I have been a TA and I have caught people cheating, and I have never done that! You take the paper, check it, pull them aside to talk to them, then take the test away if need be. Some people cheat because of emotional distress, so doing something like tearing a test up is one good way to give them a mental breakdown. Being a TA takes patience. No need to be a bitch.

you have no soul.

Oh and other posters have mentioned how you aren't allowed to have any piece of paper with writing. This is true, but what you should have done was looked at the note and asked him to put it away, and then whispered "Good luck" or something, just to keep up his confidence. Making a huge scene and going 'OMG YOU ARE CHEATING GIVE ME YOUR TEST RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRR' is a good way to startle the other students, distract them, and make them nervous. Even in a huge lecture hall you need to exercise some calm when dealing with the situation.

Why wouldn't you look at the piece of paper in his hand first? Jump to conclusions much? I can understand what you were thinking, but damn! Learn to think before acting! You'd better give that kid an A on his test now. Seriously. Don't even offer to let him retake it... that'd be an insult to both of you. Just give him the A. #3 - I agree! #24 - I also agree!

#14, how difficult is it, exactly, to ask "Let me see what you have in your hand?" and then decide what actions you should takee from there.

my other comment did sound harsh. but it sounds like this history test was a major part of your grade. so, yeah. if a TA ripped it up without even finding out first if i actually was cheating, yeah, i would make sure that TA is fired. wouldnt you? think about it.

You deserve it. You really do. It's what you get for your power trip. You're supposed to be authority, sure. But you're also supposed to be respectful. In a large or small class, you DON'T do what you do. You take them aside, even if they actually were cheating.

Man, that was a pretty dick move. For those saying 'omgomg too many kids in a class to look at everything oh noes' -- how long does it take to look at the sheet of paper he's holding, turn it over and tell him to put it away? 10 seconds? Less? And how hard is it to say 'I know you're nervous, but I can't let you have that out. Stick it in your back pocket, and it'll still be close', smile and walk away after he puts it away? I sincerely hope that you let him rewrite his exam and allowed him extra time to calm back down, since he was obviously very scared to begin with.

@ #32 who has a TA in highschool? if that happened to me, id punch you in the face.