TAing AFTER a decade of HS teaching

[dwb331]

A quick search didn't turn up much on the matter, so here we go.

I got a great offer to do my PhD at a big state university. It's a nice offer (funded position with a departmental fellowship). I am excited about the opportunities for me and my scholarship in the department but also to see what being a TA is like. I am studying Hispanic Linguistics within the Spanish department, so my TA duties will be teaching intro Spanish courses it seems like. I will be asking more about that when I go for a visit in a few weeks.

Anyway, I am super curious about what it will be like to teach college kids after teaching HS kids for a decade. I've taught all levels of HS Spanish (from 1 to IB/AP Lit) and freshman to seniors. I have also been in private schools, so there is a mix of the chance to be really rigorous in some courses and the expectation that I both lead the horse to water AND make it drink in other courses. I know those things will be different.

To make it more fun, I will be teaching classes I never took in college: as an undergrad, I placed right into 300 and 400 level classes. I did my MA while I worked, so I never TAed there. I actually have no idea what a 100/200 level university Spanish class at a big state school looks like. I know a lot of skills and practices will carry right over, but I am more curious about the feel of the classroom.

Anyway, this will be fun (clearly), so has anyone else made a similar transition? I certainly don't expect any answers (as I didn't really ask any questions) but would love to hear experiences.

Edited March 7, 2020 by dwb331