I recently had a conversation with a friend about crossing professional lines. Like the time her TA gave her his cell phone number and said "Call me at any time if you need help with anything."
Not that long ago I started getting coffee with one of my TAs and didn't think much about it until someone said it was "cool" and asked me if I was trying to get an A. I laughed at the comment and said no, that I genuinely find him to have interesting views. Then one time I introduced him to a friend and when my friend asked him what he was studying, he hesitantly said "I'm a graduate student."
In the past I've had difficulties seeing these "invisible lines" of professionalism when it comes to interacting with people who are "above" me. It's not like I walk in saying "Yo, what's up!" - I treat them the same way I would treat a friend: with courtesy, amiability, and respect.
Since I can remember I've always felt at ease speaking with my mentors and teachers - especially now at Davis. In most of my classes my peers are younger than me; sometimes even by 6 years.
Should I change I how interact with my "superiors"? Is it time for me to acknowledge the hierarchical academic structure and only go to office hours when I'm thoroughly confused by the subject?
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1 comment:
It is a thin line. I taught for 33 years and I crossed that line far to many times, and indeed someone must have beem looking out for me because I got into situations which were burdensome because of it. On the other hand I have students who have become lifelong friends of mine, who are so because I had the courage to cross that thin line between subordinate and superior.I have also had teachers who were far more than my instructors/mentors and became lifelong friends. One of my Philosophy profs in college invited me to his home and his wife and mine became dear friends.
He even allowed me to engage him regularly in philopsophical debates which was a kick for me to take on my own prof!
As it is with life in general, we risk something in every act, even when we fail to act.
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