Interesting piece in the Times:
One student skipped class and then sent the professor an e-mail message asking for copies of her teaching notes. Another did not like her grade, and wrote a petulant message to the professor. Another explained that she was late for a Monday class because she was recovering from drinking too much at a wild weekend party.
Jennifer Schultens, an associate professor of mathematics at the University of California, Davis, received this e-mail message last September from a student in her calculus course: “Should I buy a binder or a subject notebook? Since I’m a freshman, I’m not sure how to shop for school supplies. Would you let me know your recommendations? Thank you!”
At colleges and universities nationwide, e-mail has made professors much more approachable. But many say it has made them too accessible, erasing boundaries that traditionally kept students at a healthy distance.
These days, they say, students seem to view them as available around the clock, sending a steady stream of e-mail messages — from 10 a week to 10 after every class — that are too informal or downright inappropriate.
I get a steady stream of questions that are downright stupid- I recently sent out a review sheet to everyone that had a summary of what we had discussed in class in paragraph form followed bya series of items to pay attention to, and a student emailed me to ask whether they should pay attention to the summary or the list of items when studying for the test. Usually, I just send a short, polite (for me) response, such as in this case: “Both.”
On the whole, though, email has been great, because it gives students an extra avenue to get in touch with me. I even give my students my office instant messenger, which more and more students use.