[rant]Contact Hour Billing

[LochnarITB]

I would love to see all TA's TAing because they want to, not because the department requires it.  I know that will never happen, and as a result there will always be bad TA's.  Some of them will go on to become bad profs.  Some of them will be unavoidable.  But search out the good ones, and make the most of your time with them - you can learn much.

I couldn't agree more on that point. On reading your post I was brought back to my engineering courses *mumble mumble* years ago. I had more than one TA that rescued me when the professor was worthless but one in particular comes to mind. The class was Engineering Statics. The prof was straight from China. What little english anyone might understand coming from him was lost as he mumbled into the text book he had his face buried in as he stood writing his lecture on the board. I was at a total loss and relied on the TA to get me straightened out. I was extremely nervous about my grade and needed to do well in the final. A couple days after taking it, I passed the TA in the hall and I said a quick hello. He stopped me and said he had just finished grading the finals. He went on to say that my test was one of the best written he had ever seen. Granted, he had only been a TA for a couple years and there was a definate smoke blowage factor, but it made me feel good - and the test obviously did what I needed for my overall grade. As we were both hurrying on our way, I didn't think to thank him and let him know he is the one that got me through. After all these years, I still remember his name - Tom Chase. He did go on to be a professor at the university and I am sure he did well by his students.