tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274849647524601103.post8175755893485744679..comments2024-01-09T03:06:16.501-06:00Comments on The Good Enough Professor: Will Nobody Think of the College Students (Especially the Non-Majors)?KWhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07114727221915528878noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2274849647524601103.post-81912391520935582542014-03-30T18:41:11.581-05:002014-03-30T18:41:11.581-05:00I dunno, that hasn't been my experience. I...I dunno, that hasn't been my experience. I've never taken a college class from a graduate student. I've only had graduate student TAs, who are arguably more capable than the undergraduate TAs I've had. I've also had pretty lousy professors whose graduate student TAs were lifelines to understanding the material.<br /><br />The elite schools are always going to be that way. The R3s and SLACs without PhD student programs are also always going to be that way, as will the community colleges. Many of the R1s that aren't elite have professors who are largely checked out of teaching because that's not what's important, and a practicing graduate student may be far better than the professor who wishes he were anywhere but there.<br /><br />And, of course, being able to teach is an important skill both inside and outside of academia. And there's a lot of evidence that practice teaching is the best way to learn how to teach. Courses in education don't do much, but student teaching does a lot. Some students are going to have to be sacrificed on that altar, just like every July some patients end up betting brand new medical residents. If that means they're helpful in industry or government after graduation rather than the classroom...well...someone is still benefiting.<br /><br />And, there's research showing that much of the gains to teaching ability come during the first two years, so an experienced student teacher who has been in graduate school for 7 years is going to be reasonably good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com