My Life as a Graduate Teaching Assistant

The Cheaters

2011-09-11T23:12:00.003-04:00

There will always, no matter how generous you are, that have to test the boundaries and cheat. I am usually pretty hard core but decided this semester to be more laid back. By that, I mean that I decided that since the course is an elective and interesting (to me) because it is in my area of expertise, that I would give exams online and allow the use of book and notes. I made it very clear, however, that working together or using the web while taking the exam would result in serious sanctions for academic dishonesty.

This was just the first exam of the semester and I've got a boyfriend/girlfriend duo that think they're slick. Those idiots took the exam from the exact same computer one right after the other, got the exact same score (e.g.., the same questions were answered incorrectly and they chose the same incorrect responses), and the girl managed to respond to 75 multiple choice questions in under 7 minutes and score a B.

Now the psychological warfare begins. I emailed each of them individually to let them know that they have been identified as having cheated on the test. I advise in the email that they should contact me immediately to set up a meeting with me regarding the possible sanctions listed in my syllabus.

My prediction: they will come to me whining that it was all a big misunderstanding and that they did not cheat. I will tell them to try again, they will come clean, and I will come down on them harshly.

I hate cheaters. I really do and the worst part is that I gave them an online exam that all they had to do was read the chapters and have their book and notes in front of them during the exam. For deciding to ignore my warnings (written and verbal) about what would happen if I discovered cheating, they will be dealt an excruciating blow that will make it impossible for them to get above a C in my course.

I hope they drop the course. That will make my life a lot easier.

The New Semester is Underway!

2011-08-28T17:52:00.003-04:00

My class started at the beginning of the week last week and so far, not too bad. I can tell that at least a few are mentally challenged, but I'm hopefully optimistic that it will be a good semester. For my part, I'm ecstatic about the class since it is in my area of expertise and, although this is probably more than a little biased, it is one of the more interesting courses.

I even have three students who took my other class in the summer who decided to subject themselves to more Jericha. This makes me smile.

The university bookstore does not make me smile. In fact, they make me grimace and groan. My class is no where near filled to capacity, I placed my book and i

Vogue Influencer - Clarisonic Skin Cleansing Systems

2011-08-15T10:29:00.002-04:00

I have been fortunate enough to be named a Vogue Influencer. You can read more about my experience with Vogue Influencer Network and my product review of Clarisonic PLUS here. However, it occurred to me that the PLUS system might be a bit pricey for those of us who are broke students so I'm sharing an intro version of the Clarisonic here.

It's the Mia system which is a smaller version of the PLUS that can be used for the face and retails for about $149. It comes in 10 different colors, too. Since I got my PLUS system for free to test out and share my experiences, I didn't have to buy the system, however, after trying it out, I can say that it is worth every penny of the cost. In fact, I'm going to purchase an Opal system for the eye area this week and that has a price tag of about $180.

I think I'm worth it and so are you! It is an investment in preserving my skin, my body's largest organ. Since I go on the job market again this fall, I am looking at it as a tool to help me look and feel my best in order to face the agony of interviewing for jobs.

Count Down to Fall 2011

2011-08-08T08:58:00.002-04:00

Today is exactly two weeks before the new semester starts and although I'm looking forward to the subject I'm teaching, I'm dreading the start of the new term. My class schedule will be three days per week (ugh). I haven't taught this course before so I have to start from scratch (ugh). And, the class is an early evening class. Friday attendance will likely be an issue which means I'll give unannounced quizzes on many Fridays to reward those who show up and make it more difficult for those who don't to receive a passing grade.

I have to prep my syllabus now and send it off to the department secretary so that they have it on file. At least that task isn't too difficult. I'll just basically use the template syllabus I have on file for my previous courses. Ideally, I'd like to prep a few lectures as well so that I'm ready to go and don't have to rush to prep just before each lecture.

No doubt there will be endless stories of student stupidity coming soon. That is, perhaps, the most dreadful part of returning for the 2011-2012 school year.

The End of Summer Semester

2011-06-26T17:25:00.004-04:00

Ah well, the semester has ended officially and my grades have been submitted. About 25% of my students got a D+ or below, which is a failing grade. And, believe me, I gave a boat load of extra credit to them for bringing their iclickers to class and if they participated in research. Still, for many this wasn't quite enough to push them to a passing grade.

I won't have any of my own stories to tell about students until August when I start teaching again. However, from time to time I will update with stories from my colleagues who are teaching the late summer session.

The Crying and Begging

2011-06-14T21:05:00.002-04:00

I've had students ask me to reconsider their final grade in the course before but I haven't actually had any show up at my office crying, begging, and outright asking me to manufacture a passing grade even though they aren't passing and have no hope of passing. Well, there is a first time for almost everything and today I had a student visit me exactly as I've described above. It was surreal.

Of course, the poor thing didn't realize that I am the wrong person to pull that with. While I am empathetic that she must be in distress because she isn't passing, my empathy doesn't extend to me handing out a grade she didn't earn. This student is so far away from a passing grade that even earning full credit on the remaining work won't be enough to get her a passing grade.

It must have been contagious today because another student came in, who happens to be passing, but who claims she "needs" an A and asked if I could just think about changing her grades or giving her some alternate assignments to make up enough points to get her an A. Of course I said "no."

I'm much better than I used to be because in the past all of the drama of the day would have me in a tailspin trying to figure out how to help these students. I'd actually lose sleep over it. However, it isn't the case anymore. I am desensitized thanks to the shenanigans of many students over the years.

I have to say, though, that the tears this morning were a nice touch. They dried up pretty quickly when she realized I wouldn't budge.

It's Been a While

2011-06-12T12:05:00.003-04:00

It has been 2 years since I posted here. Wow, does time ever fly! Anyway, since I last posted, the idiot who was harassing me (the visiting professor who hates women) has since been dismissed. That happened about a year ago and, although things got much better, it still isn't great at my program.

In terms of being a graduate TA, once I completed my master's degree last summer, I was able to start teaching my own classes in the fall. What a year it's been in terms of being solely responsible for a class. I like it much better than being someone else's TA but the students have a way of making me crazy. Especially because I teach at a university where a fair proportion of the undergraduate population are functionally illiterate. It becomes of problem for them when they realize that in order to earn an A in my class, you have to be operating at a normal college level of proficiency.

I can't say that this hasn't created some issues for me with the department chair. She seems to think that it's best to let them pass even if they don't belong in college jsut to avoid hearing them whine and complain. I refuse and it works out well because the department chair won't tell me that I have to pass them. Therefore, I do not.

All of this has made me realize that there is no way in hell I'm going into an academic job if I can help it. I'm working toward trying to use my doctorate in an applied field. Even if it means I have to work a 9-5 job. The politics and nonsense that accompany a career in academia do not appeal to me at all.

I will update again soon with stories of my foolish students. The tales and woes are endless.

The Nutcracker Gets a Smackdown

2009-04-18T15:41:00.002-04:00

I finally have tired of this silly fool starting nonsense with me. The Nutcracker is finally going to feel the cracking of his own balls by the time I'm done with him.

He is a visiting post doc who has been fortunate enough to have been allowed to set up his own lab space and do some research. One particular project is one that I had been working on but walked away from after he resorted to calling me an "f-ing idiot" one day when things were not going as he had planned. The horrible part, though, was that I have still had to work for him as his TA for the remainder of this semester. And he sends these hostile emails, harassing me about silly nonsense

All he had to do to take the project back and continue collecting data "legally" was to file some paperwork with our school's research office. He has refused to do it instead opting to continue the project secretly while still using my name as lead researcher. I told him to either stop collecting data or file the proper paperwork otherwise I'd be reporting him. He finally filed the paperwork when I gave him a deadline. But he sent a vicious email (because he is too stupid to avoid putting things in writing) and it was enough for me to go on the offensive.

I sent back a masterful work, very professional but firm, telling him that his hostile abuse and harassment were unacceptable and I would no longer tolerate one minute of it. I explained that I had tried my best to be the best TA and researcher that I could even through all of the verbal and written bashing. Nevertheless, I told him that enough was enough and that I would be reporting him to the research office, the graduate school and the college for all of his transgressions.

He has yet to respond.

Stay tuned....

The Nutcracker

2009-02-10T23:32:00.002-05:00

I've been away for far too long but now I'm back with a vengeance. I hadn't had too much to say here in recent months because I got assigned to TA for Divarrhea and she has been angel. She is the complete opposite of Whisper so fall semester was a blissful, beautiful graduate teaching assistant's dream. Unfortunately, this semester my assignment got split up between Divarrhea and the new guy who I'm calling "The Nutcracker."

He has earned his name because 1) he is a relentless, badgering, pain-in-the-ass and 2) he is completely uncouth (he called me a "ballbreaker" the very first day he met me). Keep in mind that this was within the first few minutes of meeting me and all I did was ask for clarification about a minor point on his course syllabus. I bristled on the inside but managed to keep my mouth shut at the time. Since then, though, it has all been down hill. I'm about to go pure Jericha on his fat ass.

The Nutcracker is, like Whisper, a newly minted Ph.D. on a major power trip. However, unlike Whisper, The Nutcracker is not passive-aggressive. He's just plain aggressive. He is huge (both tall and wide), has a loud, foul mouth, dresses like a homeless person, and reeks of unwashed testicles. His pungent odor fills the room and, let me tell you, it's as vile as his personality. I'm back in TA hell.

Stupid assistantship.

September 25

2008-09-26T22:36:00.004-04:00

So far this semester, Divarrhea has been a blessing. There is very little grading so far, she puts the class exams online, and she isn't contacting me every minute with stupid crap. In fact, she really doesn't contact me at all unless I reach out first.

What a relief! Last year with Whisper was such a damn nightmare and I expected that Divarrhea was going to be a bit of a pain herself but it just isn't the case.

It's a good thing, too, because my grad program sucks.

September 1

2008-09-01T13:52:00.002-04:00

Divarrhea finally responded to my email and apologized for missing our meeting last week. I'm covering for her tomorrow so it'll be my first chance to meet her students. It will be interesting to see if they're as retarded as the one's I've encountered in Whisper's classes.

My guess is that the students will be as "challenged" as Whisper's were. After all, it's the same university, same major and possibly many of the same students. Sigh.

August 28

2008-09-01T13:47:00.003-04:00

Divarrhea was a no show for our meeting this afternoon. Frankly, I don't much care and wasn't at all aggravated as much as relieved. Having to be all smiles and phony sweet is exhausting so she actually did me a favor.

I left a friendly note on her door and emailed her just to let her know that I held up my end and actually showed up. I need Divarrhea to like me and the best way to accomplish this is that she knows that I am reliable, trustworthy and respect her authority.

August 26

2008-08-26T14:52:00.002-04:00

Met with Divarrhea and so far, so good. She seems very disorganized which cuts both ways. Disorganized and scatterbrained means that she's likely to forget about me most of the time. It also means that she's likely to think she told me something that she didn't and many other issues associated with disorganization.

She confirmed that I would likely be her TA for the entire year including summer. Let's hope she doesn't completely suck.

August 25

2008-08-25T23:41:00.002-04:00

So, tomorrow is my first meeting with Divarrhea. I am so very afraid that this assignment is going to suck just as bad, if not worse, than dealing with Whisper.

Don't get me wrong, the fact that she's not Whisper gives me a little hope that I'll have the stamina to get through it even if she is a horrible shrew. The thing is, I don't know how much stamina exactly and this worries me.

Wish me luck.

August 21

2008-08-21T12:06:00.004-04:00

I contacted Divarrhea to introduce myself and ask about the assignment. Since I'm not in town yet and should be, I was afraid that she might ask me to meet today or tomorrow. However, Divarrhea got back to me pretty quickly and asked if I could meet with her one day next week. I'm in love with her already. We set up a meeting for a perfect day and time.

Hopefully, this assignment is not going to be as much a headache as I'm afraid it might. There isn't a lot that I can do about it if it turns out that Divarrhea is as big a creep as Whisper but I sure hope that isn't the case.

Even if she is a total bitch, I'm not all that concerned about pissing her off because she's not one of my program profs. Yes, she is a department powerhouse but I wouldn't start any shit that could get me thrown out of my program.

I'll just have to play by ear and see what happens.

August 20

2008-08-21T11:57:00.004-04:00

I emailed two grad students in my program who I knew had been previously assigned to my new prof. I'll call her Divarrhea. What contradictions in opinions they had! One said new prof isn't too bad but is demanding. The other emailed me a five page diatribe about how the horrors of working with this prof.

Okay, I gather that Divarrhea is not going to be a joy. Neither of my contacts gave glowing feedback about their experiences. I just have to figure out how to best manage the situation and hope it won't be another semester of TA Hell.

Even if Divarrhea sucks, I'm done with Whisper.

August 19

2008-08-21T11:52:00.003-04:00

Finally free of Whisper! I was notified that I have been reassigned to another prof this semester! I hear this prof is a raging bitch but I am so relieved to be out from under Whisper's oppression that I don't care.

Whisper is going to be so very sorry that he fucked with me. I promise him that. My new prof is one of the most powerful people in my department complete with decision-making authority. I will make her love and trust me and will be sure to fill her in on the real deal with Whisper. It'll be an easy sell, too. Whisper gives off such a strong creep vibe that everyone already tries to steer clear of him.

Yay for me! I'm free!

August 18

2008-08-18T16:04:00.002-04:00

Still don't know what my assistantship assignment is this year. I called my grad program secretary to see what she knew but that was futile. She's sweet but not too informative.

In the meantime, Whisper has finally acknowledged that he received my paper. He's such a creep. He contacted me after an email went out from another prof in our program inviting all of us to a soiree at her home in a few weeks.

This prof is major competition for Whisper in the race for tenure and, last year, Whisper threw the "welcome back" party. Therefore, Whisper's insecurity got the best of him when he realized that he would not be hosting this year causing him to reach out to me. He was so sickeningly sweet in the email . He promised to get me feedback soon so we could start work on my project and expressed how he looks forward to seeing me soon on campus.

Heh heh heh. I love when Whisper suffers.

August 16

2008-08-18T14:50:00.004-04:00

Nifty-summer-teaching-job has completed, at least for the time being, and the course evaluations are beginning to roll in again. Just like last time, most of them are really positive. However, there are a very few that really piss me off to my very core.

One of the high school students (or possibly a parent) rated me as a "below average" teacher but failed to follow it up with a comment as to what, exactly, they felt was substandard. Not that a comment explaining their opinion would have made me feel any better. It most certainly would not have to be sure. It's just that the evaluation includes only one very general question about the teacher and nothing about asking students how much effort/interest they invest in their own success.

It's just so infuriating to me that I had to deal with the class of high school delinquents. Remember, this is the class that had two boys from the group home for mentally ill teens who had previously been incarcerated as well as the overgrown jocks who were disruptive and disrespectful each and every week for the better part of the three hour class.

Then there was the parent of one of my fourth graders who didn't feel that her child's disability was acknowledged adequately during the class. Umm. Your child is deaf and had an interpreter in the class each week. We all had to acknowledge your child's disability. It's impossible to ignore the big gal up front signing and lip syncing to your child for two and half fucking hours. What the fuck?

And don't let me forget the father of one of the kindergartners who decided that he didn't like the way I pronounced a particular word. Here's the thing. I don't have a very strong accent of any kind so I'm not sure what it was he didn't like about my voice/pronunciation, but if he really believed what he said on the evaluation, why didn't he correct me during one of the lengthy diatribes he forced me to sit through each week?

Oh yes. This guy just thought that he was soooo fabulously interesting. Incredibly, he strikes me as one of those who is pretending to be heterosexual. Unfortunately, he's not doing a good job of it. This guy is so feminine but I wasn't sure about his homosexuality until I read my evaluation. His bitchy comments confirmed my suspicions. I could care less if he's gay, buy why pretend to be otherwise?

Before getting the first phase of my evaluations, I sent an email to my supervisor expressing interest in teaching some weekend classes this fall. Now I'm rethinking that decision. I don't love the job. I love the paycheck but dealing with kids and parents is draining and maybe not worth the aggravation.

August 12

2008-08-14T13:32:00.003-04:00

This is the last week of nifty-summer-teaching-job and boy will I be glad when it's over. I need a little break before starting back to grad school. Today, I taught the last of one area's middle school-aged classes and one for five and six-year-olds. I'm exhausted but I can't rest yet. I still have 8 more classes to go this week.

The middle schoolers are horrible during the last week because they know it's over and it's impossible to corral their attention that one final time. It's honestly the longest two and half hours of my life and it's pure torture. I'm sure they feel that way too.

Now I wait until the evaluations start rolling in. It's torturous. Truly torturous. The middle-schoolers and high-schoolers can be so, so mean.

August 9

2008-08-10T18:44:00.002-04:00

One thing that is required in nifty-summer-teaching-job is making assessments of each student for the first several weeks of a session. Then in the next to last week, we give each student their assessment in front of all the parents. I have the parents provide thunderous applause when I announce each student's name in order to recognize them for a job well done. And the smaller kids get a big kick out it so it's a really fun part of the job.

Well, yesterday, one of the children in my class was a make-up student. He belongs to another class but needed a make-up this week so he came to my class. In order not to leave him out of the recognition ceremony, I filled out a blank assessment and planned to call his name so that he would receive applause as well. However, I noticed during the class period that this child was seriously disturbed.

He was sitting next to a wall on his one side and throughout the class, he was having an animated conversation with the wall. It even appeared that the wall was answering him back based on the conversation. Needless to say, I was a bit freaked out by this and so were the other kids but I felt it best not to interrupt his rich dialogue with the wall. Yes, people, I am a horrible teacher. I chose to ignore the problem instead of confront it.

I ignored it until I could no longer. When I got the recognition ceremony part and called the first child's name, the parents erupted in applause. This caused "wall-talker" to have a psychotic break of sorts. He began screaming at the top of his lungs and banging his head against the wall. All of us, the kids, the parents and me, were stunned into silence. All the while "wall-talker" kept screaming.

I made eye contact with his Mom and said, "Are you going to do something about that, or what?!" She got annoyed and said, "I don't what to do for him. He's been getting worse and worse." I told her in my most tactful but forceful voice to get her kid the hell out of my classroom until he was calm. She complied.

After finishing the ceremony and the class the Mom and "wall-talker" came back in to get his belongings. She had no intention of apologizing or explaining herself so I asked her why she didn't mention to me that he had such an aversion to noise and that he spends much of his time conversing with inanimate objects. She told me that she tries to pretend he's completely normal and she suggested that I should do the same.

Um. Wha..wha...what?!

She told me that she was bringing him back next week and I told her she couldn't unless she stayed with him for the duration of the class. She didn't like it but it is my class and everyone must follow my rules.

I have enough on my plate dealing with Whisper's bullshit. If this bitch thinks I'm going to put up with her 6-year-old child's psychosis, she's got another thing coming.

August 7

2008-08-10T18:38:00.003-04:00

Submitted my paper to Whisper. Can't wait to hear his shitty feedback (sarcasm). Whatever. I'm hoping that I'm completely done with this asshole at least for the time being.

He's pulled more bullshit in the last week or so than ever before and my hatred for him has reached fever pitch. If he has requested me as his TA again this year, he will be sorry that he did. I promise that. Since I know I have other options (law school....all four accepted me), I will be relentless in my own ball-breaking toward Whisper if he fucks with me anymore. I finally realized that as a young, inexperienced, desperately-tenure-seeking-professor, he needs me way more than I need him.

Besides, I was able to confirm that in addition to being prick-tacular, Whisper really is dumb. Straight up stupid. And unwilling to accept that someone else might know more about a particular subject than he does.

This works in my favor.

July 30

2008-07-30T21:08:00.002-04:00

Hate Whisper! Absolutely fucking hate him! I am desperate to get away from him this year but I'm so afraid that it won't happen. Of course my crappy doctoral program hasn't yet announced TA assignments for the fall so I have to sit and wait in agony.

I hate Whisper for many reasons but at the current moment it has to do with the grading hell that I am in. He purposely assigned his 200 student class a paper that he has me grading all on my own. He refuses to help because this is my punishment for standing up to him earlier this summer.

I hate him and hope he dies.

July 18

2008-07-20T18:30:00.003-04:00

Whisper sent me a creepy email expressing his deep concern for how I'm doing and whether or not I'll be back in fall. Whisper is not concerned about anyone but himself so, naturally, I was suspicious right away.

Anyway, I responded with a brief but polite "I'm fine thanks for asking" email and let him know the status of the grading.

Yep. That's right. I have to grade over 200 papers because Whisper is a passive-aggressive jerk-off who wanted to punish me for finally standing up to him and refusing to be his bitch this summer. As it turns out, I guess I'm his bitch anyway.

I still don't know for sure whether I'm returning to my program so I cannot burn the Whisper bridge just yet. I just know I'm going to hang myself if I have to be his TA again next year.

July 16

2008-07-20T18:13:00.004-04:00

A part of my travel for nifty-summer-teaching-job includes an overnight stay in a city about three hours away. I hate this but the company pays a lot extra to get you to accept the overnight travel assignment. It's just that for me, I leave Husband and puppies during the school year so, during the summer, I want to be at home as much as possible. But, alas, I also want money.

This assignment sucks, however. The city is nice (it's beach side) but my motel is gross and doesn't even have Internet access. Can you imagine that in this day and age? Additionally, the kids and parents in these classes SUCK!

First, I have a group of high students who are thugs. No kidding. Three of them are in a court-ordered residential treatment program for severe psychiatric disorders and they have real anger management issues. Then there are the five jocks whose Dads are coaches and could care less if the kids actually learn anything. They just need to complete the course so they don't get held back. This might prevent them from playing sports next year.

One of the Moms tried to call me out in front of the whole class because she didn't think the curriculum sounded very good to her and I got so pissed that I embarrassed her in front of the group. No way I'm putting up with another sour-faced, ugly fat bitch giving me shit for five weeks. If you don't like the fucking curriculum, withdraw your kid from my class. WTF?

Oh, and let's not forget about the fourth graders. Two of which who need an interpreter because they're deaf. It's a reading class along with phonics instruction. I need to hear the kids read but these kids don't have proper pronunciation due to their inability to hear.

Then there's another in the class who is a highly functioning retarded kid. No kidding. You can see evidence of Downs syndrome in his face and hear it in his manner of speaking but his Mom tells me that she thinks he's ADD and will have him tested soon. Um. No, darling. He's got bigger problems than ADD and it's hard to believe that no doctor has informed her of this. I know she's lying but I can't figure out why and there isn't a whole lot I can do about it.

I did email my supervisor though. I am not a special education teacher and was told when hired that these are not remedial courses and there would be no special needs kids. I have a phone meeting with her on Monday and I plan to let her know that something has to change immediately.

July 15

2008-07-20T18:05:00.002-04:00

This five week session has me traveling much further for work. At least I get paid mileage and travel time but I had to leave so early this morning to get to the site.

Today was the first day of the new session and I met all new kids and parents. Most seemed very nice. There were a few middle school kids who thought they were going to test me, but found out quickly that I'm not going to put up with any foolishness. They were harmless really. Just pissed off that their parents signed them up for the class.

By the end of the class, though, most had shifted their attitudes and were actually happy to be there.

July 13

2008-07-20T18:02:00.002-04:00

Today was the last day of the first session for nifty-summer-teaching-job. I'm so glad that I don't have to look at some of those little bastards again but was sad to see some of them go. Since I'm teaching another five weeks or so, it would've been nice to be able to keep around the good kids.

Oh well. I wonder what the next five weeks holds. One thing is for sure. I'm much better at this job now and will not be putting up with any student or parent bullshit.

July 12

2008-07-20T17:59:00.002-04:00

The evaluations have started rolling in. Most of them are really, really good but there are a couple so far that are just average. These are the ones that I'm obsessing over.

Why does it bug me so much? It's only a summer job and I wasn't even trying to be really good at it.

July 9

2008-07-10T19:02:00.003-04:00

Saw the last of Mrs. Manco but I haven't heard the last, I'm sure. It turns out that the parents are emailed an evaluation to fill out about me and their experience with the classes. I don't like it, but there isn't a whole lot that I can do about it.

My ego is much too fragile to cope with others' evaluations of me. Especially the really negative ones.

Nifty-summer-teaching-job is annoying as hell sometimes.

July 7

2008-07-10T18:53:00.002-04:00

Whisper has ramped up the bullshit again with the grading just like in semesters past. My dilemma this time, though, is that his class has 200 students instead of the usual 40. And he's assigned them a paper that he has decided I will grade all on my own. This, in addition to all the busy work he's given them for me to grade.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do if I am assigned to him for another year. I should've turned down the summer funding and walked away so that I'd at least have had a break.

Shit.

July 2

2008-07-05T09:34:00.002-04:00

Mommy Banshee's friend, Mrs. Manco* was back again this week. I hate this woman. My rant about her is here.

I called my supervisor about the shit she started in my class today. This time Mrs. Manco decided that rather than confronting me directly so I could throw her ass out of my class, she waited until midway through the class to make snarky little comments, very loudly, so that all of the kids and parents could hear her.

My supervisor's big advice is, "You only have to deal with her for one more week and you're doing a beautiful job with it so far. Hang in there! You can do it!"

What?! That is the biggest bunch of crap that women lay down on each other! "Just be a good girl and suck it up." Fuck that! I'm tired of that attitude. Why should that bitch be allowed to tread all over me?

I told my supervisor that this coming week, if that bitch even breathes wrong, I'm putting her fat ass right out of my class! No negotiations, no warnings, no second chances.

*Not the bitch's real name.

July 1

2008-07-05T09:28:00.003-04:00

Just because I haven't mentioned Whisper in a while does not mean that I haven't had my fair share of his bullshit this summer. He's still lurking around. It's just that things aren't nearly as bad because I don't have to look at his ugly face every day and I'm standing up to him more now.

It's decision making time for me. I still haven't heard back from three of the four law schools to which I applied. I got accepted to one and they gave me a scholarship, but the tuition is so expensive that I can not justify going there when I have free tuition plus a stipend at current program.

My program still hasn't announced TA assignments for the fall yet, either. I am praying that Whisper asks for one of the new students, three of which hail from his Alma mater. That would release me from service as his TA. If I got that kind of release, I would probably stay with my program.

Even though I know the alternative to Whisper could be worse than what I have now, I'm willing to take my chances.

June 30

2008-07-05T09:14:00.002-04:00

It's been a week of interesting conversations with parents of my students (and by "interesting," I mean scary).

Let's see. There was the one about the library and her objection to going because she's never been to one in her life. You can about that here. Then there was Mommy Banshee's bitch friend who I let have it when she decided to go a little psycho on me. You can read about that here.

Then there were the few who got generally pissed that their kids weren't being recognized enough by me as something special. Um. That's because they aren't something special. These kids are average, everyday kids with average skills (below average in some cases), and unless these parents get real, these kids will never move beyond average. The kids lack motivation because, let's face it, when you're told that you're fabulous all the time there is no incentive to work harder.

These are the kids that become my dopey college students who are shocked when I grade their papers and tell them that their work is unacceptable college-level work. Now I know where the problem begins.

June 25

2008-06-28T14:52:00.002-04:00

Just to aggravate the hell out of Mommy Banshee's minions, I pasted a sign on the outside of my classroom door stating that the room would open 15 minutes prior to class time. Then I locked the door so no one could get in. Remember, this is a class of competitive Moms and their kids so around 30 minutes prior to class, they were outside banging on the door to get in. I just sat inside the room laughing my ass off and listening to their heightened anxiety at the thought that they might not get their desired seat.

When I unlocked the door, they barrelled into the room and were tripping over each other to get to their desired location. I just watched the scene unfold.

Uh oh. There she is. Mommy Banshee's right hand bitch is approaching with a scowl. She starts off by informing me that if I don't answer her questions to her satisfaction, she will call the company on me and have me fired. Excuse me? I don't think so.

I put my hand up in front of her face and said, "I've heard just about enough from you and your psycho friend. Go ahead and call the company. If they do fire me, I won't have to see you again. In the meantime, I'm not putting up with another minute of your verbal abuse. Here's the correct spelling of my name. Make sure you get it right when you report me."

She was stunned into silence.

I said, "Take your seat or leave but standing up here in my face is no longer an option."

She quietly turned away and walked to her seat where her child awaited. She didn't say another word the rest of the class.

I wonder if she ended up calling to report me. Let's hope so. I'm over this job. Teaching is hard work!

June 22

2008-06-28T14:48:00.002-04:00

The Winker was back today. He brought his kid to class an hour early and waited for my first class to end before entering the room and trying to chat me up. I was having no part of it so I gathered my materials and exited the room.

Of course I was professional and polite prior to leaving. I said, "I'll be back 15 minutes prior to class. You are more than welcome to stay in the room with your son until then."

June 20

2008-06-28T14:38:00.002-04:00

Got a call today from nifty-summer-teaching-job supervisor. She informed me that Mommy Banshee called the company screaming and carrying on like she did in class. I was secretly glad that had happened because when I told supervisor about the woman's outrageous antics, I was sure she thought I was exaggerating. Now she knows I wasn't.

At any rate, Mommy Banshee was so out of control that the company said, "We're giving you back your money. We don't want your business. Stay away from the facility and the teacher." Yay! I don't have to see that bitch again! Um. But wait. Why was she told to stay away from me? Did she make threats or something?

As it turned out, Mommy Banshee's rants included threats of how she was going to beat the shit out of me with one of those chairs if the situation was not corrected. That dumb whore told my company that if not for her friends holding her back, she would already have done it. Um. Really? Bring it, Bitch!

Oh how I wish that ugly beast would have said that to me the other day. I would have called the police and had her simple ass arrested and humiliated in front of all of the other parents.

June 18

2008-06-28T14:18:00.005-04:00

All I can say is, School Teachers are my new heroes! I don't know how they do it. You know, dealing with kids and all of their issues plus the beastly parents. Nifty-summer-teaching-job has given me a rude awakening to the world of education.

I have one class that consists of a group of 5 and 6 year olds and their super competitive Moms. These women jockey for position in the classroom arriving up to 45 minutes prior to class to ensure they their precious angels are front and center. They also want to tell me everything they think about problems with the room where class is held (it's a brand new, state-of-the-art facility), how many children are in the class (there are less than half of what is in a normal first grade class), and with the curriculum (the company has spared no expense in hiring the top curriculum developers). Unfortunately, I have no choice but to listen and smile politely.

There are three Moms in this group who are "partners in crime." They stick together like glue. If one has a gripe, they all have a gripe and then do their best to rally the other Moms to side up with them. I've never felt so alone in a room full of people in my whole life.

Today the issue was the chairs in the room. One of the Moms went all wild banshee on me, screaming like a lunatic at the top of her lungs because she had called customer service the week before and was assured that this chair complaint would be resolved. I have to admit that I was shaken to the core. In my everyday life, I would have had some bitch retort, but this room was full of young children. Inflaming the situation would served only to have distressed the already frightened looking kids.

So I just sucked it up.

I apologized to Mommy Banshee and insisted that she calm herself immediately so as not to further upset the kids. I asked her to take her seat with her son and to talk with me after the class. She begrudgingly complied but throughout the two hour lesson that bitch and her ugly friends scowled at me the entire time.

After the class, the Banshee and her minions fled without so much as a good-bye. Whew. At least I don't have to see them until next week.

June 12

2008-06-12T15:13:00.002-04:00

This morning we had a conference call meeting for nifty summer teaching job and things did not go too well. Most of my coworkers sounded tired, pissed off and not-too-enthused about re-hashing what was likely a difficult week for them. It was for me, too, but I learned long ago that company supervisors don't want to hear the truth. As a result, I tell them what they want to hear especially in cases like this when I'm getting paid pretty good to do so.

Really, people. It's only a temporary job and you won't find another that pays as well as this one. Another great thing is that we are left to our own devices. We don't punch a time clock, there is no local supervisor popping in to look over our shoulders plus we get compensated for travel time and mileage. We just have to check in every damn minute (by phone and Internet) which is annoying but so much more preferable to doing a 9 to 5 gig.

June 10

2008-06-12T15:09:00.002-04:00

Dear Whisper:

Um, no. I don't know where your crap is. It wasn't my responsibility to guard it but I sure hope it is lost and gone forever. That is exactly what you deserve, you creepy bastard! Oh, how I will grin with glee if I find out that all is lost and your ass is on the line.

Hugs and kisses,
Jericha

June 9

2008-06-12T15:04:00.002-04:00

Whisper is up to his usual antics and has yet to respond to my several requests for information from him. Let me tell you, I just love being ignored (sarcasm). It makes me feel so secure (sarcasm).

I figure that, by now, he's discovered that I plan to replace him as my thesis chair. Of course, nothing is official yet. It's not even official that Whisper is my thesis chair at this point so it's not like I'd have to do paperwork to change anything. It's just that Whisper decided at the end of the spring semester that he would be my chair and I didn't exactly oppose him.

I mean, what's the point? I may be leaving the program anyway so why aggravate myself?

June 8

2008-06-12T14:59:00.002-04:00

Started the classroom portion of nifty summer teaching job and I feel like I'm going to drop. I can't stand children! Okay, the little ones (pre-K) are cute but exhausting and the older kids (teens) just plain suck. Go here to read more of my rant on this subject.

Besides, teaching stuff to kids is one heck of a lot harder than doing graduate teaching assistant stuff. I don't like teaching but I'm getting paid well to do it and it's only temporary so I guess I'll just suck it up and deal with it for the summer.

May 31

2008-05-31T22:04:00.003-04:00

Whisper sent me a message to let me know that he will be leaving town again for a week or so. He wanted me to know that he would probably not be checking his email and asked that I please refrain from sending him any messages during this time.

Um. Yippee! Good riddance, creep! He won't be hearing from me no matter what! Any opportunity I have to avoid contact with him is golden. I will respect his request to leave him alone.

Believe me when I say that he doesn't have to tell me twice!

May 30

2008-05-31T21:29:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a travel day in order to make it to training for nifty summer teaching job. I was able to book myself on an earlier non-stop flight at no additional charge and I rented a car. I haven't had the chance to sight see much but at least I have the freedom to move about town after the training day is done.

Speaking of training, it is long and boring. Of course, just like in anything, there are a few "super keeners." This makes the day even more difficult in my opinion because we're doing a lot of role playing and rather than try to help out their fellow trainees, the super-keeners actually try to trip you up in front of the supervisors. I wonder, since super-keeners always want to be the center of attention and always try to prove that they are the smartest in the room, how will these idiots manage to teach effectively to children?

Not my problem, I guess. I'll be finished with these fools in a few short days. Then I'm off to teach my own classes. I'm looking forward to it. It's not something I would've thought that I might like to do because I'm not much a fan of children. I'm a fan of a paycheck and this was a means to an end this summer. However, it's turning out that this might be fun actually.

At least on a short-term basis.

May 27

2008-05-27T14:49:00.002-04:00

It's back to the training grind for nifty summer teaching job. It is the last day of Internet training and, while I'm thrilled that I don't have to participate in another annoying conference call for a while, I'm not so excited that all of us will be traveling to an in-person training location. How I'm dreading this.

I have a feeling others in my group might be feeling similarly. On our last conference call, the group was more quiet than usual, not too snappy and enthusiastic when providing answers to the facilitator's questions, and no one (except me) said good-bye when hanging up at the end of the call. They might be getting kind of pissed because the supervisor likes to call all of us several times a day with no warning for impromptu "check ins." Basically, she's checking to make sure we're actually completing the online training instead of goofing off between conference calls.

She called me on Friday afternoon after the last conference call of the day. She started indirectly quizzing me on the material we were supposed to be working on until 7 pm that night. Yeah. Right. Like I'm actually going to keep working on this stuff after the last call of the day, on a long holiday weekend, when you've drained me during the previous week. Gimme a break.

No. I did not tell her that. One thing my professional experience has taught me is that no one ever wants the truth. They want to hear what they want to hear and I aim to please. At least, that's the case when it suits my purpose.

May 23

2008-05-23T10:25:00.002-04:00

Whisper and I did have a "mini" showdown. Nothing too explosive because he has no balls and runs from direct conflict (which is really interesting since he's the one who instigates it every single time). I can't stand that! Don't start shit if you don't have the balls to back it up! As usual, I emerged victorious. At least that's how it may appear.

Whisper is a deeply disturbed individual, however, so there will be hell to pay for me standing up to him. It won't be anything direct. He'll do something really shitty in a very "backdoor" way. For example, I fully anticipate that he will assign a paper to the 200 undergrads he's teaching this summer. Since I'm his TA, he'll make me grade the papers.

Mark my words. This WILL happen and there isn't anything that I can do about it.

May 22

2008-05-23T10:07:00.002-04:00

The training period for nifty summer teaching job is wearing me out. We are only mid-way through, too, which really sucks. Once the online portion of the training is finished, we will have a full week of in-person training. The in-person training takes place at a far away location requiring our group to fly there. Damn! How I hate that!

It's not the flying that bothers me. That's a breeze. It's the six nights and seven days of togetherness with relative strangers that is enough to send me running for the hills! On top of that, "business" trips require that I'm always on my best behavior. It's an entire week of being "on" and that's just unnecessarily exhausting.

Our travel arrangements have not been revealed to us yet, but I anticipate that we'll be assigned hotel roommates. And since we're all working in the same general territory, we'll probably be booked on the same flights.

That's a lot of togetherness.

May 21

2008-05-21T13:10:00.002-04:00

No word from Whisper yet. I have to email him about something shortly and I'm expecting a showdown to result from it. Really, had I thought this whole situation out very carefully, I would have made another choice for the summer instead of continuing on as his assistant.

My problem is that I got blinded by the possibility of collecting my stipend over the summer while having only minimal contact with Whisper. But, no. This is not to be. For some unknown reason, he loves to challenge me and not in a good way. It's interesting that of all the students in our program, he's not as passive with me as much as passive-aggressive. With the others, he's very passive.

I've heard this from students who worked previously as his TA. According to them, they never had any real interaction with him and got paid to do absolutely nothing for him. How did I get so lucky? Whisper bears down on me at every twist and turn and, to be honest, I've had it. I've registered for the Law School Data Assembly Service and am in the process of requesting transcripts for law school applications.

I think it's time to take some serious action toward jumping ship. If I get assigned to Whisper again next year, I'm definitely outta there.

May 15

2008-05-15T14:09:00.002-04:00

Nifty summer job is turning out to be a pain in the ass. Of course, most training periods of any new job usually suck. There is a ton of reading plus tests and being called out on the spot to answer questions based on the readings. Come to think of it, it's a lot like graduate school except in this case the trainers are pleasant, helpful and invested in the trainees' successes.

In other news, as predicted Whisper is back and has reached out in his usual passive-aggressive style. In the interest of protecting my pseudonymity (is that the right word?) I can't provide too many details but I will say that Whisper's behavior has become so routine that I can now predict, with an uncanny level of accuracy, exactly what he will do in almost every situation.

This places me in an extraordinary position of power.

May 12

2008-05-12T13:07:00.002-04:00

I attended an orientation for nifty summer teaching job and it seems like it might be a pretty good summer. Let's hope, at least. The only thing that I find somewhat annoying is the constant emails from this organization always asking for these really detailed responses. I'm hoping that once we are all trained and actually start teaching that this will ease up a little.

At the moment, I'm supposed to be reading some training materials as the online training starts tomorrow. The training takes place in two phases. The first phase is two weeks of online training that you can do from the comfort and privacy of your own home (I love that!). The second phase is an all-expenses-paid trip to a big city for a week of intensive in-person training. I'm hoping to have the chance to do some sightseeing and shopping while I'm there.

On another note, no word from Whisper yet but I'm sure there will be contact soon. Ugh! My head hurts just thinking about it.

May 6

2008-05-06T15:16:00.004-04:00

All has been fairly quiet on the TA front. Whisper is on vacation and I'm enjoying the break. He doesn't have to teach again for several weeks so I'm hoping it stays quiet for a while.

The only thing that annoys me, though, is that one of the upper level grad students who used to run one of Whisper's studies gives out my personal email address to students who are interested in working on the study. Would it be so difficult to take down the contact information of the interested parties and email me with a list? WTF? I'm so aggravated that I got suckered into running this shitty study! Okay. I didn't really get suckered as much as coerced since Whisper is my boss and it is his research.

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot that I can do about it. In order to collect my stipend this summer (I'm so damn greedy), I have to stay on with Whisper. It's not all bad. My goal is to get an adequate thesis proposal completed by the beginning of August. If I can do that, I'll be well on my way to completing my Masters a whole year earlier than originally planned. The down side is that Whisper will be my chair but, truth be told, there aren't many others from which to choose.

I'm hoping and praying that I get reassigned in the fall as a TA for another professor. I'll still have to deal with Whisper but at least then it's not "all Whisper, all of the time."

May 1

2008-05-02T10:53:00.002-04:00

It's amazing to me how someone that I considered a close friend would stab me right in the back over an assistantship assignment. My friend, Andi, went behind my back to the department chair and attempted to get my summer TA assignment. Andi is not eligible for an assignment because she's only a masters student but was told that, if there were any available after all of the doctoral students accepted, she would be contacted. Apparently, when she didn't receive an assignment, she decided to lie, cheat and steal to get one.

Because Andi is my friend (or so I thought), she knows all of the trials and tribulations I've endured at Whisper's hands. She also was well aware that Whisper requested me for summer and, in light of recent events, I had accepted my "sentence." Andi knows also that I have left town for the summer and have another job, both of which are strictly prohibited in order to receive a stipend. What she didn't know, though, is that my TA assignment was only for 6 weeks and Whisper was fine with me showing up every other week. The caveat is that I have to work all summer on my thesis. Fine. I made a deal with the devil. What can I say?

Andi went to our department chair and basically "outed" me. Or she tried to anyway. Unfortunately, that idiot didn't anticipate that the Chair would actually contact me to verify. The reason for the "double-check" is that Andi has a major credibility problem in our department since her thesis advisor dumped her and no one else will take her on. She now has plans to obtain a second bachelors degree at a school far away in the fall but needed an assistantship to help her pay rent over the summer. Imagine my shock and horror, though, at being contacted and told that my close friend was attempting to screw me over. I contacted Andi immediately.

Andi whimpered, cried, tried to deny what was actually said, then tried to blame her antidepressant medication. When she realized that I was not buying her line of bullshit, she offered to go tell the Chair that she lied. I assured her that there was no need. I spoke to the Chair myself:

Me: I cannot, for the life of me, understand why my friend Andi would tell such awful lies just to get my assistantship. I'm devastated. I know that she's leaving the department at the end of the summer to pursue a second bachelor's degree. She really wanted our school to pay for her to take some of the courses she'll need to transfer which is why she is probably rallying for an assistantship. However, I'm shocked that she would go to such lengths in her attempt to defraud the university.

Chair: I understand why you're upset, Jericha. I just want you to know that your assistantship is all set for the summer if you still want it. Dr. Whisper is counting on you so we all hope that everything is okay. As far as Andi's situation, thank you for letting me know. Obviously, I will take the appropriate action.

Me: Yes, Dr. Chair, I still intend to honor my obligation to Dr. Whisper and serve as his TA this summer. The truth is that I have been offered a summer position elsewhere and was under the impression that as long as it was over by the time my assistantship started that it wouldn't be a problem. However, if it is, I will resign immediately.

Chair: That's not necessary, Jericha. You're all set.

Me: Thank you, Dr. Chair.

Andi was dumbfounded and more than a little freaked out by all of this. She is in some serious trouble and may not end up with an assistantship after all. And, on top of it all, she has sacrificed a really loyal friend. Yet I'm the one crying.

April 30

2008-05-01T08:52:00.002-04:00

As if being Whisper's TA isn't bad enough, he has apparently told his undergraduate RAs to contact me if they need help with anything. Oh, how that irritates me! This is not a part of my job. I get paid to be his TA which requires dealing with the students from his class. In fact, my contract assignment is to a particular class each semester; I am not officially assigned to Whisper. It just so happens that I am assigned to the classes he teaches.

This poor student that contacted me, though, really needs some important information by Friday. Since Whisper seems to be ignoring the student's requests, the student has contacted me begging for help. I know Whisper is checking his email. Like most of us, he is obsessed with electronic communication. He is such a bastard.

Well, I guess I'll have to contact another professor on the student's behalf. I'd love to turn my back and tell this student that it isn't my responsibility, but I cannot do that. I know what it's like to be at Whisper's mercy and it's a cold, dark and frustrating place. If there is a possibility that I can save someone else the agony, I have to do it.

April 25

2008-04-29T18:24:00.002-04:00

I dropped off the graded final exams to Whisper so I'm finally free and clear of my TA responsibilities (at least for this semester). Or so I thought. Emails have been pouring in from the students asking a variety of questions. Some want to know when he will post final grades (bother him, why don't you?), others want to know what they can do if they aren't happy with their final grades (isn't it a little late to be concerned about your grades?), and others want to know when I can meet with them to discuss applying to graduate school (Um, I've seen your writing. I don't think grad school is in your future).

They all received very short but polite replies from me basically giving them the "brush off." I suggested that they contact Whisper since he is the expert in all things regarding their grades and applying to graduate school. What it boils down to is that in order to give an answer as to when Whisper plans to post final grades, I would have to contact him. Not gonna happen. I've got a long overdue break from him and I have no intention of sacrificing one second of it on behalf of some undergraduate students that I hope never to see again.

In other news, I found out today that my orientation for summer teaching job is next week. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and starting the training.

April 24

2008-04-25T10:57:00.003-04:00

I've finished grading the final exams for Whisper's students. I had to make up a slightly different version for one student who could not be at the regular exam and Whisper actually thanked me and complimented me for a job well done (again). That creeps me out a little because it's out of character for him but since there's no end in sight, as far as my working relationship with him goes, I'm trying to be more open-minded.

At least I'll have a break from him for a little while before my summer TA assignment starts up again. He's going on vacation and I'm leaving town soon to go home for the summer. But I will have to come back sporadically throughout the summer and will probably have regular email communication with him.

So depressing.

April 23

2008-04-24T02:00:00.004-04:00

It turns out that Wisteria immediately cried to OC (another grad student in our program) so I got the lecture from him that I shouldn't be so hard on her. Yeah, right. It galls me that I'm expected to adjust my point of view because Wisteria "feels so bad." Screw that! If she was so concerned about my feelings she could have made other choices to avoid pissing me off.

Just once I wish someone would be as frank as I am. Just once. It would be so refreshing for a change. Wisteria should own up to the fact that she's a lying, thieving, slag who isn't sad that she's lost a powerful ally. She's only worried that I might make a fuss about it to the graduate school causing her to lose out.

I'm so over it. I never really liked Wisteria anyway and this situation has proven to me that my instincts were dead on as usual.

In the spirit of being completely frank, between Wisteria and Whisper I've had more than I can take this past year. I seriously need to re-evaluate what I'm doing here. Shitty school, shitty program, shitty people. Enough is enough.

April 22

2008-04-24T01:43:00.002-04:00

Today I gave the exam to Whisper's undergraduates and, since he was late about 10 minutes, I had time to give the students some helpful hints on how to perform well on the exam. No. I absolutely did not give them answers (I couldn't if I wanted to because I didn't know for sure what was on it). They seemed grateful but nervous.

When Whisper came in, he informed me that a student couldn't make it to the exam and would need to take it on another day. I told him that I wouldn't be around to proctor it and he seemed to handle it well but that's the problem with Whisper. He always seems to handle things well but then some sort of back-handed punishment follows.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what follows.

April 20

2008-04-20T17:59:00.003-04:00

It's the home stretch of the semester and I'm worn out. Just plain exhausted. Whisper and his students have just sucked the life right out me. And then there's the situation with summer assistantships and getting stuck with Whisper for a little longer. I just don't know if I have it in me.

I felt so strong yesterday. I thought I'd crank out some kick ass final papers and have enough oomph left to study for and ace a final exam that I have in the middle of the week. The truth is that I don't think that's how it's all going to work out. The mental exhaustion coupled with a lack of motivation have gotten the best of me.

I have a paper due at 5 pm tomorrow and I haven't started it yet. Guess I'll be up all night. I have about half of my other paper done and have forwarded the draft to my professor for his feedback. That one is due toward the end of the week. Neither paper will be enough to earn me the As that I so desperately want.

Maybe this is what I get for being so hard on Whisper's students.

April 19

2008-04-19T10:23:00.003-04:00

I woke up this morning with the clear understanding that if I make an issue about Wisteria I could potentially do serious, irreparable damage to myself in the process. Sure, it is likely that Wisteria would suffer grave consequences. The graduate school will not entertain that type of dishonesty especially since this is the first year they have money for summer support and they had to fight to get it. The problem is that I may end up being viewed as a trouble maker within my department and this is not likey to bode well for me.

Thus Wisteria can go ahead and collect her money without any trouble from me. At least no trouble as far as me raising hell over it. I've decided that there are better ways to destroy her and help myself in the process.

I'm going to spend the next three days writing the best damn papers that I can and I'll kick ass on my final exam next week. My GPA is already significantly better than hers so if I can pull this off it should stay that way. And instead of disappearing for the summer as I had planned, I will suck it up, make nicey-nice with Whisper (ugh! sickening!) and propose my own original research project.

So it appears that I am not free from Whisper just yet. Boy does that suck! Well, I'll just keep on TAing in the best way that I know how because I certainly don't get any direction from Whisper.

April 18

2008-04-19T10:12:00.003-04:00

What started out as a decent day yesterday soon turned to a big ol' mess. Whisper and I had a little tiff via email due to his pissiness about me refusing him a request. Then I found out that Wisteria was going to get an advantage that no one else has and I hit the bloody roof! You can read about it here.

As a result of the Wisteria situation, I sent an inquiry to the Department Chair asking pointed questions as to the conditions that must be met and maintained to receive stipend money. Dare I say that I also asked when I would be informed of my own assignment. The response was exactly what I had feared all along: I'm stuck with Whisper. On the other hand, the rules for receiving the stipend state clearly that students must be local to university city, must register for a minimum number of credit hours and are not allowed to have another job. Additionally we have to sign a contract binding us to those terms.

My heart was all aflutter. Wisteria is fucked if she signs that contract and takes that money. I will bury her stupid ass.

April 16

2008-04-17T09:43:00.003-04:00

I received an email from Whisper today and each time I see his name pop up in my inbox, I cringe. I realized for the first time today that I actually have an adverse physical reaction before I even find out what he wants/needs/has to say. My heart starts pounding out of my chest and nausea sets in. Prior to clicking on the email, I brace myself to expect the unexpected. What does he want now?

Finals are next week, I constructed the exam and submitted it to him and, as expected, he made some inconsequential changes. Fine. Thanks for letting me know. Now he wants copies made. Seriously? You expect me to make a special trip to campus to make 30 copies? Yeah. Right.
I sent him back a two-sentence email. I wish I could help you out but I have a prior commitment that will keep me busy right up until the students' final exam time. See you then!
My commitment is legitimate and, legally speaking, not something he can dare question. It feels so good to finally refuse him knowing his time for retaliation is dwindling.

I've been very good to this idiot and rather than keeping his stupid mouth shut, he has taken to making a mockery of me behind my back to the other professors and grad students for doing every shitty task he has thrown my way. Even stuff that's not directly related to my assignment as a TA. I know my worth as an industrious, pro-active, dependable, competent assistant.

Whisper is not going to find another like me. They never do and they always lament the loss.

April 15

2008-04-17T09:27:00.003-04:00

I walked into Whisper's classroom about 15 minutes early and a handful of students were in the room commiserating over their latest paper grades. Whisper graded those and they were super pissed off. Apparently, he allowed them to submit drafts that he later returned to them saying that all looked good with their papers.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the grades were all As and Bs, but the B students clearly thought that Whisper's failure to comment that anything was wrong with their drafts meant that nothing had to be corrected and they would get As. I must say that I agree with them. Of course, I didn't tell the students that I agreed but I did tell them that rather than sitting around bitching about it, they should talk to him.

The fact remains that Whisper is some piece of work. He encourages the students to submit drafts to him (and to me too, as a matter of fact) so that we can give them feedback and ultimately help them improve the quality of their work thus their grades. I complained about this since it's a lot of extra work, but Whisper said, "It's a learning experience for them, Jericha."

I guess that's true if the lesson is that Whisper cannot be trusted.

April 14

2008-04-14T23:32:00.004-04:00

Below is an example of the type of writing that was rampant throughout the crappy papers that I've had to grade. This student had the audacity to email me two days before the due date for their final paper submission to ask me to help her correct her paper. I should point out that this is more than four weeks since she had received her paper grade with my comments and suggestions for improvements. I should further illustrate that what she really wants is for me to edit her paper for her.

Here's a sample of her literary talents (names and certain details have been changed to protect the retarded):

hi Jericha Its marney, i wanted to know if you could please help me fix my paper... i need a descent grade and i honestly don't understand why i got just a low score to begin with. if you can please help me I'll greatly appreciate it. thanks marney

This is exactly what her paper looked like. A frightening hodge-podge of incorrect upper and lower case letters, incorrect use of punctuation and a clear disregard for the use of spell check or a fucking dictionary. And she has the nerve to question why her grade is so low. Seriously? This dumb ass doesn't even have the sense to construct a professional communication. But I don't have a choice. I have to communicate professionally even though my urge is to ignore her completely.

Here's my reply:

Dear Marney: I'm not sure what you mean by helping you "fix" your paper. Have you revised it yet based on the feedback I gave you on your original submission? If you have, then I am happy to look it over for you. If not, there really isn't anything that I can do to help. Also, please review the comments attached to your paper which detail exactly where you lost the points that negatively impacted your grade. Cordially, Jericha

It'll be interesting to see if and how she responds. I'm hoping that she just goes away.

April 13

2008-04-13T14:24:00.002-04:00

I constructed Whisper's exam and took the liberty of making a few changes to it that I believe are for the better. I also made an answer key so that I have an easy time grading the tests. Of course, when I emailed these to Whisper, I acknowledged the changes that I had incorporated and used really solid arguments to support my position.

Okay, the truth is that I changed the exam just to mess with Whisper's head because any changes in his normal way of doing things makes him a nervous wreck. I thoroughly enjoy watching him twitch. Sue me.

Whisper responded to my email last night. He was thanking me profusely for all of my hard work and telling me what I great job I do. A cold shiver ran up my spine. I think Whisper has finally had a psychotic break. Or maybe he was drunk or something when he wrote the response. Either way, the dude really needs to learn how to spell (or use spell check) for goodness sakes. He has a fucking Ph.D. and it's from a really good school. WTF?

What's particularly interesting is that he mentioned how low the grades were on the most recent papers he graded which I know is a lie. I can access the grades and I saw that he gave the students mostly A's and B's. It mystifies me that, for whatever reason, Whisper lies without provocation about silly things.

All of this confirms my hypothesis that Whisper is a deeply disturbed individual. Note to self: tread lightly.

April 12

2008-04-12T12:52:00.003-04:00

I just remembered that I have to make up the final exam for Whisper's undergrads. They didn't do too well on the mid-term and I'm concerned that, since he wants the exam to be very similar to the mid-term, they won't do well on the final either. Of course, I will be stuck grading them, too, so the less marking off that I have to do, the better.

On another note, they had another paper due this past week and Whisper did the grading himself. Yay! I took a look at the grades and, as expected, Whisper gave out almost all A's and B's. In addition, he edits the papers so that the students can just incorporate his changes rather than actually work to make improvements on their own. And this time he felt it necessary to email the whole class to tell them that, "unlike Jericha, I actually edited your work to help you all out." He's such a creep. How I do despise him!

Hopefully I'm through with him by April 30 at the absolute latest. It's time for a change.

April 11

2008-04-11T10:46:00.005-04:00

Still no word on an actual TA assignment for summer. As it turns out, if they actually make me an offer, I will probably decline it. Unless, of course, it's something that I can do completely online. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...somewhat. It might just be easier to decline altogether rather than have to do additional work when I'll already be working full-time this summer.

One of my fellow first year students (SW) got her assignment over a week ago and she was not happy about it since she's also planning to go home to work for the summer. She tried to finagle a deal with the professor to whom she's been assigned but the prof told her to either stay in town and do her job or decline the assistantship. SW did not like this because she's had a primo assignment since we started: she manages an online database which has literally required only about 20 hours of work total since August. That's roughly 30 minutes per week. We are supposed to work 20 hours per week.

After SW got the bad news, she went to the prof who controls the TA assignments and asked why she's no longer assigned to manage the database. He told her that they don't pay someone to do that over the summer. Again, she was not happy. Now she's taken to pestering the prof whose responsibility it is to make sure she is doing her job in managing the database. The problem is, though, that he's resigned and won't be around much longer so it's possible that he will do nothing to help her. Besides, most of these profs avoid "making waves" with the administration.

I have to admit it's aggravating that she may end up being able to leave the state but still collect a paycheck for doing nothing. Especially since she's been collecting a paycheck for doing nothing all along while I'm suffering in Whisper Hell. Also, one of our other colleagues, OC, really needs an assignment and hasn't yet received one. If SW declines as she should, that would free up the assignment for someone who actually needs it and will be sticking around in summer.

It irritates me that SW refuses to do the right thing.

April 9

2008-04-10T11:03:00.002-04:00

I met with a couple more of Whisper's students today. They both had fixed up their papers and I was so impressed with the effort they put in to elevating the quality of their work. On top of it they were both really appreciative of my willingness to meet with them. That made me feel so crappy.

They were devastated by their horrible paper grades and, apparently never saw it coming. This seems to be the theme across the students. However, these two students were so nice about it. They seemed to understand why their grades were so awful and just truly wanted to do a better job for the next paper. This broke my heart and made me feel as though I should have been more lenient when first grading the papers.

I'm now seriously questioning whether my lack of leniency was really due to the fact that Whisper gave a lengthy extension on the due date, or was it more attributable to the fact that I despise Whisper. Did my drive to make him pay for requiring me to spend Spring Break grading crappy papers while he mocked me behind my back for making me his lowly bitch outweigh my desire to be fair to the students? The thought that there may be some truth to this makes me feel sick to my stomach.

The thing is, Whisper is paying in spades for his transgressions toward me. He abhors any social interaction so the line of students who have been busting his balls about their grades is making him a nervous wreck. And because he will look like a complete wimpy ass if he changes all of their grades, he's trying as hard as he can to resist the urge to do so. For some reason, he doesn't want me to see any sign of weakness. He has a real dilemma, though, because he needs strong evaluations on his road to tenure. He needs these students to like him but, the truth is, since I've been meeting with several of them and encouraging them to ask him for consideration of their grades (after all, I'm just a lowly, inexperienced TA who makes mistakes sometimes), they love me and can't stand him.

I mean, think about it. Wouldn't you be miffed if, in a small class like this one, your professor didn't think it was important to read and grade your work? I know I would. And I'd be further aggravated by the fact that a first-year grad student is making such an important determination on my grade. I'd insist that the prof at least take a look at my work. And most of them have heeded my advice.

Take that, Whisper, you smarmy bastard!

April 8

2008-04-08T20:21:00.002-04:00

The entire day was spent meeting with some of Whisper's students to discuss their crappy papers. They have to fix this paper up and turn in a final version the last week of class but this is no easy feat for them.

Rather than make actual corrections on their papers, I only made comments. These comments were relatively specific but, in most cases, didn't offer any concrete answers. In other words, when a sentence contained grammar errors, I highlighted the sentence and inserted a comment such as "this sentence has grammar errors." I also included something like "please make an appointment with the university writing center for assistance." These comments merely point out the issues with their papers thereby forcing the students to do the research in order to fix the problems they should have addressed prior to turning in sub-standard work.

Apparently, many of the students are unhappy with my approach. It seems that they expected me to make actual corrections on their paper so that they could just incorporate my changes for their final submissions. Excuse me? Really? Yep. In fact, one of the students blatantly told me that it was my job to correct his work. I just smiled and politely referred him to the appropriate resources where he might find some answers on his own.

Whisper has decided that I need to make myself available for more meetings next week. I felt like screaming when he told me this but I just smiled agreeably because, hopefully, I will be done with him in just a few short weeks.

April 7

2008-04-07T07:59:00.004-04:00

This is an email I received from one of Whisper's students regarding her paper grade, which was a "D." Hers was one of the worst of the lot (they were all mostly pretty atrocious, but hers was particularly bad).

Jericha:

In reference to my paper grade, I went ahead and read all of your suggestions and I will definitely correct and modify so that my final paper is better. Although I understand your suggestions I don’t see how could my grade be a C average. I feel as if I did a lot of work and I strongly feel that my grade should be revised. I will greatly appreciate if you consider this and look over my paper and the grade one more time.

My response:

Dear Student:

The papers were graded fairly and systematically based upon the assignment instructions provided to the class, the model papers provided, as well as the grading rubric that detailed exactly what needed to be accomplished in order to score the maximum points. Additionally, Dr. Whisper gave the class an extra week to complete the paper. Therefore, there was ample time to meet all of the requirements for the paper.

Please note that you lost points based on poor grammar, incorrect paragraph and sentence construction, not citing your sources properly (and missing citations), not formatting your references page properly, and not adhering to minimum paper length and margin formatting requirements. These issues could easily have been resolved by referring to the appropriate style manual, carefully adhering to the assignment instructions, and visiting the university writing center for assistance.

All of the papers were graded on the identical criterion and your grade reflects accurately your performance in meeting the assignment requirements as detailed in the instructions. Unfortunately, I will not be changing your grade for the current paper.

Of course, I referred the student to Whisper in case she didn't like my decision and, as expected, he caved and gave her two additional points. This actually took her from a "D" to a "C." His rationale was that he felt I was too harsh on the students improper formatting of the references page. I have to admit that I was taken aback by his assessment of where I had been harsh.

The style and formatting of references has been covered ad nauseum in Whisper's class and is one of his biggest pet peeves. He even included a section on their mid-term exam where they had to insert correct citations in a paragraph and then write out the reference in the proper style. All of this had to be done by memory without the benefit of a style manual during the exam. I told Whisper that I felt that this was grossly unfair to do to the students since we want them to learn to use the style manual as a guide rather than to try to format sources and references from memory. He didn't care and more than 40% of the class failed the exam.

In the meantime, Whisper is requiring me to hold additional office hours this week to meet with students regarding their pitiful paper grades. They have to fix these papers up to turn in as a part of their final paper submissions. So far, only 6 out of 45 students have contacted me to schedule meeting times and, as you may have guessed, it happens to be students who did okay with the paper. Although they will benefit from meeting with me, the students who really need a "sit down" are the fools like the one who emailed me.

It pisses me off that Whisper boosted that student's grade just to appease her but I'm not at all surprised. After all, this is a professor who refuses to address cheating and plagiarism and, in fact, rewards these individuals with good grades.

April 5

2008-04-06T16:54:00.001-04:00

The good news of the week is that I got a summer teaching job that I'm really excited about. It pays extremely well and, although I'll have to work straight through the summer with no extra time off, I don't mind. I could really use the money.

Potentially negative news is that it seems as though my graduate program has finally decided upon annualizing the assistantships but still, to this very day, has not provided any specifics to us grad students. That means that if I'm assigned as a TA over the summer I will have to figure out how to manage my summer job and my assistantship without forfeiting one or the other. Oh, sure, I could tell my program to bugger off since I've already accepted other employment. However, this place is so disorganized that I'm afraid to have them bump me off for the summer for fear that I won't get my assistantship back come fall. I'll figure it out. I always do. The horror of it all is that if I may get stuck with Whisper. This is not a good thing. Although, neither is getting stuck with a stranger.

And the positively awful, ugly news of the week was that one of the profs in my program is leaving. He's the only normal one who I was really looking forward to working with. I love his class and his research so this was a real punch in the gut to find out that he's moving on. Unfortunately, the school that he's going to does not have a graduate program that I'd be interested in so there's no chance that I can beg to transfer with him. The word is that he would not be offered tenure due to a lack of publication activity. Let's hope that Whisper meets a similar fate. And sooner rather than later would be superb.

March 26

2008-04-06T16:52:00.001-04:00

The countdown is on! The end of the semester is just a few weeks away and, although it's sure to be hectic for a while, I cannot wait until it's over. I'll finally (hopefully) be done with Whisper as far as my TA assignment goes.

I have no reasonable expectation that anyone they may assign me to next year will be any better. In fact, there is a chance that whoever it is may be worse but I don't think I care. I just need to be done with the current psycho.

March 22

2008-04-06T16:49:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling a little less hateful towards Whisper today. However, I still despise the air he breathes and want desperately to be reassigned so that I no longer have to deal with his passive-aggressive bullshit. Honestly, it's more than I can take.

There was an issue with plagiarism that I encountered while grading papers this past week. I gave each of the students a zero for the assignment and forwarded their papers to Whisper with the plagiarized passages highlighted. I also sent along the published articles that these fools copied from. I contacted the students telling them that their papers were turned over to Whisper and advised that they would have to discuss the grade with him.

Whisper told me that he would rather that their grades just be lowered one letter grade. I was astonished. Let me clarify. I knew he wasn't going to take action and would probably go ahead and change their zeros, however, I thought he would know better than to tell me to do it. I thought, clearly he has me mistaken for someone else. And I flat-out, no-deliberation-about-it, refused him (in a most tactful, professional manner, of course).

I acknowledged his authority and explained that while I understood his position as boss, my actions were completely justified in accordance with the same university policy that he printed on his syllabus. Therefore, I would not be changing any of the students' less than stellar grades. He replied by telling me how adorable he finds me when I act so serious. He also expressed concern that if I didn't "lighten up" my pretty face would get wrinkled prematurely. And I thought, oh no he didn't!

He is a vile creature! And so stupid too. He actually put that crap in writing. Our communication over the matter was via email. So I shared our email exchange (mine and Whisper's) with our Dean (a female warrior). After all, I just wanted her to clarify for me the university's plagiarism policy. Let's just say that the Dean was non-too-amused at Whisper's lackadaisical attitude toward cheating nor his gender-biased demeaning remarks about my appearance and personality. He's been summoned to her office for a meeting next week.

All I keep thinking is that if I can make it through the next four weeks, I'll finally be done with him. I'll be leaving for the summer and next year I should be reassigned to someone new. Notice I said "new" not "better." I don't think there really is such a thing as "better" in that department. Just different is all. At this point, different is perfect.

March 22

2008-04-06T16:49:00.000-04:00

March 21

2008-04-06T16:47:00.000-04:00

Dearest Whisper:

I just want you to know how much I absolutely abhor you. No, really, I do. I pray each night that your kidneys will fail and that you'll have to go on dialysis for years to come. I knew someone once who had to go through that and they suffered immensely. It made me sad because this person was so good, kind, caring and undeserving of such horrible suffering but, for you, this is a small price to pay.

You are a despicable, disturbed, and downright odious living creature. I dare not use the term "human" to describe you because you have no empathy. You are so ugly, inside and out, that it is unbearable to be in your presence and to have to deal with you. Unfortunately, I have little choice in the matter. I have been assigned to your torture chamber this year and can only hope that I will either be set free soon or you will perish. Whichever way it goes is fine; I just need to get away from you sooner rather than later.

I feel this way mostly because this bitter hatred that I carry in my heart is eating away at me. And I'm desperately afraid that it will have a negative effect on my physical appearance. You see, unlike you, I am beautiful both inside and out and I plan to protect vehemently my beauty (and my sanity).

I guess what I'm trying to say is: Go fuck yourself, creep!

Sincerely, Jericha

March 18

2008-04-06T16:45:00.001-04:00

Grading papers sucks! I'm in the midst of grading a bunch of crappy papers on my Spring Break because Whisper decided that they had to get done right away. I have to rush because he gave the class an extension and I'm down right seething about it at the moment.

Last semester, when I had my first experience with grading the work of other students, I was way too kind. Extremely lenient, actually. I was filled with anxiety that I might hurt their feelings and, even worse, might correct something that didn't need to be corrected. I mean, who was I to criticize? Well, I'm way over that feeling. In fact, it seems that I may have gone off the ledge on that one.

The grades on these papers, coupled with my comments are less than stellar. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going out of my way to be hard on these students. I don't have to because their writing is horrendous! It's just that I'm not being kind about it. If they didn't follow the assignment instructions and they didn't write in proper, coherent sentences, they got a failing grade on the paper. Period. Whisper, who does not yet have job security and is terrified of pissing off the little angels, is going to pass out when he sees these grades. (I'm grinning from ear-to-ear). And just wait until he finds out that I caught a few more plagiarizers this semester.

Last semester he did nothing about it but I'm not going to let that happen this time. He's going to have to have a very uncomfortable conversation with these particular students and that's just going to send him into a tailspin. (Still grinning!) More details to follow at a later date....

March 16

2008-04-06T16:42:00.001-04:00

Once again, Whisper is up to his passive-aggressive antics which have put me back into grading Hell. Oh sure, I know that this is my responsibility as the TA and I'm not whining about it. At least not about actually grading the papers, although the writing quality really does suck. How on Earth have these students made it to the sophomore/junior college level without having mastered basic grammar and punctuation skills?

No. I'm not whining about doing the grading. I'm pissed off that Whisper, when he was out the other night with the new recruits, departmental faculty and current grad students, he felt it necessary to behave in such a way as to indicate to others that I'm his serf and the village idiot. And this is not the first time. What an ass!

OC was there and told me that Rye, one of our upper-level grad students, was talking to Whisper asking what he was teaching this semester. Whisper responded and added that the class had just turned in their 7-10 page papers. Rye commented that she felt for him having to grade all those crappy papers (apparently the writing quality sucks across all the classes). Whisper responded with a Cheshire Cat grin that he wasn't grading any of them.

According to OC, Rye was obviously stunned by this admission and got a little shrill saying, "Whisper, that's so unfair and downright evil to have Jericha grade all those papers. You should at least split it with her." And Whisper just shook his head "no" still grinning like the ugly wanker that he is. What really peeves me about this situation is that Whisper knows full well that I've never turned him down when he's asked me to something job related. And I always display a positive attitude about it (even if the task is horrible). He has no worries with me...I get the job done thoroughly and always meet my deadlines. So what is his problem?

I don't have a precise answer to this question. It's just a good thing to have this blog where I can vent my frustrations. Usually I advocate addressing issues head on, however, in this situation confrontation will not best suit my purpose. It won't resolve anything simply because Whisper is a passive-aggressive personality type which defies any sense of logic and reason he may possess. Not to mention that he is really very creepy. I'm talking creepy in a sullen, withdrawn, very dark manner. I'm not messing with that.

Let's just hope that I get reassigned to another prof in the fall.

March 2

2008-04-06T16:38:00.001-04:00

OC filled me in on something that Whisper did the other day that has just pissed me off beyond all belief. As a result, I've decided that I'm not speaking to Whisper unless absolutely necessary. Of course, no one will be the wiser because I will behave professionally so as not to get myself in trouble but when it's just the two of us I am no longer going to go out of my way to be cordial. It's about time that creep got a dose of his own sullen medicine. He can dish it out but we'll see if he can take it.

Here's what set me off. Whisper, in addition to working me like his indentured servant as his teaching assistant, also has me taking the lead on one of his existing research projects. I don't want to do it but since I've been whining that there aren't any research opportunities for us first year students, and one of his upper level students wanted to give it up, he gave it to me. Great (that's my sarcasm)! It's fabulous working with a lazy, passive-aggressive a-hole who can't make up his mind about anything and then fucks up the lab space schedule so we have to cancel participants (sarcasm, again).

So I cancelled the one fully booked time slot this past week on very short notice due to his scheduling debacle. When the participants are cancelled, it is done through the computer system which is linked to their university email accounts. Many of the students rarely check this email. In fact, two of them didn't before showing up to complete the study. I was still in the room when the first student showed up and I apologized and explained that he should have received an email cancelling him. He was embarrassed and disappointed and I explained that we would have other opportunities. Then I left the room.

Whisper and several other faculty members plus other grad students went into this room to practice their presentations for the upcoming conference. A few minutes into the practice another student participant showed up who obviously hadn't checked his email to receive notice of the cancellation. One of the profs, Agnosis (hate him!) turned to Whisper and asked if he was running participants and Whisper, who rarely speaks in an audible tone, very loudly and angrily announced that he told me to cancel the study. Then he makes a face complete with an eye roll as if to suggest that I'm some sort of incompetent idiot!

OC was there and yelled out, "She did cancel them just like you told her to but you know these kids don't check their email." Thank goodness for OC. He's an angel! He said Whisper looked a little sheepish at the realization that his nasty, snarky remark would probably get back to me. Of course, my knee-jerk response was that I wanted to go to him and yell, "Hey asshole! Tell me when there has been even one thing that you've asked me to do that hasn't been done. You creepy bastard! How dare you!" But then I got hold of myself and decided that it isn't worth it to freak out over it.

Better to keep it in my head for future reference and just chalk it up to "now I know where he really stands." I mean, truth is that I knew we weren't "best friends" but I didn't expect him to turn on me like that so quickly and so publicly. WTF? He's a total wanker.

February 16

2008-04-06T16:34:00.001-04:00

Oh man. Teaching may not be for me. Or being a teaching assistant, that is. Last weekend when I was in grading hell it consisted of me having to read and critique the four page literary monstrosities of 50+ students. It sucked completely! (Their papers and the grading process). I had no problem grading them hard because it's so frustrating when they don't follow simple instructions. Only now, one of the students whose grade was less than 50% emailed me to say she was sorry and embarrassed about how poorly she did and I feel like shit because of it.

I shouldn't feel bad because Whisper provides the students with ridiculously detailed instructions for each assignment. He posts them online so there really is no excuse to fail to follow them. After all, they can be referred back to time and again while completing the assignment. Also, the campus has a writing center where the students can go for free help with their papers but few ever take advantage of the service (probably because it's by appointment and they don't write their papers till the last minute).

Anyway, I recommended that she (the student who contacted me) take advantage of the writing center and that she carefully read Whisper's instructions before doing the next paper. In her email she gave me the "I can't take your advice because I have a child" excuse. WTF? There's little that irks me more than women who use their children as an excuse for doing a shitty job. I dealt with that excuse plenty when I worked as an executive for a major corporation prior to returning to school.

It really pisses me off when women think they get a pass because they've given birth. Fuck that! Nevertheless, I responded to her email kindly offering to meet with her and prodding her to take advantage of participating in research for extra credit as well as to make sure she adheres to the instructions for future assignments.

And yes, I do feel bad because no matter how pitiful her excuse is, it is never easy to receive negative feedback.

February 11

2008-04-06T16:31:00.001-04:00

Greetings from Grading Hell. It seems like it will never end, but I have made progress. Only a dozen more papers to grade plus a bunch more handwritten assignments to grade. I was able to write my own paper, though and will proofread it in the morning before submitting it to the prof.

Unfortunately, I had to miss one of my classes in order to make this much progress today. It sucks that this is the way it had to be but, honestly, there wasn't another option. This grading is an impediment to my completing my own work. I still have another paper to write for a class later in the week plus a ton of busy work for another of my classes on Friday.

Although it's my impulse to blame Whisper, the truth is that I could probably have told him that it was too much and that he had to help. However, he's a creep and I would rather die grading papers than admit defeat. (That's just like me..."cut off the nose to spite the face"...it makes no sense, I know, but I accept that this is my general unchangeable attitude).

February 11

2008-04-06T12:54:00.000-04:00

I despise grading undergraduates' papers. It's difficult to believe that these people are in college, juniors no less. They cannot put simple sentences together, have paragraphs that consist of one sentence, have no earthly idea how to use punctuation and forget about subject-verb agreement. The problem is that Whisper hates it too and since I'm the TA I get to grade the whole lot all on my own. Crap!

My hat is off to professors who do not have a TA and have to do their own grading. It's difficult to imagine how they get through it without developing a nasty, bitter attitude. I'm trying to avoid this happening to me but it isn't easy.

January 21

2008-04-06T12:51:00.000-04:00

Here's Whisper again with his fabulous antics. He knows that this is a long holiday weekend and that we get very few and he knows that I travel back and forth a long distance each weekend. Nevertheless he has invented a reason that he "may" need me on Tuesday, a day that I have no class and would be able to spend an additional day with Husband.

As if that's not bad enough, he has yet to respond to my emails regarding whether or not he absolutely needs me which is his passive-aggressive bullshit way to make sure that I show up. This is not the first time he's pulled this. I'll go and he will say, "Oh, sorry, it turns out that I don't need you after all."

I just have to keep reminding myself that there are only 13 weeks till summer break.

January 8

2008-04-06T12:47:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was the first day back at school for the new semester and it was relatively uneventful other than that Whisper has decided, remarkably, to let me have a little more responsibility this semester in terms of his class. He actually asked me to hold office hours, he included my name and contact information on the syllabus and had me introduce myself to the class today. Amazing! He even made small talk with me!

This represents major progress in our "relationship." At first, I attributed his behavioral change to me. In other words, as we sat in his office going over some things prior to the class, my thinking was that perhaps my behavior had changed. This hypothesis was quickly disproved, though, when a new professor stopped by to introduce himself to Whisper. The office door was open so it wasn't like the new guy was interrupting a private meeting but, in typical Whisper style (social retard), he gave his new colleague the death stare as soon as he approached.

The poor guy just wanted to say a friendly "hello" but he got the full on Whisper treatment which included a blank facial expression coupled with a blatant lack of responding in a socially appropriate manner.

Here's how it went:

New Prof: (light knock on door frame) "I'm so sorry to interrupt. I'll just quickly introduce myself to the two of you. My name is New Prof and I'm looking forward to working with you."

Whisper: (blank stare and long pause)

Me: (completely uncomfortable and breaking the silence) "Hello, New Prof. Welcome aboard. My name is Jericha, I'm a first year grad student and Dr. Whisper's GTA."

New Prof: (Smiling warmly and clearly grateful for my interjection) "Hi Jericha. Nice to meet you." (Then turns toward Whisper) "What was your name, again? I didn't quite catch it."

Whisper: "Whisper." (That was it...no smile, no identifiable facial expression and no more than a one word answer.)

New Prof: "Well, nice to meet you. I'll leave you now. So sorry for interrupting."

Me: "Bye. Congratulations on your new position and good luck!"

New Prof: "Thanks! Bye."

See? There was no change on my part and, apparently, none on Whisper's behalf either. At least not where strangers are concerned.

December 8

2008-04-06T12:42:00.001-04:00

I had to do some additional grading for Whisper. It wasn't too bad except that he kept emailing me about things to look out for while grading. Uh...hello...leave me alone! It was a really small, insignificant assignment in which the students had to write 200 word abstract and turn in their references pages for feedback and minimal points prior to submitting their final papers. Anyway...done! Next week is going to suck, though.

No such luck that I don't have to look at Whisper again until after the semester break. I have to go to the undergrads' final presentations and then meet with him about final grading. I know that shouldn't aggravate me but it does. This guy only teaches the one undergraduate class and has less than 50 students. Can't he handle the fucking final grading on his own? He knows that I have a final exam this week, class and oh yeah...I forgot...the department holiday party. (I'd rather do almost anything else than socialize with Whisper, et.al). Hopefully some of the upper level grad students will be there.

November 9

2008-04-06T12:37:00.000-04:00

Whisper has formally extended an invitation (the third one) to his home and this time it appears that everyone...even faculty members...will be in attendance. Crap! That means that I have to go, dammit!

If it were on a weeknight it wouldn't be so bad, but it is a weekend party which means that I have to give up what precious little personal time I have to spend with a group of people that I haven't decided whether I like or not. Sure, everyone has been nice so far but I am one of those who prefer to keep my professional and personal lives as separate as possible. This practice has served me well over the years and after hearing some stories from one of my fellow first year grad students about her drunken debauchery I feel confident that separate is best.

Besides, I really don't want to go to Whisper's house. Especially after my conversation with Funny Girl. Even though others will be there, she got me thinking and I've already made a mental note that I will not use his bathroom. I'm sure it's clean...he appears to be meticulously neat...but his creepiness factor leads me to entertain the possibility that there may be some sort of recording device in there.

November 8

2008-04-06T12:35:00.001-04:00

While I was on campus today chatting with a fellow first year grad student about Whisper (okay, I was actually bitching but I digress), one of the upper level grad students came into the lab and supplemented my bitchfest with some observations of her own. This student is so funny, too, so her very frank, wry delivery in her strong New York accent had me in a fit of hysterical laughter. I'll call her Funny Girl.

While I was telling my friend that my opinion of Whisper is that he is a deeply troubled soul, Funny Girl offered up that she and most of the other grad students agree with my assessment. She mentioned that at one point she housesat for him while he went away and said that even his place is creepy. She felt so uncomfortable that her intuition told her never to go to his home by herself again. The last sentence she managed to get out before I burst into laughter and someone else walked into the room was, "Oh yeah, someday one of us is going to end up buried in his basement. He's that type."

I have no idea why I'm amused by this because the fact of the matter is, Whisper really is that type of creepy. If we all have the same sense of this guy then there must be some truth to it and our continued dialogue (okay...gossip) about him will keep us informed (okay...entertained).

November 7

2008-04-06T12:28:00.003-04:00

It's been a rough week and the torrential downpour today has made it horrible.

Things got worse when I got to campus where the rain had picked up in intensity and I was forced to park half-way across the campus from where I needed to be. By the time I got to Whisper's class, one side of my body was completely soaked. Not just wet....soaked. Imagine how excited I was when I walked into the room and Whisper, who usually has nothing to say (not even "hello") said, "Wow. Why did you even bother with an umbrella? It sure didn't help you keep dry." Asshole.

And I'm in the process of grading papers which sucks because the writing quality sucks. In most cases it's probably due to a lack of proofreading, but in others it's clear that some of these undergraduate students do not belong in college. I still have tons of papers left to grade because Whisper is a lazy jerk on a power trip.

November 6

2008-04-06T12:22:00.002-04:00

Well, after cancelling on Whisper yesterday due to this flu-like illness I have, it appears that I am being subjected to his passive-aggressive punishment style again. I thought that this might occur but had hoped it wouldn't.

I have a class each week that conflicts with one of the lab sections of Whisper's undergrad class (the one I for which I TA) but he had mentioned last week that he might need my help this week with the lab section. This is perfectly acceptable as my financial support for the program comes from working for him as his TA; therefore, if he needs me on a particular day once in a while that trumps my own class. However, when I emailed him yesterday and then again this morning when I hadn't received confirmation from him that he'd need me for sure, I specifically asked him to let me know one way or the other so that I could let my professor know. He checks that email obsessively so I know he got the messages but still, no response.

He's such as asshole.

October 17

2008-04-06T12:20:00.000-04:00

The last few days have been hectic but I should have a light breather for the next few days. I hope.

I taught Whisper's class on Monday and all went fine with the lecture. The noteworthy aspect occurred prior to the lecture. He sent an email to the class letting them know that I would be teaching (this is the first time that he has referred to me by name...usually he just says "my TA") but he spelled my last name wrong and I'm certain it was purposeful.

My last name is really basic and actually quite common so much so that it doesn't require a dictionary to spell it. Further, he has access to plenty of documentation with my name on it so why not refer to it if there's some confusion. What really creeped me out about it is that he spelled it in a really complex way which means that it was more than just a simple typographical error.

And it's not due to a lack of intelligence, either. He has a Ph.D. from a top school. No, there is not a benign explanation. This guy has some deep, dark issues.

October 9

2008-04-06T12:16:00.002-04:00

I just love it when a purely coincidental event collides with current affairs. Case-in-point: after my rant last night over the whole plagiarism issue regarding one of Whisper's students, the entire faculty received an email this afternoon from the VP of Student Affairs about it (not about Whisper's student...about fighting plagiarism). The email specifically outlined how the university is focused on fighting plagiarism. So much so that they are paying a large sum of money for a service that detects it automatically when students turn their papers in. Yay!

I think it's so damn funny that Whisper, who was probably certain that he got away with his passive-aggressive shenanigans, got foiled in a sense. The reason I believe he thought he got away with it is that he probably didn't think I would follow-up on the matter. And now what I hope upon hope is that he's a little freaked-out that maybe I spoke with one of the higher ups about the matter and that's what prompted this email communique. Little does he know that what I have planned for him in light of this turn of events is much more devious. Why turn him in when I can hold this over his head? Tee hee hee.

I will see him on Thursday and plan to ask him if he saw the email from the VP. He will pretend that he might have but doesn't remember for sure or he will pretend that he never saw it (classic passive-aggressive). I will "fill him in" and then ask how he decided to proceed after reviewing the plagiarized paper. He thinks I'm an idiot so he will give me some absurd justification for why it doesn't qualify as plagiarism. I will inform him that his rationale is flawed based on the university's definition and will respectfully insist that he reconsider his position. Of course, he cannot backtrack now because he has already posted her grade; this after he was warned (I still have the original document that I commented on plus I copied his "cleaned-up" version). I will let him know how disappointed I am that not only did he choose to ignore my concerns, but rather gave this student an "A" on her paper.

I will say that this has caused me to lose sleep since I am a highly ethical person and that I hate to do it, but I might have to turn the matter over to Student Affairs in order to clear my conscience. After all, if I knowingly let it go by, Dr. Whisper, then I'm complicit and that's just not okay with me. I really have to think about how I plan to proceed. I'm sure you understand the precarious nature of the position in which you have placed me. (I will have a very concerned, grave expression on my face, with my head tilted to the side, downturned mouth and sad eyes.)

My grin is so wide that my face hurts! Today is a good day. (Tee hee hee!)

October 8

2008-04-06T12:12:00.002-04:00

I found out today that Whisper has a shocking lack of ethics. I am reeling at the moment. It all started with the papers that I had to grade for his class. I spent the entire weekend reading these 3-4 page pieces of trash (OMG! Seriously! The writing quality was frighteningly pitiful). Anyway, since the students submitted their papers online, I was able to open the document and use Word's "track changes" function to make comments and corrections.

Their job was to critique one of six assigned articles and since they're college seniors, it should have been a breeze. Key words: should have. Most of the papers were overrun with horrible grammar, punctuation and a failure to spellcheck. Nevermind that they varied between three sentence paragraphs or one big long paragraph that should have been two separate ones at the very least. Therefore, when I came across one that was fairly well written I was ecstatic! But not for long.

By the time I had reached the second page of the four page document, I had a nagging feeling of deja vu. I knew that I had read these words before. Or did I? So I pulled the article that the student was writing about and, much to my dismay, the evidence of plagiarism was right before my burning eyes. Entire sentences were copied....some verbatim and others with just one word changed. Damn it! I knew this meant that I was going to have to contact Whisper. Double damn it!

I emailed the paper to Whisper with the passages highlighted so that he could see for himself and decide how to proceed. Although I did not advocate having the student bounced from school, it only seemed fitting that a serious conversation would take place and she would receive a zero on the assignment. But no, no, no. Not in Whisper's world. He removed the highlighting from the paper, removed my comments to the student about properly citing material and not copying word for word and gave her a 90% on the assignment. Huh? WTF? Am I missing something here?

The University's plagiarism policy and the way they define it is very clear and this student violated this policy to such a degree that she could be tossed out without any questions asked. I'm so pissed and it's likely due to the fact that I feel, once again, as though I've been "bitch-slapped" by Whisper. I have the sneaking suspicion that he never even pulled the original article for comparison. His allowing this kind of blatant cheating pass by without a word to the student and, in fact, rewarding her with an "A" is so fucked up.

I am so disillusioned by his lack of ethics on this matter (I know he's a freak, but I really believed that this would be something he would not tolerate...I was terribly mistaken). This is so troublesome to me that I am seriously considering taking it to the head of my program. I have to be reassigned next semester...I'm afraid that I won't survive the rest of the year if I have to stay with him.

I HATE Whisper!

October 1

2008-04-06T12:11:00.000-04:00

Whisper sent an email to his undergrad students in which he referred to me as "my TA." No name, just "my TA." This shouldn't be surprising since I've already established that he's a creep, but I would be lying if I said that I'm not put off about it. Yes. He is absolutely socially retarded but this has nothing to do with that. This runs much deeper.

He has never formally introduced me to the group or explained to them that I am the one who grades their papers, assignments, etc. I attend all of the class meetings and they are aware of my position so it's not like they would be confused if he actually referred to me by name. No. This is one of those things that makes you go "hmmmmmm."

At this point, my exposure to him has been too limited to draw any solid conclusions about the depth of his "issues." At first I thought it was simply passive-aggressive behavior coupled with weirdness but a more disturbing picture is emerging and my instinct is to stay as far away from him as possible. This impulse is made stronger because I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Perhaps the most distressing aspect thus far is that it appears I am his TA for the remainder of the academic year. Hopefully I get reassigned next year.

September 25

2008-04-06T12:08:00.002-04:00

The "passive-aggressive" Olympics have officially begun. There is no question that I will emerge victorious...one way or another. Dr. Whisper started it last week and, since I have no intention of putting up with his sophomoric antics but find myself in a position where a direct confrontation may not be the most prudent approach, I have decided on "fighting fire with fire." In other words, anything he can do I can do better (as far as screwing with someone's head). My first strike back was yesterday when I emailed him that I would be unable to attend the lecture portion of his class.

He had told me at the beginning of the semester that it really wasn't necessary for me to be there each week for lecture but he really wanted me to go the lab section where he'll need my help. Needless to say, he hasn't needed my help at either even though I continue to be present at both. At any rate, if he really doesn't care if I attend the lecture as he has said, than my absence should not be an issue. That is, unless as a passive-aggressive type you say things that you really don't mean and expect that people will know that instinctively. And so I tested my hypothesis that he is a troubled soul and will react negatively to my absence.

Score one for the home team! He pretended that he never received my email in which I detail that I have finished grading papers and will meet him on Wednesday morning during his office hours to drop them off and to take care of anything he might need me to do prior to his lab. He sent me an email late this afternoon asking me if there was any chance that I will finish grading the papers and get them back to him prior to class. This brought a huge smile to my face because even though it totally sucks to have to deal with a creep, I love when I'm right about something. Love it!!

At least now I know for sure that I'm on the right track and I will be ready for anything.

September 19

2008-04-06T12:05:00.001-04:00

It turns out the Dr. Whisper is not simply a socially retarded weirdo but also appears to be a passive-aggressive a-hole! I was naive enough to believe that we had come to some sort of understanding after last week's "copy" debacle but I was mistaken.

He mentioned that he would need me to make more copies for this week's class and I responded very positively and offered to make them either on Monday afternoon after the lecture or on Wednesday prior to my class...whichever was more convenient for him. He responded that he would let me know. Fine...no problem.

After the Monday class, I asked if he would like me to go ahead and make those copies for him and he said, "No. I haven't printed out the original yet so Wednesday will be better." Okay...no problem. Since he only needed about a dozen copies I asked if it would be okay to do it one hour prior to the class time. He said, "No. I prefer that you come two hours early." Although internally annoyed, I smiled and agreed to meet at the time he wished. After all, I realize that he is a newly minted Ph.D. who is trying to establish himself in his new position of authority.

I showed up today at the agreed upon time and when I walked into his office, he gave me this long, drawn out tale about how, in exchange for doing a favor for another grad student, he had that student make the copies for him so he didn't need me after all. At no point did he offer an excuse or apology for insisting that I be there two hours earlier than I needed to be or for failing to contact me to let me know that it was taken care of. But again, I smiled cheerfully and exclaimed, "Fantastic! Well, I guess I'll see you on Friday! Have a nice day!" And I exited his office.

The look of confusion on his face was priceless. Clearly he was not expecting my cheerful countenance. Of course I was not really feeling very pleasant about the whole thing but I've had to deal with his ilk before and it does no good to let them know how you really feel. These passive-aggressive types like to know that they've gotten under your skin and it throws them off balance when they believe that they haven't been successful.

He'll likely step up the ball-breaking. That's how they operate. Too bad that he's an amateur and apparently has no idea who he's screwing with. Poor thing. He'll never know what (or who) hit him. I almost feel sorry for him....almost.

September 14

2008-04-06T12:01:00.002-04:00

One of the second year students in my program spoke to me for about an hour today about Dr. Whisper. Apparently, he TA'd for him last year and said that the guy is just plain weird. It is comforting to find out that someone else's experience is similar to mine and that it isn't a reflection on me. In fact, it seems that the other students in our program are quite concerned that I will have an unnecessarily tough first year because of my unfortunate assignment.

Apparently, many have commented amongst themselves that they would never have been able to deal with him during their first year. Really? He's not that bad. Regardless, little do they know who I am and what I'm made of. I can handle anything as long as the struggle yields a worthwhile result. Getting my Ph.D. is the single most important professional goal I have for myself at the moment.

September 13

2008-04-06T11:51:00.002-04:00

Today begins the Jewish New Year and while everyone is observing the holiday in a respectful, appropriate manner, I will be attending a meeting on campus scheduled by Dr. Whisper. It's my own fault. I should have been on top of the dates when I said last week that I would be available. If he had scheduled this meeting for just us, I would've requested a reschedule. Unfortunately, this is a departmental-type meeting so that he can inform us of his research and he scheduled it with my availability in mind.

This was actually a really nice thing for him to do since I had asked him what he was working on that I might be able to get involved with. Therefore, today is no beach day and no holiday. Crap! I hate when that happens! And what really sucks is it's been one of those weeks so far.

On Monday, Dr. Whisper informs me that he needs me to make copies for the class and he wants me to do it on Tuesday. Now, there are only a total of 44 students in this class so I'm thinking that we aren't talking about a lot of copying so, honestly, it annoyed me that he wanted me to make a special trip to do something that he could do himself. Of course, I understand that this is a part of my responsibility and, theoretically speaking, I don't have a problem with making copies but I do have a problem with someone attempting to demonstrate their position of power by making me their menial servant.

Here's how it went:

Dr. Whisper: Jericha, I need you to make some copies for me.

Jericha: Okay, no problem. I have time now before my class.

Dr. Whisper: No. I don't feel good so I'm going home to sleep. I need you to do it tomorrow.

Jericha: When do you need the copies by? Are they for Wednesday's lecture? The reason I ask is because tomorrow, I am on the other campus, which, as you know is an hour from here. However, on Wednesday I have a class here so I can do it in the morning.

Dr. Whisper (kind of pissy): Oh. Well I need the copies for 2pm on Wednesday so I guess you can do it before then.

Jericha: Okay. I will meet you at 11:00am Wednesday.

Seems fine, right? Well the truth is that yesterday morning I was feeling run down and was running about 30 minutes behind. This completely stressed me out because I didn't want to show up late to do my very important task of copy making especially since he really wanted me to do it the day before. I emailed him to let him know that I would be late, I ran out of the house to get to campus and drove around for about 45 minutes looking for parking.

As the clock was ticking away and getting later, I finally decided to park in a no-parking zone knowing full well that I would get a $25 ticket. I decided that it was a small price to pay to mediate my stress level in that moment. I scurried across the campus in the 95 degree heat to get to his office and, dripping with sweat and makeup running, I arrive and he hands me what he needs copied.

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly become more aggravated, here's what went down:

Dr. Whisper: This is what I need you to copy. I need eleven.

Jericha (incredulous and hoping that I had misunderstood his barely audible speech): I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Did you say ee-lev-en?

Dr. Whisper: Yes. Eleven.

Jericha (firmly, but indirectly, in an effort to embarrass him): Eleven. Well. Okay, then. I'll get to work on this right away.

Dr. Whisper (blushing and hanging his head): You know, I'm sorry about this. I'm a new professor and my colleagues insisted that I have you make all of my copies since you're my TA.

Jericha: I don't object to making copies, however, I do object to being forced to go out of my way to complete a five minute task that I offered to take care of the other day when we were both here.

Dr. Whisper: I understand. And, again, I apologize. I have been under the weather this week and not thinking clearly. Next time, I'll plan better.

Jericha: Okay. Thank you for your consideration.

Now, in truth, it probably wasn't the smartest way for me to handle the matter but the reality is that I am not one to mince words. I have an inordinate amount of self-control in the face of quite a lot of bullshit, and, had he not opened the door for my commentary by expressing his guilt over asking me to do something that he could do himself, I would have kept my mouth shut. However, it's best that he find out, sooner rather than later, that I am one of the hardest workers he will ever encounter and will even go above and beyond the call of duty to do an excellent job but I refuse to be treated like a serf.

August 27

2008-04-06T10:59:00.002-04:00

Classes started today and since I have been assigned to TA for an undergraduate class, I had to be on campus much earlier than my own first class. Dr. Whisper (that's what I'll call him) had asked that I meet him about 15 minutes before the start of his class so that we could walk over together. I thought was nice since I have no idea where I'm going yet.

I arrived at his office about 20 minutes before the class time and his door was slightly ajar so I knocked. There was no answer so I knocked again, and again there was no answer so I walked away to the waiting area to sit and wait for a few minutes. I went back to his door five minutes later and as I approached it I heard a really deep, loud voice coming from inside that turned out to be him on the telephone. It came as a bit of a surprise because my experience with this guy is that he talks so softly that he's hard to hear.

It appears that he may have at least two different personas. At any rate, something is definitely not right with this dude and it's pissing me off a little. We walked to his class in virtual silence. There was very little polite small talk...I asked how he was and he answered in a single, barely audible syllable with no courteous follow-up question. When we got to the classroom, I asked where he wanted me to sit and he said "anywhere."

It's so awkward. His demeanor can be described as pleasant, which is much better than if he were short, snippy or angry, but it would just be nice if he was capable of normal social interaction. Hey, Asshole! Don't you remember what it was like your first few weeks of graduate school? Would it be too much to ask that you at least participate in the conversation so that your new graduate assistant doesn't feel like a complete fool when she's around you? Dick head! Jerk-off! (I feel much better now!)

Can't wait till the "newness" of this situation wears off.

If I Knew Then What I Know Now...

2008-04-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

Last August I started graduate school and simultaneously started as a graduate teaching assistant. At that time I had no prior teaching experience and little knowledge as to what would be expected of me. I had even less confidence in what I had to offer undergraduate students in terms of pedagogy.

Let's just say it has been an interesting year thus far. The next several posts will focus on bringing you up to date on what my experience was like from the beginning until now. After that, the blog will focus on my day-to-day adventures as a GTA.