Teaching Assistant

 5/23 Hours Today - 2 Total Hours - 55 1/2 My only class today was C block at one o'clock. There are more classes during C block than A block and many of them were in the day student lounge when I walked in. I was surprised at first because normally the groups are split between the library and downstairs so I wasn't expecting to see that many people. It was a little chaotic. Most people were essentially done with their capstone, but some still had work to do. I mostly just helped people find materials occasionally and answered minor questions. As I was cleaning up after, I noticed the dried paint on the carpet. The stain almost looks intentional because of how artful and precise it is. How did none of the colors blend or overlap? It will remain a mystery. I went to the gallery walk in the library later at 6:15. It was also a little hectic because they were all rushing to find a place to display their art. I walked around with Ellie and looked at the work and writing from all of

Hours Today - 3 1/2 Hours Total - 53 1/2 I had A block first this morning. It was their last chance to work on their projects during class time. On myProctor, it said that the project was due today. The gallery walk isn't until tomorrow but it says that it's due on Monday because A block doesn't have class on Tuesday. This confused a lot of them. I tried to explain this when I could. The problem is that you explain it to them and they say it makes sense, but then five minutes later they're asking the same questions again. Then, I had extra help in the projection room starting at 6:15. Everyone left by 7:30 and then I stayed a little longer to clean up. There were paintbrushes that needed to be washed and then I threw away some random scraps of paper on the table.

  Hours Total - 50 (2 hours on Sunday from doing extra help) Weekly Reflection I felt like this week I got a lot better at grading essays and giving feedback. I started this week by going over C blocks essays again to add more feedback. A block also had their essays due on Monday so I felt like by the time I had finished adding more feedback to the other class I was more prepared to be more thorough and give more feedback and edits in my first look through rather than needing to go over it again. What I understand now more than I ever did before after having gone through this process is how subjective grading can be. Factors like mood, energy, the time of day, and the order in which the essays are graded can all affect the outcome. It is easy to unknowingly compare the current essay you’re grading to the previous one or two that are the freshest in your memory and grade it relative to those rather than comparing all essays to the same standard. You can go over the same essay several di

Hours Today - 4 Hours Total - 48 5/20 I didn't have any classes today. I spent most of my day in the theater working on a pair of shorts I started earlier this week. Then, I went to the cast party cookout that Charlie hosted at Davis for lunch. I got back to my dorm in the afternoon and started reading The Marrow Thieves. I read for a total of four hours. I took breaks while reading. I’m really glad I decided to read it because I normally read non fiction books so this is a good change from that.

5/19  Hours Today - 3 and 20 mins Hours Total - 44 I had both A and C blocks this morning. This was their last time in the projection room working on the projects until their next class when it was due. Both classes did not need a lot of help so I mostly sat in the back and supervised. A few students did approach me with questions. I helped them but I did not go around the room and ask everyone how they were doing because it seemed like everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing. I stayed for an extra twenty minutes after the last class left to clean up the materials. I made the terrible mistake of letting people leave before the entire room was clean. I learned that you can't just let them go when they clean up their own spot. You have to bar them from the door and say no one leaves until it is clean. I also cleaned up some paint that got on the table which there was a surprising amount of. When I was talking to Ellie later, she told me that some of them may not have been i

 5/18 Hours today - 4 10 mins Hours Total - 40 hours and 40 mins I only had C block today during the second to last class. We met in the projection room again to use the arts and crafts supplies. It seems like everyone in C block now has a good idea of what they want to do for their projects. I mostly just sat in the back and occasionally helped people find things because they all seemed good on their own. I met with Ellie after during E block on the library to go over the grades for the essays. She had reviewed A blocks essays and had some revisions and questions before we published the grades. I had finished all except for three of C blocks so we went over those. I found it much easier to add more feedback this time. We decided I would have extra help in the Fowler common room today, tomorrow, and Monday since Ellie won’t have another extra help before the capstone is due. I wasn’t expecting anyone to show up but towards the end there were about five people. It ended up going longer

 5/17 Hours Today - 2 1/2 Hours Total - 36 1/2 I only had one class block today. I had the A block class first block. We met in the projection room to work on their art projects for the capstone. Most of them seem confident in what they want to do but a few of them are still struggling to come up with ideas. I walked around and asked people what they were doing. I tried to focus on those who looked like they were struggling the most to think of something. I also helped people find materials they were looking for. I went back to my dorm after and continued grading A blocks essays for an hour and a half. 

  5/16 Hours Today - 5 and 15 minutes  Hours Total - 34 I had both A and C block classes today. We went to the projection room that has the arts and crafts materials for their capstone project. Both classes felt pretty overwhelmed by the freedom and creativity of the art portion of the project. I walked around a lot and helped people come up with ideas. I struggled a little bit with wanting to help but also not wanting to directly give them an idea. Some people were especially struggling to come up with ideas and hadn’t done their outline so there wasn’t a lot I could do to help them. I added more feedback to C block’s essays and then started grading A block. I met with Ellie during F block outside of the wise for half an hour to go over the essays. We officially committed the grades for A block. We also changed some of the grades in the grade book that I changed when I was going over the essays again to add feedback. I rethought certain parts of the grade and also found some mistakes

Hours Today - 4 and 20 mins  Total - 28 hours and 45 mins 5/15  I met Ellie today in the dining hall during E block to go over the essays that I graded. I had finished all except for one of the essays. We went over each grade to enter it into the grade book and made a few changes to some of them. Ellie told me that I needed to provide more feedback on the essays. I realized that marking incorrect grammar is easy for me because it is either right or wrong but giving feedback on content is harder. I felt like I didn’t have the right words for it so Ellie gave me some examples like writing “elaborate” or “confusing” on parts of the essays. I then had A block at the end of the day. Their essay was due then so I collected it and then we went to the projection room in the library. I led them and one other class that was there through a brainstorming exercise that Heidi had done for C block on Friday.  

  Weekly Reflection Throughout this week, I attended Ellie Moore’s two English 9 classes as a teaching assistant. I got a total of 24 hours and 25 minutes of work for my senior project. Most of the time was spent grading and listening to the audiobook of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. I needed to read the book because it was what the essay they were writing was on. I normally prefer reading to audiobooks but Ellie had high praise for the audiobook and I like Trevor Noah so I chose to listen to it instead. What I enjoyed the most was class time and interacting with the students. I felt like I got to know them more and connect with them this week which was one of my main concerns. One of the first things that I learned was how missing a lot of sixth and seventh grade due to covid impacted the class of ‘26. Those two years are really critical to developing a lot of the skills used in school like writing. It took me some time to better understand where the grade is at in terms of their w

 5/13 Hours Today - 4 1/2 hours Hours Total - 24 hours and 25 mins I had C block today during the second class block. Their critical analysis essay was due so we spent the first bit of class having them all print out the essays. Then, Ellie and I shared the personal narrative outline that I helped make to help them brainstorm ideas for the capstone project. Ellie discussed the different parts to the project. We went to the library for the second half of class where Heidi did an exercise with them to help them come up with ideas and make drawings. I went back to my dorm after that and spent 3 and a half hours grading the essays. I went over to the theater around 4:30 to help get everyone ready for Ada and the Engine. 

 Hours Today - 4  Total Hours - 19 Hours and 55 mins I had two classes today. A and C block both worked on their essays after they did the chapter 18 playlist slides. I had them go around and say what their goal was for the block to help guide them. I said we would go around at the end and say if we accomplished that goal or not but we didn’t end up stopping early. We’ll probably keep doing this throughout the capstone so I’ll have to start making sure we actually stop and say if we accomplished the goals. They might figure it out if they never have to say what they got done after class. I got to help a few students with minor edits and citations. I helped one student in C block and that was really fun. Kate Jones told me later that she said she had a great TA who helped her a lot. Hopefully they’ll all become more open to me reviewing their work as they work on the capstone. Later, I went to the theater to help get everyone ready for the show.  

 5/11    Hours Today - 2 1/2 Total Hours - 15 hours and 55 mins I spent my entire day in the theater. Today was earth day so there were no classes. I went to the theater at 10 to work on some of my own sewing projects that I've been wanting to do but haven't had the time before. I got some clothes on a weekend thrifting trip a while ago and have had ideas in mind since then. I listened to the Born a Crime audiobook for 2 1/2 hours while I was working. I worked in the costume shop to keep Lillian company and slow down her descent into madness. She goes to the basement of the theater every day and has no human interaction at all. It is taking its toll.  Really, this was a form of community service. I left the theater around 3:30 and came back an hour later to eat dinner and start preparing for the run of the show. I did hair and makeup and then went back to my dorm around 8.

 5/10               Total Hours - 4 1/2           Weekly Total - 13 hours and 25 mins I spent most of my day at the theater helping with Ada and the Engine today. Ellie didn't have any classes today so I had more free time. I started the day by finishing grading the essay outlines and continuing the Path of Life Garden assignments. Then, I went to the theater and put stickers on my sewing machine which I've been meaning to do for a while. I spent a few hours working on the headpiece for Ada's court debut. Lillian Holley was there too for her senior project and we took Mosely for a walk. He was a very good boy. I spent the afternoon helping the cast get ready for the show. Then I went back to my dorm and did some more grading. I read Born a Crime for 2 hours.

 5/9 7:46 PM          Total Hours - 5 hours and 55 mins I started the day with meeting Ellie in the dining commons at 8:30. We discussed the harkness rubric and started grading the A block harkness until C block started. This was my first time meeting them. I got to introduce myself and get to know them more than I did with the other block because they didn’t have a Harkness. I airplayed a few pictures of my pets and then had them go around and introduce themselves and tell me something they think I should know about. Then there were a few playlist slides that a few different groups presented. After advisory was A block. I got to introduce myself better this time. I airplayed some pictures of my pets and then as they went around introducing themselves a bunch of them started to airplay pictures of their own pets. I was happy I got to connect with them better than I did the first time I saw it. I went to Ellie’s extra help later.

  5/8 - 6:43 PM Total Hours - 3 I started the day by meeting Ellie at the dining commons to discuss my plans for senior project and what the classes will be doing for the next week. Then we went to the bookstore to get a copy of Born a Crime which is what the ninth graders are reading now. This took about 30 minutes. We met for her class during A block where they had a Harkness discussion so I observed that. We discussed the Harkness after class and this all took an hour and ten minutes. I went to my afternoon activity doing costumes for two hours. Then I spent an hour and twenty minutes grading homework. Ellie’s dog got into a fight with a porcupine so I did the two different homework assignments we discussed.