Moot Thoughts & Musings

Lots of things get in the news that aren't news. Like a hunting accident in Texas being WORLD news. or somebody's little conflict over who shakes hands with whom or smiles or doesn't smile at whom at the Olympics. Maybe they could put in the news what is getting rebuilt after katrina instead of what is not and who is being rescued (or not) in the Phillipines). And did you see Fred McFarland in the NYTimes (compliments of coolauntstina?)

Except, I wonder if, as a column, this is not actually presented as news, more op/ed. Either way, I don't think that the subject is an interesting one worth spending time and money over. Furthermore it reinforces the alienation of university culture. What would be more interesting is if they talked about the ways technology have changed the face of academia, or something along those lines.

I haven't seen this article yet, although I appreciate the reminder, because I meant to go back to it. It does seem strangely timed, at the very least. Not news, in any case. But there is a story there, I think. I have taught at the university level both pre and post universal email and I think that email has fundamentally changed the way students and teachers relate. There are both plusses and minuses to the change. The big minus, of course, is that students will frequently fire off an email instead of figuring out a problem for themselves. You quickly figure out which students do this and will need a method. I have found turning questions back to the students tends to shut down the behavior fairly quickly. The big plus, though, is that you know what's happening with your students. People who are afraid to talk in class are often more comfortable with email. Last spring, when I was teaching Mozart operas in class, one of my students emailed me to say his friend had an extra ticket to a local production of The Marriage of Figaro and could he substitute a review of the performance for another assignment. Because of email, he was able to make arrangements for this on two hours of notice. And because of email, I was able to hear of his thrilled reaction to the performance, the very first opera he'd ever attended, minutes after he got home. I really loved that. That wouldn't have happened pre-email

that *is* a sweet little email. awwww.

I tell ya, email saves me from listening to my professor yap on and on about stupid and sometimes inappropriate stuff. He makes his emails very very brief. I like that. So while I sit at home in my housewife hoodie I can have an electro-lesson from my prof! Hoorah!

Hey...actually, after reading the article, I'm fairly sympathetic to some of its points, especially after a particularly annoying e-mail experience of my own this week. I think the relative anonymity of the e-mail medium can allow students to be much more disrespectful because you're not actually getting face time with the professor. It takes a lot more chutzpah to look a professor or a TA in the face and blame THEM for your own irresponsibility in missing class for the fourth week in a row (at least!) than to fire off a pert little e-mail saying the same thing, as a student did to me last week. Conversely, it was much easier for me to write an e-mail back to her about personal responsibility than it would have been for me to confront her face-to-face, mainly because of my generally non-confrontational personality.

I think the problem isn't in the medium, I think it's in the medium's sometimes unintentional misuse. Students are taught professional behavior when they write papers (how to cite sources, how to research), why not also teach them about professional courtesy in e-mail correspondence? For example, use readable sentences complete with punctuation, be respectful in your address, and send your e-mail in a timely fashion so that your professor can respond.

Ooh. NPR All Things Considered did do a bit on CEOs and the use of email. Actually, it was just on bosses and the use of email, but they talked about CEOs, too. Admit, I didn't read the article you cited, but from the comments it sounds like they were discussing many of the same issues: saying things you wouldn't face to face, establishing some sort of professional standards for use, etc.