match her up with a course based on
her language background.

Raley says the sociology department is slightly different. In
the social sciences, TAs are selected in two ways, she said. Either
professors ask students who they are constantly working with if any
are interested in a particular position, or students can look at a
list of different courses seeking TAs and apply.

To become a teaching assistant, it is not required that you
teach within your area of study. TAs say it isn’t necessary
to be an expert in the area, but agree it is helpful to have some
experience to bring to the table.

As an undergraduate, Hules double-majored in English and
anthropology. After living in Japan for five years, she learned
Japanese and is now concentrating on shifting fields to Asian
languages and Buddhist studies.

Although Hules didn’t have a strong Asian cultures
background from her undergraduate work, she wasn’t held back
at all, she said.

“I had the experience of learning in Japan to bring to it,
and I began taking courses through university extension before I
started teaching,” she said.

Raley’s experience differed slightly because of her
influence in sociology.

“For some people with little teaching experience, it can
also be difficult to have to learn the ropes, learn how to explain
material and learn to be an effective teacher,” Raley
said.

But because of her past teaching experiences and strong
background, Raley wasn’t worried about the position. Coming
from an interdisciplinary school with no specific majors, Raley
didn’t find it difficult to teach sociology material because
of her strong background in the social sciences. Her diverse
coursework in many areas of study strengthened her background for
the subject, she said.

“A firm background in sociological theory and methods
prepares you to teach in a wide variety of subjects,” she
said.

To master the course material, Raley says the TAs thoroughly
prepare for their section classes. They must read the material
ahead of time, once or twice over, to completely understand it and
find the best way to teach and explain it to others.

Undergraduates as TAs

The job is not solely restricted to graduate students; in some
cases, undergraduate students also hold teaching assistant
positions.

“I decided to be a TA because I thought it was an amazing
opportunity to be a TA to my fellow undergraduates as an
undergraduate myself,” said Natalie Elliot, a fourth-year
history major and teaching assistant in the education department.
“And since I want to be a teacher, it’s the perfect
opportunity.”

She first learned about the opportunity to become a teaching
assistant when she met Education Professor Bruce Barbee during
orientation. To get the position, Elliot took the Education 80
course in the fall and then applied for the job during winter
quarter. She was then chosen by Barbee based on her grades and TA
recommendations.

Elliot then took the Education 92A course in the spring, which
“prepared me to lead discussions and learn different teaching
dynamics,” she said.

For undergraduate TAs like Elliot, a salary isn’t offered,
only course credit.

“The course credit was not a factor that weighed into my
decision to become a TA,” she said. “It’s because
I love working with other people, and I have a passion for
teaching.”

As an undergraduate, Elliot faces the same difficulties with her
TA position.

“It’s difficult to balance this class, make yourself
accessible to your students, balance your other classes and also
have a personal life,” she said.

Elliot says the best part of her teaching assistant position
can’t be seen yet.

“Being able to say I was an undergraduate teaching other
undergraduates will look good on graduate applications and help
when I teach in the future,” Elliot said.

She also says that thinking of new activities each week and
keeping everyone engaged in the discussion can be a difficult part
of the position.

More than a job

Raley, like many TAs, discovered the job opportunity through the
graduate student funding program.

As part of the program, graduate students are offered positions
as teaching assistants in order to help them afford the expenses of
grad school.

UCLA’s merit-based apprenticeship program allows these
students the opportunity to work as teaching assistants, gaining
experience while also getting paid.

While skeptics may be inclined to believe teaching assistants
are only in it for the money and student’s education is being
compromised in the process, the TAs are quick to disagree.

“It’s the way we survive and pay rent, and also a
way to learn in a hands-on way,” Raley said.

Hules also points out the need for a salary to make it possible
to continue teaching.

“The salary is a plus, not a minus,” Hules said.
“It makes it possible for people to do it and to keep doing
it.

“I’m glad there is a salary. It allows me to be in
school and still contribute to household finances, which is
essential,” she added.

Moreover, Hules believes most TAs are doing it for the benefit
of hands-on experience, not solely for the money.

“Most of the TAs I’ve encountered are planning to
teach,” she said.

Juggling different roles

The job isn’t always pleasurable: There are difficulties
associated with the position.

The TAs agree that one of the toughest challenges they face is
learning to organize their schedules.

“The biggest challenge is balancing the TA job with
individual work,” Hules says. “And the more
responsibilities you have, the more it becomes a factor.”

Strict guidelines set by the union are also causing trouble for
TAs.

Under union contract, teaching assistants are required to spend
no more than 20 hours a week working.

But Raley finds the 20-hour time restriction to be difficult to
maintain.

“Although we need to stay under our 20 hours, it’s
hard because we are so committed and wish we had more time to
interact and spend more quality time with the students,” she
said.

Hules also believes TAs may find difficulty in moving from one
of their roles to another.

“One of the most difficult parts of being a TA is having
to change hats,” she said. “It’s difficult to be
recognized as a teacher and in charge, and then being a student
yourself.”

But the TAs still rave about the positive attributes of the
job.

Raley says that being a teaching assistant has provided
“so many positive experiences for me.” She finds it
advantageous for both the social interaction aspect and the
rewarding experience it brings.

“Being a graduate student is oftentimes solitary, just you
and the book,” she said. “The face-to-face contact with
the students can be so important.

“It’s rewarding to see students learning the subject
you feel so passionate about, and then to see them apply it to
their own lives and to the contemporary world,” she
added.

Correction: Wednesday, October 20,
2004

In “TA life tough, but worth it” (News, Oct. 14),
the article should have specified that TAs have a 20-hour work
restriction as a result of rules set by the department, not the
union to which they belong.