Revew sessions

I have spent the past two days planning and conducting review sessions with my undergrads. I also gave them a study guide. I hope they remember this as they are detailing my deficiencies on their course evaluations.

The review sessions were a lot of work, but I feel like they were worthwhile. The class is extremely difficult, and many of the students will get low grades despite my efforts, so I wanted to help them as much as I could. In addition to being a pushover who over-identifies with students (as I wrote recently), I find it rewarding to help students, which is maybe a good sign.

When I am overloaded with grading, I get all histrionic about it, and I start wondering if I'm really cut out for a job where I will have to grade papers, midterms, and finals every few weeks for the rest of my career. I know that designing your own assignments is different from the drudgery of TA grading -- and that I will have fewer students (or TA's of my own) if I ever become a professor. Still, I really, really hate grading.

But, I do like teaching. And if I could design my own assignments, I might be able to use them to help the students with their writing -- something that would be interesting and rewarding. So maybe I would like a job at a college or university.

After the review session, several of the students thanked me, and one of my students came up to me to tell me how much he enjoyed having me as a TA -- it was really nice.

Of course I know I'm just extra emotional about this stuff due to my raging PMS. I just watched a video of the Pittsburgh Penguins giving Christmas presents to sick kids, and it made me cry... I'm one of those chicks who doesn't need a calendar.