Thursday, March 5, 2009
Email Correspondence with students
What type of correspondence is appropriate when dealing with the secondary level students? Would you allow them to IM you? Why or why not? Is it ok if they send you emails that don't really have anything to do with school? Where do you draw the line between being professional and being supportive of their emotional needs?
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I think that e-mail is the most appropriate form of communication. I feel that phone calls can easily invade your personal life if your number ends up in immature hands.
ReplyDeleteI do not think I would allow the students to IM me. First of all, they might be tempted to use IM phases and short type which is not appropriate. Secondly, In my first semester biology class my professor gave out his screen name because he thought students would be more willing to ask questions if they could remain anonymous. Problem was, in the middle of class, former students would interrupt class unintentionally or inappropriately. I think it would be easier to not even give the students that temptation.
I would allow non-school related emails if I felt that the student genuinely needed someone to talk to. I know this would be a tough call but I would never turn a serious matter away. I know that it would be a good idea to keep the conversations on record through e-mail, but at the same time words can become misconstrued when written and not spoken; so I would schedule a meeting with the student after class so that we can discuss the matter. To try to avoid scandals for meeting outside class with no written documentation, I would probably schedule the meeting in a library or cafeteria so that people could see nothing inappropriate was occurring.
As a student, the teachers that have had the longest lasting impact on
ReplyDeletemy life are those that are available. However, with that said there
is a line between professional and personal. I would fully hand out
my email address. I am already in the habit of checking it almost
hourly (joking, but only kind of). I would be able to provide a quick
response to my students via email. I believe I would reserve my phone
number for only emergency situations. I use to have an IM name, but
that is long gone. I am, I am sure, the last person not belonging to
facebook. For me, these things would not be an issue. However, if I
was in the position I believe I would keep these private. Students do
not need to be your buddy on facebook or know when you are available
to chat via IM.
To reiterate about emails, I believe if the student feels comfortable
sending me emails that have nothing to do with an assignment I believe
that is okay. However, I would remind students I am an adult.
Therefore, try to apply the "adult check" to the content. Basically,
ask yourself (as the student) if you would feel comfortable having
your mother, aunt or other adult you (as the student) respect read the
material.
I love the idea of an "Adult check!" It's a great way to express the concept.
ReplyDeleteI would be OK if students wanted to communicate with me via email because it is an excellent tool. I may not check it hourly, but I do check it several times a day, and that can provide fairly quick feedback. Even if all it is multiple questions about the homework. I may not be able to answer every question, but I'd have feedback that the lesson didn't sink in and needs to be reviewed again.
I do agree with Joan. I'm not giving out a screen name for instant messages. Partially that's because I prefer not to use it as a communication tool, but the thought of several students IMing me at once about the same problem, with windows popping up and sound effects is not appealing.
I'd prefer if my students kept email to school subjects for the most part, though I do understand and appreciate that some students may feel the need to reach out for help in non school related things. However, no chain letters, no inspirational prayer circles, no urban myths. I simply do not like them from anyone, even my mom.
I will also likely not be providing me phone number. It can only result in late night phone calls by giggling students who think they are clever and well disguised.
When we posted in January, I mentioned Facebook. I think I will follow my friend's example. She realized that her freshman students would look for her on Facebook, but didn't want them looking through her pictures from college or her friend's profiles. She instead made her college Facebook page non-viewable by anyone but her friends, and created a new one that her students could locate.
She also uses it as a place to post reminders about assignments and project due dates. Her students love thinking that they are so clever to have "found" her online and that she is accessible to them as a friend, but her "real life" is still concealed.
I was in the same biology class as Joan. It was completely unnecessary for the professor to use AIM in a classroom setting. It was distracting though all of us can say we are college students, that has nothing to do with maturity level, unfortunately. Therefore, I believe that if college students can't handle AIM with teachers, high school is out of the question.
ReplyDeleteI've had dealings with IM where people would pose as another student or make up a screen name just to mess around.
For Emails, I believe that if the student really wants to talk about something, they will come to you. even e-mails can be tricky when it comes to tone or just the context of the message. A lot of misunderstanding can arise from just a simple email that was read in the wrong context.
So when it comes to students needing a person to talk to, I would rather not do anything through technology. The student needs a person facing them, responding immediately, not talking through a computer.
I agree with Kate, keeping emails preferably to school related stuff.
I feel that the best type of correspondence is e-mail. I would not give my IM screen name to students because I feel that too closely bridges the gap between educator and friend. I want students to be able to contact me if they need to, for which I feel e-mail is sufficient. IMing a teacher is a disaster waiting to happen, what with students (even if only 1 or 2) sending drunk or harassing messages. Plus I feel that IM makes the teacher too available to the student.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the appropriateness of the content of an e-mail should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. If a student is having family problems or going through a difficult time, then I feel that it is the teacher’s responsibility to be empathetic, contact the appropriate personnel, etc. However, chit-chat could easily be misconstrued by the learner and the school’s administration. Since all e-mails are saved, it is best to not take any chances, and if a teacher is really stuck in a rut, he/she can ask another teacher/administrator how to handle the situation.
I'm a private person. I like my space and I try really hard to keep work professional and separate from my social life. I understand it is important to give students the opportunity to reach you via some format, but I don't think that they should be relying on me and my opinion for their emotional needs. That is something that can get mixed up way too fast.
ReplyDeleteIt is highly unlikely that I will encourage students to contact me about anything outside of the classroom material that I am instructing them on. The limit that I can image for myself is that students will be able to email me about college choices/applications/career stuff. Their emotional situations will not be something that I get involved in beyond referring them to somebody else.
I will only allow my students one form of communication: email. It allows you to save conversations, communicate professionally, and it doesn't create any "personal" connection. Also, email is a format where students can practice acting professionally. The "Adult Check" idea really comes into play because they need to proofread their emails and comments carefully. I don't believe I will give out my phone number and I don't use messaging systems. I also have absolutely no intention of being friends with any of my students on facebook, twitter, myspace, or anything else that I am currently unaware of...
I have to say that I am disappointed by the current situation because I hate being suspicious of people. I like to believe that everybody has good intentions, but good points are raised about phone conversations and pranks. I think that I would just rather not deal with any of the controversy.
I personally would prefer e-mail over any other communication methods. Like we discussed in class, I can have the permanent proof of the conversation. I would not give out my phone number or screen name to any of my high school students. It’s not that I don’t trust them, but I had some issues with my messenger being hacked in the past, so for security purposes, I would not let my students IM me. There could be some emergency situations and students should contact me right at that second. Nowadays, most of students have cell phones and they can even text to my e-mail address and alert me of their emergencies. In high school, I don’t think there would be many urgent situations in which students need to contact me with urgency. If they are doing homework and projects in a timely manner, they shouldn’t need immediate help. When I have a class of my own, I’ll have to plan out the year before the school year starts anyway. So, I’ll let students know what their assignments are prior to the due dates. Hopefully they would be responsible about the assignments and not need to contact me at last minute. If the students have the urge to share their emotional or any other concerns outside of school, I would like to help. I’m not their counselor or parent, so I would not like to go into their lives and try to fix everything. However, I would try my best to give them some sound advice as a responsible adult.
ReplyDelete