Ever come home to 50 e-mails that need to be answered?
It’s obnoxious.
That is what many professors experience daily. Want to know why?
The answer lies in the fact that we have become a society that is so used to instant gratification because of our technology. With the few taps of some keys and the movement of a mouse we can send messages to people near and far, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
E-mail has opened new opportunities for people around the world to talk with ease, but at the same time, it has created a world where person-to-person interaction comes second to interactions with computers.
What we students need to realize is professors are extremely busy, and shooting them an e-mail is not always the best way to reach them for a response.
They have these little things called “office hours” that are there for a reason. They are there so students and professors can interact face-to-face and build a relationship where each can learn from the other.
It’s time to take advantage of the face time we are missing with our professors. Now we understand that some professors do prefer to be reached over e-mail, but responses shouldn’t be expected for frivolous questions that a college student should be expected to know. E-mail shouldn’t be used to ask what pages are supposed to be read if a student missed class for an unexcused absence.
Students should also consider the informal language they use in their e-mails. You aren’t sending an e-mail to your buddy or even your grandma, and your correspondence to professors should reflect this. Professors are professionals — they are almost the same word — and should be treated that way.
Now for the professors, it would benefit students as a whole if it is was made clear how you feel about e-mails at the beginning of a term. Let us know if you think office hours are pointless and you would rather be reached through e-mail or if you prefer to actually see the face of those talking to you. In the end, it will only make the student-professor relationship stronger.
