The good and the bad
1. Once in a blue moon, someone in my classes will mention Vietnam in their comments. And by "Vietnam" they tend to refer to 3 things, the Vietnam war, the anti-war movement and activism in the US during the 1960s, and cheap labour and sweatshops.
2. Having been through half of the term, I asked the students in my 3 tutorials to do a quick evaluation. Before I did that, I was half afraid that I would be crushed by negative comments. However, things turned out not too bad. Some students said they are bored in class, which i can totally tell from the look of their faces, but some clearly acknowledged the efforts I have made. Also many commented that I am friendly, approachable and genuinely concerned whether they do well or not, which is of course true. Im glad I did this rather than waiting until the end of the term, because otherwise I would keep guessing how the students feel about the tutorials.
3. I went to 2 other TA's tutorials, and learnt a lot from them. I wasn't sure what the expectations are for me as a TA, but watching them makes thing clearer. I should have done that earlier in the term. At first I thought my job is to ask questions, and I shouldn't talk more than 50% of the time. But the other TAs actually talk pretty much all the time, and only pause occasionally to ask a few questions. In other words, they play a teacher role more than I had thought I should be. I also learn that I need to prepare more, and come to a tutorial with a list of things I need to say or cover. That seems to help. The last tutorials went quite well. There was less awkward silence and I think the students feel like they got more out of the time spent with me.
4. I dropped one course because I felt too miserable in that class. It wasn't because of the workload, although I didn't really keep up with the reading. It was more the cold atmosphere of the class, and the manner of the professor. As soon as I got permission to drop, I felt so relieved and could concentrate better on other work.
This is the first benefit I see from starting in January instead of September like everyone else. Since the timing is already messed up, I am granted more flexibility with my coursework than other students. For example, people usually must finish coursework in the first 2 terms. I will spread the courses out and do them in 4 terms.
5. I am quite grateful for the accommodation and support the Department gives me. The chair and the assistant are always willing to discuss possibilities and especially the graduate assistant seems to particularly sympathetic with my situation. She actually uses her power to back date the system so the course I dropped doesn't show on my transcript. She also keeps saying that she hates it when students have to do extra work because of circumstance beyond their control, such as my visa delay.
6. I discovered that I could do a collaborative program in Migration and Ethnic Relations, which allows me to take courses outside of the Sociology department. I had a look through the list of courses offered and there are many interesting options in Anthropology, History and Geography, and these courses seem much more open to international issues and perspectives than Sociology. This gives me hope that this semester will be the worse, I will only have better and more interesting courses later on.
And the professor who is going to be my supervisor was willing to be associated with the program so I could be admitted (she wasn't before, and only does this because I need her to be). I am so amazed by the length faculty could go to accommodate their students' wants and needs. In Vietnamese we have a saying "cha me dat dau con ngoi day", here it's the other way around, I asked her to do what I want.
7. I have always felt a bit bitter and lost when the professor I wanted to work with left Western before I came. I wrote her an email to ask for her recommendation for a supervisor to work with in light of her leaving. It's funny how I read her email recently, and realized that I have gone down the path she suggested in terms of the supervisor I chose and the collaborative program I applied. I have completely forgotten what she told me and arrived at these decisions through the suggestions of others. There are only so many paths an individual could pick from. That strengthens my speculation that I would probably always be the same person I am even if some major decisions in my life could have been different. Different ways, maybe, but I will head for the same direction.
The emotions of a graduate student seems to be on a roller-coaster. I was feeling down and depressed a few weeks ago, and now Im feeling quite alright. It's good to record them, just so I realize that they are all a part of the process, both the good and the bad, to know that everything will pass, the bad will go and the good will come, and vice versa.
2. Having been through half of the term, I asked the students in my 3 tutorials to do a quick evaluation. Before I did that, I was half afraid that I would be crushed by negative comments. However, things turned out not too bad. Some students said they are bored in class, which i can totally tell from the look of their faces, but some clearly acknowledged the efforts I have made. Also many commented that I am friendly, approachable and genuinely concerned whether they do well or not, which is of course true. Im glad I did this rather than waiting until the end of the term, because otherwise I would keep guessing how the students feel about the tutorials.
3. I went to 2 other TA's tutorials, and learnt a lot from them. I wasn't sure what the expectations are for me as a TA, but watching them makes thing clearer. I should have done that earlier in the term. At first I thought my job is to ask questions, and I shouldn't talk more than 50% of the time. But the other TAs actually talk pretty much all the time, and only pause occasionally to ask a few questions. In other words, they play a teacher role more than I had thought I should be. I also learn that I need to prepare more, and come to a tutorial with a list of things I need to say or cover. That seems to help. The last tutorials went quite well. There was less awkward silence and I think the students feel like they got more out of the time spent with me.
4. I dropped one course because I felt too miserable in that class. It wasn't because of the workload, although I didn't really keep up with the reading. It was more the cold atmosphere of the class, and the manner of the professor. As soon as I got permission to drop, I felt so relieved and could concentrate better on other work.
This is the first benefit I see from starting in January instead of September like everyone else. Since the timing is already messed up, I am granted more flexibility with my coursework than other students. For example, people usually must finish coursework in the first 2 terms. I will spread the courses out and do them in 4 terms.
5. I am quite grateful for the accommodation and support the Department gives me. The chair and the assistant are always willing to discuss possibilities and especially the graduate assistant seems to particularly sympathetic with my situation. She actually uses her power to back date the system so the course I dropped doesn't show on my transcript. She also keeps saying that she hates it when students have to do extra work because of circumstance beyond their control, such as my visa delay.
6. I discovered that I could do a collaborative program in Migration and Ethnic Relations, which allows me to take courses outside of the Sociology department. I had a look through the list of courses offered and there are many interesting options in Anthropology, History and Geography, and these courses seem much more open to international issues and perspectives than Sociology. This gives me hope that this semester will be the worse, I will only have better and more interesting courses later on.
And the professor who is going to be my supervisor was willing to be associated with the program so I could be admitted (she wasn't before, and only does this because I need her to be). I am so amazed by the length faculty could go to accommodate their students' wants and needs. In Vietnamese we have a saying "cha me dat dau con ngoi day", here it's the other way around, I asked her to do what I want.
7. I have always felt a bit bitter and lost when the professor I wanted to work with left Western before I came. I wrote her an email to ask for her recommendation for a supervisor to work with in light of her leaving. It's funny how I read her email recently, and realized that I have gone down the path she suggested in terms of the supervisor I chose and the collaborative program I applied. I have completely forgotten what she told me and arrived at these decisions through the suggestions of others. There are only so many paths an individual could pick from. That strengthens my speculation that I would probably always be the same person I am even if some major decisions in my life could have been different. Different ways, maybe, but I will head for the same direction.
The emotions of a graduate student seems to be on a roller-coaster. I was feeling down and depressed a few weeks ago, and now Im feeling quite alright. It's good to record them, just so I realize that they are all a part of the process, both the good and the bad, to know that everything will pass, the bad will go and the good will come, and vice versa.
