Nasty TA

[Cello]

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Hey all,

Been a while since I've posted, but wanted some opinions on my situation.

My o-chem lab TA has decided, it seems, that they aren't particularly fond of me. Maybe I smell bad. Maybe I'm ugly. Maybe I'm too tall, or too short, too hairy, whatever; TA doesn't like me one bit.

Long story short, I spoke with the professor about my TA's behavior, and he was concerned about what he heard. So, now he wants to "take this to the next level" which involves the chair of student affairs or something... He said that he wasn't sure how to handle this, as it's a first for him, and that the TA would likely need to have a representative present and I would need to have one as well when we have our final meeting.

Honestly, I had no intention of things going this far... I felt like my TA was behaving unprofessionally, but it wasn't my intention to get her fired or in trouble. I told this to my professor, but he insisted on pursuing this.

So, anyone have any experience with this? Also, do situations like this somehow end up on a transcript or record?

 

[lr2014]

If you haven't done anything wrong I don't see why this should end up in your record.

 

[flaming0duckie]

Does 'representative parent' actually mean a parent must come to your college to vouch for you? :O...

 

[doc toothache]

My o-chem lab TA has decided, it seems, that they aren't particularly fond of me. Maybe I smell bad. Maybe I'm ugly. Maybe I'm too tall, or too short, too hairy, whatever; TA doesn't like me one bit.
Long story short, I spoke with the professor about my TA's behavior, and he was concerned about what he heard. So, now he wants to "take this to the next level" which involves the chair of student affairs or something... He said that he wasn't sure how to handle this, as it's a first for him, and that the TA would likely need to have a representative present and I would need to have one as well when we have our final meeting.
Honestly, I had no intention of things going this far... I felt like my TA was behaving unprofessionally, but it wasn't my intention to get her fired or in trouble. I told this to my professor, but he insisted on pursuing this.

What exactly was your intention? In any case, having an input from the TA for your LOR is probably not an option.

Does 'representative parent' actually mean a parent must come to your college to vouch for you? :O...

Present or parent?

 

[flaming0duckie]

God, this is why I shouldn't browse SDN late at night when I apparently cannot read properly. -_-
Thanks Doc for pointing that out.

What exactly did your TA do to you that made you feel like it was unprofessional?

 

[athomas]

Hey all,

Been a while since I've posted, but wanted some opinions on my situation.

My o-chem lab TA has decided, it seems, that they aren't particularly fond of me. Maybe I smell bad. Maybe I'm ugly. Maybe I'm too tall, or too short, too hairy, whatever; TA doesn't like me one bit.

Long story short, I spoke with the professor about my TA's behavior, and he was concerned about what he heard. So, now he wants to "take this to the next level" which involves the chair of student affairs or something... He said that he wasn't sure how to handle this, as it's a first for him, and that the TA would likely need to have a representative present and I would need to have one as well when we have our final meeting.

Honestly, I had no intention of things going this far... I felt like my TA was behaving unprofessionally, but it wasn't my intention to get her fired or in trouble. I told this to my professor, but he insisted on pursuing this.

So, anyone have any experience with this? Also, do situations like this somehow end up on a transcript or record?

As long as you're using the appropriate school processes to address the issue, it should not affect you negatively at all. Just keep your opinions quiet from other students so it can't be misconstrued as gossip.

 

[Cello]

Like I said, it's a long story, and there are many ridiculous things the TA has done. Most of them were small transgressions not really worth mentioning, but they add up with time. The final straw came when she marked me ~50% on a major lab report which I spent lots of time on, dropping me from an A to a B+.

Now, if I deserve a bad grade, I'll take it. The problem though, is that she was clearly wrong on many of her corrections (using the term loosely). I approached her very professionally and asked her why I had missed points on one of the more egregious examples of what I felt to be incorrect grading. She turned to face another student (so much for discretion), then angrily told me that if I had the nerve to ask her about her grading, then she was going to regrade the entire lab report and find even more points to take away (nice threat, huh?), I assume for "wasting her time"... Needless to say, I wasn't able to ask about the other problems she incorrectly marked wrong without incurring her wrath.

Went to the professor about my questions as well as the concerns I had about TA's behavior, he agreed with my answers, and was surprised by the TA's actions. There's a lot more to the story than just this, as it has been a persistent problem all semester. Like I said, this was just the issue that made me finally go to the professor. I didn't tell the prof most of what has happened during the semester, as it wasn't my intention to march in there and get her in trouble. Really, what I wanted, was a regrade on a paper which deserved, based on the grading criteria we were given, at least a B...

Edit: Forgot to mention that the tongue-in-cheek comment made me chuckle doc toothache. Luckily, I hadn't planned on getting an LOR from this particular TA. 😉

 

[Daneosaurus]

What is her problem? Did you do something to tick her off at the beginning of the semester? She is acting totally unprofessional, if what you say is 100% true. If you made mistakes, whatever, but asking her to take a second look is fairly routine. That is no reason to not walk you through the answers if you are incorrect. I have never encountered a professor (or TA, for that matter) that behaved in such a manner - even the less-than-approachable ones never acted so unprofessional. I think you are absolutely doing the right thing. She rates at least some form of recourse. I'm sorry you have to deal with asinine crap like this.

 

[Cello]

Thanks Daneosaurus. Yeah, what I believe started this chain of events does go all the way back to the beginning of the semester. She didn't hand back mine or my lab partner's first lab report. I asked her if she knew where mine was since it wasn't in the pile she handed back. She told me that I hadn't turned it in. Our lab notebooks are carbon-copied, so I brought her my notebook and showed that I had torn out the copies to hand in the week before. She said that it wasn't really her problem. When I insisted that I had turned it in, she agreed to look for it in her office in a rather defiant manner.

Nearly a week went by and we heard nothing. My lab partner emailed the professor to ask what we should do, because the TA wasn't responding to email. Lo and behold, the TA sent a curt email to my lab partner a few hours later telling them that she had found the reports and graded them.

At the beginning of the next lab period, she angrily tossed our lab reports onto our bench and stormed away. Since then she won't really help us when we need it (usually telling us to Google stuff), doesn't ask us if we need help (skips my lab partner and I whenever she makes her rounds to help other groups), and behaves in a very different manner with us than she does the rest of the class.

 

[Papasmurf1234]

Thanks Daneosaurus. Yeah, what I believe started this chain of events does go all the way back to the beginning of the semester. She didn't hand back mine or my lab partner's first lab report. I asked her if she knew where mine was since it wasn't in the pile she handed back. She told me that I hadn't turned it in. Our lab notebooks are carbon-copied, so I brought her my notebook and showed that I had torn out the copies to hand in the week before. She said that it wasn't really her problem. When I insisted that I had turned it in, she agreed to look for it in her office in a rather defiant manner.

Nearly a week went by and we heard nothing. My lab partner emailed the professor to ask what we should do, because the TA wasn't responding to email. Lo and behold, the TA sent a curt email to my lab partner a few hours later telling them that she had found the reports and graded them.

At the beginning of the next lab period, she angrily tossed our lab reports onto our bench and stormed away. Since then she won't really help us when we need it (usually telling us to Google stuff), doesn't ask us if we need help (skips my lab partner and I whenever she makes her rounds to help other groups), and behaves in a very different manner with us than she does the rest of the class.

Excuse my language but what a SKANK. She sounds like she hates her life and doesn't want to do her job well. Oh well...sucks to be her.

 

[Daneosaurus]

Thanks Daneosaurus. Yeah, what I believe started this chain of events does go all the way back to the beginning of the semester. She didn't hand back mine or my lab partner's first lab report. I asked her if she knew where mine was since it wasn't in the pile she handed back. She told me that I hadn't turned it in. Our lab notebooks are carbon-copied, so I brought her my notebook and showed that I had torn out the copies to hand in the week before. She said that it wasn't really her problem. When I insisted that I had turned it in, she agreed to look for it in her office in a rather defiant manner.

Nearly a week went by and we heard nothing. My lab partner emailed the professor to ask what we should do, because the TA wasn't responding to email. Lo and behold, the TA sent a curt email to my lab partner a few hours later telling them that she had found the reports and graded them.

At the beginning of the next lab period, she angrily tossed our lab reports onto our bench and stormed away. Since then she won't really help us when we need it (usually telling us to Google stuff), doesn't ask us if we need help (skips my lab partner and I whenever she makes her rounds to help other groups), and behaves in a very different manner with us than she does the rest of the class.

What a B! I really feel for you.

 

[Mediumrare]

Take her out for a fish sandwich dinner and NEVER call her back....(inner Ron Burgundy came out)