Interesting front-page article in the New York Times, To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me, by Jonathan D. Glater:
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….
But student e-mail can go too far, said Robert B. Ahdieh, an associate professor at Emory Law School in Atlanta. He paraphrased some of the comments he had received: "I think you’re covering the material too fast, or I don’t think we’re using the reading as much as we could in class, or I think it would be helpful if you would summarize what we’ve covered at the end of class in case we missed anything." Students also use e-mail to criticize one another, Professor Ahdieh said. He paraphrased this comment: "You’re spending too much time with my moron classmates and you ought to be focusing on those of us who are getting the material."
The article struck a cord in the Law Prof Blogosphere:
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Ann Althouse, Emailing the Professor
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Vic Fleischer, To: Professor@University.edu Subject: Why It’s All About Me
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Michael Froomkin, Needy and Inappropriate Email from Students?
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Ethan Leib, Student E-mail
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Jennifer Mnookin, Emails from Students
