Textspeak doesn’t work in college
At the start of my teaching career, when I was fresh out of graduate school, I briefly considered trying to pass myself off as a cool professor. Luckily, I soon came to my senses and embraced my true identity as a young fogey.
After one too many students called me by my first name and sent me email that resembled a drunken late-night Facebook post, I took a very fogeyish step. I began attaching a page on etiquette to every syllabus: basic rules for how to address teachers and write polite, grammatically correct emails.
Over the past decade or two, college students have become far more casual in their interactions with faculty members. My colleagues around the country grumble about students’ sloppy emails and blithe informality.
Source: U Can’t Talk to Ur Professor Like This – The New York Times
Some of this is why I don’t give out my cellphone number. I do use a Google Voice number for school related functions, and Remind.com with the students. Hopefully students will be less likely to be informal when using tools that are only used in formal situations.
