Teaching Fellows

To the Editors of The Crimson:

The Harvard Parent's letter (February 24) I don't feel describes the attitude or behavior of most section leaders. While I've been pleased with the section instruction in general. I've also noticed that the head professor's guidance or University policies have not in any way pressured these section leaders to do a good job. Most do so because of their own sense of pride, perfection, and desire to help students understand what is going on in the main lectures and the reading Strangely. Harvard professors often state that sections instruction is the most important part of their course and yet do not weekly provide guidelines and actual information to be taught in sections. This is especially true in the humanities and social sciences. When a University professor recently declared that his class did not have sections because "lack of attendance is abominable," something has gone wrong in the system. Weekly meetings between the professor and section leaders, written down ideas for section topics, and new material best taught in a small setting will not stop a few section leaders from reading fifteen page papers in five minutes but will make such incompetence more unique and provide all section leaders and students with common goals and a sense that sections are important and necessary in a large lecture course. Ed Spillane '85