Tell us about your first time teaching.
Today, I chuckle when I think about my first time teaching – but in the moment, it wasn’t so funny. I was nervous to the point of my hands quivering and my voice shaking. There were two dozen strangers staring at me, expecting me to have all the answers, and a dizzying view out of the fifth floor Van Hise window. I thought to myself, “Stop shaking! They can tell you’re nervous… they’re going to laugh at you!”
Why did you want to be a Teaching Mentor?
I smile now because that feeling is the reason I eventually became a Teaching Mentor (TM). As TAs, we are uniquely situated to teach while also being students ourselves. I see this as one of our biggest strengths – it enables us to approach our classes with an understanding and appreciation of both the students’ and teachers’ experience. Whether we’re at the front or at a desk, we are human beings who are doing our best and deserving of empathy; and so are our students.
As I internalized that simple fact through honest, positive interactions with students (my students never did laugh at me, which helped), I quickly found myself feeling confident in the classroom. After teaching for almost a year, you wouldn’t recognize me next to that jittery first-day mess. If only I could talk to my past self, I could tell him what teaching is really like and ease his nerves. While talking to my past self continues to elude me (perhaps I’ll figure out how to do that in my dissertation), I realized I could help other incoming TAs by sharing what I had learned and experienced. This realization led me to seeking nomination as a TM – and consequently, to some extremely fulfilling experiences and meaningful connections with new people.
What do you love about being a Teaching Mentor?
My favorite moment as a TM was also one of the most intense. On TA Training day, I was running a group discussion about a hypothetical scenario in which a student makes a hurtful comment during class. It would have been easy for the new TAs to shy away from this heavy situation, and I was prepared to take the lead. Instead, to my delight, I barely had to say a word. They jumped at the opportunity to talk about this difficult scenario, each of them talking about how it intersected with their own identities – as international students, as first-generation college students, as nervous public speakers, you name it. The moment captured the essence of TA Training day; becoming better teachers and making connections through thoughtful discussion with a diverse group of peers.
Should I seek nomination as a Teaching Mentor?
Being a TM was an honor and a privilege. It was incredibly fulfilling, not to mention fun, to be a mentor to new TAs – if you have a passion for teaching, I strongly encourage you to seek nomination! There is a poetic duality at play here; just as your experience as a student enables you to be a great TA, your experience as a TA enables you to be a great TM.
