Yet one concern of many parents is the quality of teaching that their children will receive. Parents often object to the thought of anyone but a tenured professor teaching their child. Graduate Student Instructors, especially, get a bad rap from parents - concerned (though misinformed) parent voices are often heard during new-student orientation weeks on campus: "I don't want my child being taught by one of those graduate students."
Parents fail to recognize what a valuable part GSIs play in their children's education. GSIs are taking a step to bridge the gap and make parents feel more at ease by inviting them into their University classrooms for a day. Their invitation is a positive idea that parents should accept. Because GSIs face constant parental criticism, they should plan - and parents should attend - similar events in the future.
This week, more than a dozen University GSIs invited parents to attend their classes. The invitation is part of a weeklong celebration of graduate teaching across the country. Eric Dirnbach, Graduate Employees' Organization Secretary, encouraged the invitation because parents rarely have the opportunity to meet and speak with the GSIs who teach their children. "We just want everyone to realize that we make a crucial contribution to the University," Dirnbach says.
GSIs teach more than 40 percent of the classes at the University - parents often do not recognize the extensive teaching experience GSIs have or the breadth of their work. Darcy Leach, GEO Vice President and one of the GSIs to extend the invitation, said, "I just really wanted people to know that I care about teaching and that I have been trained and that sometimes I have more contact with the students than professors do - but that's not necessarily a bad thing."
Leach brings up an important point - discussion sections are often the most valuable part of a University class. The impersonality of a 300-person lecture is intimidating. Most students feel insecure asking questions during a lecture, yet in a discussion, the GSIs provide an environment that facilitates discussion and can be more conducive to learning. Students in a discussion section are forced to have direct contact with the GSI. This contact assists students, giving them a place to turn when they have questions.
The class visit program allows parents to come face to face with their child's learning experience. In the future, more GSIs should join the other 12 to plan similar programs. Parents are often in town for Parents' Weekend or Homecoming; invitations for class visits around these weekends would be opportune - and a useful alternative to the standard golf tournaments and catered lunches.
GSIs are a valuable part of University students' education - it is time that parents realize their importance. As the GEO motto states: "The University works because we do."