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'U Can't Talk to Ur Professor Like This' (nytimes.com)
Millennial college students have become far too casual when they talk with their professors, reads an opinion piece on The New York Times. Addressing professors by their first names and sending misspelled, informal emails with text abbreviations have become common practices (Editor's note: the link could be paywalled; here's a syndicated source) among many students than educators would like, Molly Worthen, an assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill adds. From the article: 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. "When students started calling me by my first name, I felt that was too far, and I've got to say something," Mark Tomforde, a math professor at the University of Houston said. Sociologists who surveyed undergraduate syllabuses from 2004 and 2010 found that in 2004, 14 percent addressed issues related to classroom etiquette; six years later, that number had more than doubled, to 33 percent. This phenomenon crosses socio-economic lines. My colleagues at Stanford gripe as much as the ones who teach at state schools, and students from more privileged backgrounds are often the worst offenders. [...] Insisting on traditional etiquette is also simply good pedagogy. It's a teacher's job to correct sloppy prose, whether in an essay or an email. And I suspect that most of the time, students who call faculty members by their first names and send slangy messages are not seeking a more casual rapport. They just don't know they should do otherwise -- no one has bothered to explain it to them. Explaining the rules of professional interaction is not an act of condescension; it's the first step in treating students like adults.
This is basic stuff, and they graduate high school without learning it. What did they put on their college application, a plagiarized form letter?
People have gotten much more informal with EVERYONE. They have no respect or perception of authority or seniority.
Hell, 10+ years ago, Scrubs even did an episode where the (older) Kelso was trying to get through to this overweight girl about the dangers of surgery and she basically talked over him and Google'd everything as he spoke and he went on about how back-in-the-day, being a doctor "meant something" and you got things like free hair cuts, not to mention RESPECT.
So if a comedy show noticed this 10+ years ago, it's been going on for a lot longer. I've gotten far in life simply by treating everyone with respect. People notice and appreciate it when you go out of your way to recognize their inherent human dignity.
The community college I went to was pretty laid back with most instructors being called by their last name. The other community college in the district was more uptight with instructors insisting on being called "Instructor" before their last name. Never understood that stick-up-the-wazoo attitude, as they were teaching the same material and getting paid the same rate.
I'm a full time engineer who has taught a few classes. I felt like things worked better when I wasn't really positioned above the student. I taught the classes as I'm an engineer and I'm going to try to bring you up to the same level of knowledge. How you e-mail me, how you address me, I don't really care as long as it isn't offensive. When we get to homework or projects, I will tell the students up front it better be written up properly or it will be graded down. But there is time for being formal and time where it just doesn't matter.
This is about language.
My mother graduated from high school and swore like a French whore. My father graduated from the sixth grade, joined the Army and built buildings, swore less than my mother. I didn't learn language until I was in the sixth grade and my classmates taught me all the swear words to fill out a barnyard. However, behavior, politeness and desire to sit down prevented me from using language around adults.
Specifically, English; which is an evolving language and has been since it separated from the Latin language.
English was for commoners. Latin for priests. French for royalty. And drawings of penises for the illiterate.
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/s...
"We've found by experience that people who are careless and sloppy writers are usually also careless and sloppy at thinking and coding (often enough to bet on, anyway). Answering questions for careless and sloppy thinkers is not rewarding; we'd rather spend our time elsewhere."
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Language does more than(1) transfer direct meaning, but also signifies social status, politeness, and(2) education(3). Lacking social graces will make social interactions difficult(4). It (5) reflects that we live in a society with socially-enforced hierarchies, and those are(6a) not going away any time soon (nor should they(6b)).(7)
1. Eliminate negatives in your writing.
2.The last point in a list should be conjoined with "and".
3. Reserve "etc" for lists where the points are already stated elsewhere
4. State only what you can prove.
5. Eliminate filler words such as "just" or "like".
6a & 6b. Singulars and Plurals in sentences must agree.
7. Remember to end your sentences with a period.
If you believe people who speak one way are better than people who speak another you are an uneducated person with outdated ideas.
Figure it out.