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Personal Scenarios

A: You are feeling overwhelmed, sad, anxious, etc.

  • Reach out to the Caltech Care Team, a multidisciplinary group of professional staff at Caltech, who connect students with resources and support.
  • Reach out for help: friends, fellow TAs, profs, mentors, the Caltech Student Wellness center.
  • Remember you are not alone - everyone has felt similar feelings at some point!!
  • Occupational Therapy: for helping with time management (better organization of tasks could reduce feelings of overwhelmed).
  • Take a break - but remember to communicate a break with instructors and TAs so they can fill in.

B: One of your students is feeling especially overwhelmed, sad, anxious, etc.

  • Encourage the student to reach out and be welcoming and willing to listen.
  • Be sympathetic - understand everyone has times where this can happen.
  • Encourage the student to reach out to the Caltech Care Team, a multidisciplinary group of professional staff at Caltech, who connect students with resources and support.
  • Direct student to a resource depending on what the student is feeling - TA fellow, instructor, undergrad/grad dean, Student Wellness Center, Occupational Therapy.
  • Work with instructor and student to figure out something that works (ex: if student had a family emergency, delay the next assignment).

C: Personal friendships & relationships with students.

  • Ensure fairness in how you treat students (ex: friends who message questions on Facebook should be encouraged to ask questions on Piazza, so everyone can learn).
  • Maintain professionalism while you are in a TA role.
  • You have a equal responsibility to all students to help them learn.

D: You have been sexual harassed or you notice sexual harassment among some of the students.

  • Remember that people are here to help you.
  • Be aware of what conduct is sexual harassment -- it matters what you think is okay, not what the person who did the harassment thinks.
  • Reach out to Caltech Title IX Office and undergrad/grad dean.