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[grasshopper]

Sure, the prof should probably have been more explicit about what he was looking for, but attending the first day of class and holding weekly office hours are something most professors would expect their TAs to do. That's why you are a "teaching assistant" and not a "grader". The prof did not make a mistake. He is simply expecting you to perform normal TA tasks.

Actually TAships at my school are merely graders. We only grade assignments and tests, and only hold office hours after for students to complain about grading, lol.

Well then, congratulations--you've been promoted! You're now a real TA, with the potential to gain a job experience that is actually worth putting on your resume!

And you're COMPLAINING? You're complaining about the fact that you've been promoted and are being paid to learn the basic life lesson that you don't sign contracts (or orally agree to things) without first checking the details? Quit complaining. Get to work.

Seriously.

These are not terribly onerous requests. Your expectations are the ones that sound out of line to me. Not your expectation that the professor adapt to the local culture. I think that's a fairly common assumption. But that he should change his needs to suit your expectations? Uh, no.

I would read your contract. Unless it says "duties include grading. The end", then you're the one who should be adapting expectations to fit reality. 

You're going to learn soon that the best opportunities usually come in the form of extra work. A chance to do the grunt work as a volunteer conference organizer. A shot to teach tutorials or give lectures as part of your TA duties. The experience of working for/with different people with different needs and different agendas. These are all invaluable opportunities that take a lot of time and effort, and generally don't pay well, if at all.

It's probably best to learn now that your tender sensibilities won't be catered to. I've found it best to think of TA positions as apprenticeships. When/if you finally get a job in academia, you'll be much better prepared if you're already used to the idea that a big chunk of your day-to-day work won't be explicitly spelled out in your contract, and that nobody is going to apologize for it.

[tenured_feminist]

I agree with what's already been said, particularly about your campus being an outlier. I write to add a few points that haven't been said yet.

First, imagine yourself as an undergraduate in your supervising professor's class. If a TA is doing most or all of the grading, how would you feel to be receiving grades from an entirely faceless, almost anonymous entity who's not even enrolled at that campus and has only indicated any willingness or availability to meet with you once during the term?

Second, while the completely hands off approach may fit the culture of the R1 where you're enrolled, the culture of a satellite campus is likely to be quite different. The satellite campus may have to work harder to get and retain the undergraduate butts in seats that maintain its budget and viability. And the professors likely know darn well that they are going to be judged as stringently on teaching as on research. This encourages them to pay a lot more attention to pedagogy, and accountability for grades is the first law of good pedagogy.

And third, given what the job market is likely to be for the next several years, do you expect to see more ads for a) R1 jobs or b) jobs at MA, directional, or satellite campuses when you finish your degree and go on the market? If you respond sensibly to this question, you should be able to see the value in doing the job you've gotten well and using it as an opportunity to learn about how such places work. Piss and moan about your slave driver supervisor all you want to your friends, but if the prof actually gets to know you well enough to stick a letter in your file about your strengths in the classroom, you may be in a much better position than others in your program who've only graded anonymously.

Finally, as someone whose responsibilities include assigning graduate students to positions, I don't like to see graduate students getting into conflicts with faculty about reasonable work requests. If you poison the well at the satellite campus by earning a reputation as a difficult person, you're not just harming yourself. You may be eliminating a funding opportunity for future graduate students in your program. Of course, faculty can be unreasonable about what they expect of graduate student assistants, and a good grad director or chair will be willing to hear grad students and intervene directly when this happens. But I agree with previous posters -- that's simply not the case here.

[aprilmay]

I expect all TAs to attend all classes and to be available for office hours. This is standard and not an unreasonable expectation, even if the TA is "just grading" for the course. In fact, the professor is probably surprised that you were surprised at this part of the job. Each time you force the professor to insist that you do your job, you are demonstrating to him/her that you have to be pushed into performing the most basic responsibilities for your TAship. It seems you had unreasonable expectations about what the TAship was going to be. You seem concerned about their view of you, but I suspect some minor negative opinions have already formed. You can do the best job you can for the remainder of the semester to rectify this. Contracts do not necessarily state all aspects of a job, especially if they are considered standard. In any case, the best TAs, or the best anything, don't try to get by doing the bare minimum. If you are struggling with the time commitment of your job, you can talk to the professor honestly about your situation and hopefully they will work with you.

[merope]

To address the original question (a bit): If you really want the professor to realize that what he or she has asked is beyond the norm at your school, I would simply tell them how excited you are to finally be able to interact with students on a regular basis, as that's not something you've been able to do in the past. Said with a smile on your face, you can also repair any damage that may have occurred from your earlier reluctance to acquiesce to your supervisor's requests.

Want to really butter your professor up? Ask if you can give a lecture in his class.

[msparticularity]

Following Merope's thoughts, I think you could also apologize for seeming difficult, and explain that you were surprised and confused because the other professors in your department tend to keep their TAs at more of a distance from their classes. (This would make the source of your hesitation clearer, while making you look less unreasonable.)

[bread_pirate_naan]

This thread is too polite.

[southerntransplant]

Sure, the prof should probably have been more explicit about what he was looking for, but attending the first day of class and holding weekly office hours are something most professors would expect their TAs to do. That's why you are a "teaching assistant" and not a "grader". The prof did not make a mistake. He is simply expecting you to perform normal TA tasks.

Actually TAships at my school are merely graders. We only grade assignments and tests, and only hold office hours after for students to complain about grading, lol.

We're getting ready to convert these types of TAs (tuition + stipend) to graders (hourly wage and you get to pay in-state tuition). The ones unaffected are those who are actually teaching sections of lab classes and holding office hours.

[larryc]

In fact, the professor is probably surprised that you were surprised at this part of the job. Each time you force the professor to insist that you do your job, you are demonstrating to him/her that you have to be pushed into performing the most basic responsibilities for your TAship . . . I suspect some minor negative opinions have already formed.

Yes, if you have any sense you need to go into damage control mode for the rest of the semester. Attend every class session, ask to give a lecture, go for coffee with the professor and ask questions about teaching.

[larryc]

This thread is too polite.

One can never be too polite. But I know what you mean.

[zeitgeber]

I'm quite surprised an institution would use TAs only for grading. I was a TA as an undergrad (SLAC) and had other duties beyond grading. At my previous school, the professor I TAed for required me to be a member of his research team in addition to my other tasks. Other TAs did not have this requirement. Different professors have different expectations. That's life.

[kron3007]

You should have a contract that specifies the number of hours that you are being paid to work.  As long as this is within your contract suck it up.

If it is above and beyond what is specified in your contract it is probably still best to just suck it up, but then you at least would have something.