r/Harvard • u/Zealousideal-Hour-54 • 15d ago
Is this one of Harvard’s faculty or staff? She presents herself as a “Harvard Educator” according to her website and responses
/r/Milton/comments/1wsq814/im_zainab_azim_candidate_for_mayor_of_milton_ama/?share_id=KK5YDml0kVTo1HOgTkWp9&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=164
u/abughorash '20s grad 15d ago
No, a TF is what Harvard calls what would be called a TA at any other school. Just like we call our RAs "proctors". This is some craaaazy exaggeration lmao, with the Mamdani font and everything
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u/sarindong 15d ago
she was a TF for one of my courses last term and she was fine. but the criticism on the post on r/milton is brutal
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u/Select-External-72 5d ago
Its fair criticism…..Her dad is a real estate agent who is known to scam people in Milton. And she isn’t exactly involved in the community….she joined a couple things as an exec member when her campaign started in May….the organizations she joined …we have not heard from her since she joined the committees and she has not contributed.
Also a prof from your program Dr. Marshall Ganz is endorsing a nepo baby. Zainab’s campaign isn’t exactly the grassroots organizing Dr.Ganz writes books about. This is embarrassing.
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u/LopsidedEntrance8703 15d ago
She’s got a textbook authored under her name on her campaign materials which looks like AI slop, lol.
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u/IntelligentRosie96 10d ago
You mean the textbooks published with THIS GUY? https://www.gse.harvard.edu/directory/faculty/fernando-reimers Come on, bro.
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u/Lie-Straight 15d ago
Local politicians gotta start somewhere. I applaud her ambition and willingness to take the lumps, even if I don’t agree with her ideas (I know Milton Ontario well)
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u/abughorash '20s grad 15d ago
I for one don't admire the blatant lying she's basing her campaign on. She may be new to politics but she's got the ethics of an expert!
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u/Select-External-72 5d ago
I mean she slapped her face next to Zohran so seems like she is an expert at lying.
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u/IntelligentRosie96 14d ago
How is this blatant lying? She IS a a TF for this course.
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u/abughorash '20s grad 14d ago
She's lying by calling herself a "Harvard educator," which implies faculty, and definitely lying when someone in the AMA asks her whether a TF is the same thing as a TA and she says no.
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u/IntelligentRosie96 12d ago
They are not the same. Hence the difference in title. They are also dramatically different across course/school/discipline.
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u/abughorash '20s grad 12d ago
They are absolutely the same.
TAs duties differ fairly widely across course/school/discipline, this is well known, but there is a general core of responsibilities as well as a range of responsibilities considered acceptable. This is exactly the same for TFs because, guess what, they're the same thing.
The "difference in title" is absolutely meaningless because Harvard has no "TA" concept; the naming is one of those Harvard naming things like proctor and BLGTQ.
Did you even go here?
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u/IntelligentRosie96 12d ago
The all knowing Harvard College grad…they are not the same. Proctors are NOT RAs. TFs are NOT TAs. —signed former TF, TA, Doctoral Student, Research Assistant, and Faculty across three different schools. You reek of elitism.
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u/abughorash '20s grad 12d ago edited 10d ago
A proctor is an RA, as commonly understood, except they're a grad student. House culture in particular might result in additional duties, here, something not present for the TA/CA/TF divide.
A TF is quite literally a TA, as commonly understood, except they're a grad student. They lead sections, hold office hours/review sessions, and grade assignments. Such a person is called a TA at 99.99% of universities in North America.
Without exception, every single harvard webpage I can find on this subject supports this (1, 2, 3). Do you have any statements supporting the opposite? Hell, do you even care to elaborate on how they're different (according to you)? Because you just keep saying "they are!111".
It's "elitism" to call TFs TAs and not their own special thing just because they go to Harvard? If anything it's the opposite lmao
Edit: lmaooo u/intelligentrosie96 with the respond-then-block. peak redditor nonsense
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u/IntelligentRosie96 10d ago
Have you held any of these roles? Doesn't sound like it.
Since you asked for a source, here’s the 2022 HGSU-Harvard collective bargaining agreement. Article 2 is literally titled “Titles and Classifications.” Harvard classifies instructional workers based on duties and eligibility and assigns distinct titles and pay classifications accordingly.
Are the roles analogous? Sure. Do they overlap? Absolutely. I never said otherwise. But “similar roles” and “the same role with a Harvard-specific name” are not the same thing.
You asked for a source. Here you go.
IWTTYL.
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u/Plastic-Pattern-8993 10d ago
I personally have been a TF and I agree with u/abughorash. It is a TA role. It is okay to admit being wrong!
The TA/TF naming split at Harvard is entirely bureocrsatic/organizational specificities in nomenclature (i.e. most Harvard insinuations do not have a role called "TA"). The document you link to supports this in numerous locations
Give anyone at a non-Harvard college in North America a list of TF responsibilities and it will exactly match their perception of a TA.
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u/nebulous_undefined 12d ago
Particular demographic lying about qualifications to spearhead their way into political power. Fork found in kitchen
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u/waffles2go2 11d ago
The label is disingenuous and knowing a few people who have been through HGSE, it seems to be one of the programs that accepts a ton of people for the Masters (35-50%)... not the PHD...
And anyone who's been a TA knows the drill so please "the harvard horror story"... like no, just no...
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u/vmlee & Retired HGC Exec 15d ago edited 15d ago
Not faculty or staff as a Teaching Fellow, but Teaching Fellows are educators at Harvard. "Harvard educator" would be technically correct, especially if the Teaching Fellow role involved direct instruction.
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u/Alternative-Blue 14d ago
It's legally correct but deeply unserious.
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u/IntelligentRosie96 14d ago
The role of TF/TA role is unionized one that is varied across the university with several courses involving direct instruction. The school runs on the back of TFs. Unless you’ve been one you have no idea of the amount of work being performed by one. In my time there, I completely developed great portions of the courses or completely managed the assessment portion. Many of us managed the sections on our own, especially with the larger classes. The professors at Harvard are brilliant but many times courses (and students) survive because of TFs/TAs.
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u/Satisest 15d ago
She’s a student, not faculty or staff. She’s doing an M.Ed. degree at Harvard GSE. She’s also appointed as a TF (Teaching Fellow), as are many graduate students.