Confessions of a GTA: Part 15
One thing you need to know about GTAs: awkward is our speciality
GTAs can be pretty cool people: we’re trying to save the world with the power of our minds, we know an awful lot of answers to tutorial questions, and we drink quite a lot. We also quite like to know the undergrads, as they drink a lot too and they seem to like it when we try to help them with things, quite unlike our supervisors. However, this does lead to some awkward situations that we are not given any guidance on. Maybe we are overthinking it, not being particularly socially adept after all, but here are just a few challenges we come across:
- Emails
Normally emails from students are a nice change as 90% of the time we actually know the answer to their questions. However, the odd one or two can send us into outrage which will quite often consume an office once it had be read out with great emphasis. The thing is we aren’t lecturers but sending an email using MAINLY CAPITAL LETTERS, lying to us, demanding the answer sheets the student believes we have, or in one case saying they believe they have the right to my unpaid undivided attention at a time convenient to them is not really acceptable. But what can we do about it? Certainly send a scathing email back and I have seen some beauties where the academic chances of a student are called into question when they do not know how to use capital letters. But perhaps this is why we become a bit bitter as the students in their desperation for marks do not even notice the person they are being rude to.
A completely different kettle of fish is receiving a Facebook friend request from a student. The thing is the majority of time they really do just want to be friends and they are nice kids. Under any other circumstances I would have no problem with it. But we mark their papers, grade their lab work and comment on their presentations. Is it appropriate that we know they were hammered the night before or have seen compromising photos posted by their lovely friends? Add this to any low self-esteem PhD student who is just pleased anyone wants them to be friends at all at the moment, since their previous “friends” keep questioning their sanity/coffee intake and you have a very complex consideration…
- Going Out
Finally this is the cringiest. I mean, few beers at the union is absolutely fine. We’ll have a chat, dish the latest gossip on the lecturers and even give useful life wisdom on how to get through all the work, given enough beer. But when the night is getting on and someone suggests we all move on, the first consideration for a GTA is that they probably have not been in a club for months and really have not enough cash or energy to be there, let alone any dance skills. The second is that everyone around them suddenly looks about twelve and the ideal of dancing with them seems a bit cradle-snatchy/icky. I mean, you’re lovely kids and all, and I would love to work with you in the future… but my future at this point is getting the hell out of here.
