Withdrawing from a graduate course

[SystemsOrSomething]

So, here's the story.  I'm a second-semester PhD student living off a teaching assistantship which works me fairly hard.  I took two classes last semester and did just fine, but this semester I'm taking three.  On top of that, I'm trying to get a leg up on research so I can graduate at some point in the not-too-distant future.

 

The problem is, I'm overloaded.  I put a lot of effort into my teaching because I don't want my students to have the same crappy TA experience that I had as an undergrad.  I end up going above and beyond what's actually required of me in that capacity.

 

As far as my own classes (the ones I'm taking) go, I'm barely keeping up.  Two of the classes have a reasonable workload, but the third is taught by a brand-new professor who seems to have a ton of free time to devote to the course.  He's actually a pretty good teacher (despite coming off a little patronizing at times), and I'm learning quite a lot, but I feel like this course is taking up a ton of time that could be spent doing research and/or securing a funded research assistantship.

 

My question is, should I withdraw from the course at this point in the semester?  I'll receive a 'W' on my graduate transcript, but that's not my biggest concern.  I'm more concerned about the social dynamics of this situation - I might want to collaborate with the professor who's teaching the course in the future, and I'm not sure how dropping his class would affect our relationship.  At the same time, I feel like I'm getting so burned out that I'm starting to lose my passion for the program overall.

 

I'm also concerned about the ramifications of dropping from full-time to part-time status - I'll check on that tomorrow.

 

[Between Fields]

I'm with you on this one... I really really want to drop a course I'm taking, but the professor teaching it is on my thesis committee. It might be... counterproductive. (I just can't stand reading even one more word of Jane Austen, and she did something pretty terrible in class the other day...) In your case, perhaps you could talk with the professor and try to work out something for due dates and expectations for reading materials? Otherwise, you might just have to slow your research down a little for this semester.

[pears]

Is this the professor's first time teaching (outside of a position held while they were a PhD student/candidate)? If so, I agree that this is good advice:

 

In your case, perhaps you could talk with the professor and try to work out something for due dates and expectations for reading materials? Otherwise, you might just have to slow your research down a little for this semester.

 

Granted, I'm a first year M.A. student in a totally different field, so take this with a grain of salt: I'd rather pump the brakes on research than eat the "W" and drop to part time status. I had more than one "W" on my undergrad transcript, which was miserable enough; I intend to never have another, no matter what the situation. Also, part time status affects funding sources, access to campus resources, etc., for grad students at my current university, so that's something to consider, too. If the professor is really brand new, they might still be able to empathize as far as juggling workloads/projects goes, so it's worth asking about expectations, due dates, and workload before withdrawing.

[amglol]

I'm with you on this one... I really really want to drop a course I'm taking, but the professor teaching it is on my thesis committee. It might be... counterproductive. (I just can't stand reading even one more word of Jane Austen, and she did something pretty terrible in class the other day...) In your case, perhaps you could talk with the professor and try to work out something for due dates and expectations for reading materials? Otherwise, you might just have to slow your research down a little for this semester.

 

Wait. Jane Austen did something terrible in class? Sounds awesome.

[LittleDarlings]

You should talk to the prof and explain the situation. Tell them that you hope it doesn't ruin your professional relationship but you just can't handle it.

[danieleWrites]

I put a lot of effort into my teaching because I don't want my students to have the same crappy TA experience that I had as an undergrad.  I end up going above and beyond what's actually required of me in that capacity.

If you talk to your adviser or the professor, this is the part they're going to hone in on.

Crappy TA experiences aside, there has to be a balance between your scholarship and your teaching. It is your duty to provide a good opportunity for students to avail themselves of, but it is not your duty to do so at the expense of your own studies. Whether your drop the course or not, I would suggest that you free up a bit of time to consider what you're doing as a TA that you should either not do or you should delegate.

I'm not in informatics, but as a composition instructor, the two sections I teach could consume my life, if I let it, so that I could provide a great TA experience, rather than a crappy one. The problem is that what I think is necessary for "great" only applies to a few, not to everyone. I take the time to comment on rough drafts so students have a solid guide for revision, so that they can learn something from revision, and so that they can earn a better grade. Most students? The hours and hours I spent doing that, at the cost of my own studies, were pretty much wasted. Some students found it some of the most helpful composition instruction they've ever had. Most of them glanced over the comments and ignored most of it. Information overload. More importantly, what I thought was helpful was actually detrimental in the long run. They came to expect me to tell them what I wanted to see in a paper in order for them to get an A, not to learn to evaluate their own writing and figure out what they need to do in order to write effectively. I changed my strategy (with some research in pedagogy) to offer a few suggestions and asking questions. Conferences during office hours and referals to the writing center taught them to look to themselves for basic help first. Yeah, this comes across as lazy teaching to some. Why should they go to the writing center to get the help they think they should get from the teacher? Simple fact: only in the English department will they be likely to have a professor that will comment on a rough draft with the thoroughness a tutor will. Most profs, even in the English department, will have a few comments for a rough draft, if they will even comment on the draft at all. They'll talk about the big picture stuff, how to focus the research, what order the work should be presented in the paper, and so on, but all of the stuff composition TAs spend way too much time pointing out? Not gonna happen. Here I go, talking about myself. Ugh.

It's basically making sure that all of that above and beyond effort you're putting into TAing really is worth it. Your adviser and your professors and your department chair will tell you that your scholarship should have a higher priority than your teaching responsibilities. Now, a number of TAs take that to mean that they don't have to do much in the way of teaching (meaning they're prioritizing themselves over their teaching responsibilities). The reasoning behind this prioritization thing is simple: TAs don't graduate if they don't prioritize their responsibilities adequately. You also have a strong responsibility to the department. All of the money you earn (tuition assistance, salary, etc.) as a TA is paid by the department. That tuition you're not paying? For classes you're having problems with? Your department paid that for you. You have a responsibility to do your best.

Which leads you to where you're at now. How to do your best as both student and TA. Should you drop? Is your TA/student balance appropriate? Or are you over-TAing and under-studenting?

If withdraw is the best way for you to fulfill your student and teaching responsibilities, speak with your adviser about the consequences, good and bad, of withdrawing, before you speak with your professor. Before you withdraw, make sure it's a course that can be replaced by a different course, should this one not be offered regularly. If it's one you need to have, but it's only offered every two years, you probably oughtn't drop it. If it's an elective, but it's relevant to your research interests, you probably ought to think hard about dropping it. Finally, make sure you have some reasoning about why TAing is taking up so much of your time, so that way you won't be simply told to TA less and student more.

Edited March 20, 2014 by danieleWrites