One Harvard admissions officer tells her tour groups the story of a nightmarish teaching fellow (TF) she had in a government class as an undergraduate here.

He sounded as if he were fresh from Europe, but his highly complicated explanations of international relations obscured his meaning at least as much as his broken English.

The TF was Henry A. Kissinger '50.

Each semester, undergraduates attend lectures and participate in sections, absorbing an incredible amount of material. But the question of how that material is best taught continues to occupy the minds of students, Faculty and administrators.

The three groups agree that TFs are an integral part of education at the University, but nearly everyone in the University has the same fear as the admissions officer, that TFs may be brilliant at doing everything but what they were hired for: teaching.

"Given our reliance on TFs as the human face of instructorship for so many students--especially early in their undergraduate careers--TFs play a central role in the teaching of undergraduates," says Marquand Professor of English Lawrence Buell.

In a survey of graduating seniors, students estimated that TFs had been responsible for anywhere from 15 to 40 percent of their undergraduate instruction.

"[The use of TFs] is a fact of life at large universities," says Senior Lecturer and Head Tutor of Chemistry James E. Davis.

Students say they understand the constraints of teaching in a large institution.

"In an ideal world, we would see the professors more often, but given the size of the University, I see why the onus of seeking out contact is put on students rather than Faculty," says Ian M. Carroll '97, a literature concentrator.

A Necessary Evil?

While students generally agree with Davis's assessment and acknowledge that TFs are necessary at the University, they cite a wide variety of experiences with TF instruction.

George A. Marcus '97, a physics concentrator who estimates that 25 percent of his instruction has been conducted by TFs, says his experience has been extremely varied.

Carroll says that while his TFs have also been of varying quality, he has been satisfied overall.

I've had many more very good TFs than bad TFs," he says.

In response to concerns about TF quality the Faculty required in the fall of 1995 that departments have a program for TF training.