A friend posted a status update on Facebook yesterday, calling himself the worst TA ever.
photo © 2007 Vincent Teeuwen | more info (via: Wylio)
What could make someone think that?

Actually, it’s not that hard to imagine. There are a lot of things that make us think we should do better. It’s part of academia – we want to be good at things. Thing is, we all have bad days. And as academics, we’re trained in analysis (and meta-analysis). It’s hard not to be critical of yourself, but it is possible to examine the situation and learn from it. Even tenured faculty who’ve been teaching *forever* have bad days. (Shhh! they don’t want anyone to know!)

It could have been any number of things that got my friend down: things forgotten (like lesson plans), a classroom experiment that didn’t work out, a group that wouldn’t talk, a class where no one came prepared. Sometimes we get frustrated and act with (ahem) very strong emotions… It happens. It will be okay. You are not the worst TA ever.

If the goal is to become a better teacher, there are things you can do to make that happen. Reading about teaching and learning is one thing you can do; taking advantage of workshops in your campus Centre for Teaching and Learning is another. Asking more experienced teachers who are good at what they do can also help.

What other steps can a person take to take to make better teaching a reality?