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Agree with the first para entirely. Not so sure about the second para.
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To add: My second daughter started at a small college of similar description, and transferred to the U of CO. Small colleges seem to have their own "tone" and if you don't fit into that, it can sometimes be difficult. She felt at a larger state university, there are so many different "types" that it was easy to find a social group.
Add #2: Both of my US-born sons-in-law were TAs at the U of CO. They're not all foreign-born.
and they had how much teaching experience before they became TA's.....
I definitely agree about your second point Kat. It seems like they're trying to play antagonistic feelings towards immigrants who come here.
Oh get real--it has nothing to do with their immigration status and everything to do with not being able to understand them when you are trying to learn something.....not very effective...
and they had how much teaching experience before they became TA's.....
My sons-in-law? I'm not going to let you bash them on this forum (or any other) by giving you their credentials, especially since (if you're referring to them) you already did.
Point being they had none and taking classes from TA's is not in your best interest....and even more so if you can't understand them
I have to agree. No one should take it personal. I am not a fan of TA's "teaching". Especially TA's who struggle with English. IMHO, hard to understand TA's have no place in the classroom. I pointed to several links showing that other students and parents are equally frustrated.
I have to agree. No one should take it personal. I am not a fan of TA's "teaching". Especially TA's who struggle with English. IMHO, hard to understand TA's have no place in the classroom. I pointed to several links showing that other students and parents are equally frustrated.
You agree with her rush to judgement that neither one of these guys had any teaching experience before they were TAs? That they don't speak English as a first language, though they were born in the US? I mean one is from MN and he does have that strange MN accent, but still. . .
Where the TA is from doesn't matter. They are smart enough to be pursuing an advanced degree at the instution said person is an undergrad at.
What about foreign born, ESL professors?
there are a number of CUNY classes where PhD students teach classes of at least ~50 people. i myself taught a class of 41 as a master's student. i was titled as a lecturer but there was no difference whatsoever in my qualifications from most TAs, and i was paid less
i wouldn't be surprised if there are larger classes elsewhere taught by TAs/PhD students
the ability to teach well and the ability to pursue an advanced degree are two different things. if a TA has poor english skills (as is the case in some engineering classes) it matters a great deal
that said, i've seen a combination of a lecturer (along with many, many TAs and course assistants) do a much better job teaching the same material to a class of ~500 than I have when it was taught by a tenured professor to a class of 20 at a different institution. small class size is generally good but some people put too much weight on it as criteria goes without looking at other aspects of how classes are taught. especially at the intro level
You agree with her rush to judgement that neither one of these guys had any teaching experience before they were TAs? That they don't speak English as a first language, though they were born in the US? I mean one is from MN and he does have that strange MN accent, but still. . .
once again...your knack for twisting what people say is just amazing....try reading what people wrote for a change....and who wrote it....
Katiana, There are two different conversations going on here. No one is bashing your son in laws. What people are criticizing are TA's that 1) Have hard to understand accents and 2) Have little teaching experience. Unless a TA has a degree in education and spent some time student teaching, they probably don't have any teaching experience. It's not their fault - it's the colleges.
Frankly, if I'm paying $25,000 - $50,000 (or more) per year then I want a full professor teaching the class. Many colleges that we visited made sure to point out that they did not have TA's teaching classes. My kids colleges do not have TA's at all.
There is no need to be so sensitive and politically correct. In fact as of 2005, 22 states have passed legislation to stop poorly speaking TA's from teaching. The problem is especially bad the in engineer departments where 50% of the graduate students are foreign born. See http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/24/ed...anted=all&_r=0 . It spells out the problem. I was an engineering major at the UofMN. There were many times when I struggled to understand what the brilliant TA (with zero teaching experience) was trying to say.
Here is another article showing that there is a problem. Foreign-Born Teaching Assistants Impair Undergraduate Performance And another JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie .
In the engineering department at the UofMN, there were no shortage of foreign teachers that were far more interested in research that teaching. In order for them to stay in the USA to do research, they need to "teach". That's the flaw in the policy. So they really don't want to be in the classroom and you get a 1/2 backed education. There were several hard to understand computer science professors too.
"In accordance with provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), the University
has delegated to International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) sole authority to administer
the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program and file H-1B temporary employment and permanent
residence petitions in support of the teaching and research mission of the University."
When they stop teaching, they have to leave the country. Some researchers don't want to be professors and it shows.
1) Stop trying to poison the well
2) I let it go the first few times since I didn't much of it, but cut it with the PC accusation nonsense.
3) If you're going to insult someone then own it instead of trying to use an emoticon to soften it or better yet, don't do it at all.
4) I didn't say anything about how well they spoke english. UoR's statement doesn't even make that distinction. Who knows, maybe they were hoping for a two for one deal.
5) Good instruction is good instruction. It doesn't matter if you're foreign, native, adjunct, or a professor. Their jobs are first and foremost in research with teaching being a secondary consideration and their teaching quality is going to be independent of their nationality or job title because those =/= pedagogical skill. You can raise it as a parental concern, but it's completely different when you start accusing people of being "PC" and grabbing papers about foreign students. For all intents and purposes, please tell me what the general consensus is in literature regarding FTA's and NTA's. I'm assuming you know.
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In fact as of 2005, 22 states have passed legislation to stop poorly speaking TA's from teaching. The problem is especially bad the in engineer departments where 50% of the graduate students are foreign born. See 
