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As a TA, you have an enormous opportunity…and an enormous responsibility. In many cases, interaction with your course may be the only exposure a student has to a certain subject area. Because of that, your attitude and what you bring to the discussion section can shape how a student feels about the class - and the topic of the class. You can often inspire students to delve deeper into their own interests in the course subject, or a bad attitude can forever turn a student off from any interest in a subject area.
This can be a significant challenge if you're not TA'ing for a class that is in your area of study - and therein lies an opportunity for you. How do you inspire yourself and how do you find excitement in studying and teaching about the subject? Insights into how you find your own motivations can help you figure out how to encourage your students to do the same thing.
(More about “Roles, Responsibilities and Rewards of TA-ing”)
