English seems to be my professors first language. Oddly enough I’m actually taking him for a writing course. He should have used his common sense and knowledge towards writing a proper reply to a students email.
I’ll defend that prof. He wasn’t being rude, even if it felt rude to you. He was just helping you learn how to communicate with him and covey his trust in your decisions.
That said, for some courses, three absences might be an automatic F. The student has missed too much of the course content. Depends on the type of course and attendance policy.
You can access the counseling center for help on gaining confidence in your interactions with instructors. You’re worth that investment in yourself. Just an idea.
@dyiu13 : I disagree. He could have said something like “Thank you for letting me know. In the future, it isn’t necessary to e-mail me because I assume students have a good reason for being absent.” Same message, no rudeness.
That prof is basically saying “you telling me you are absent won’t change anything”…that is, they have set up the class where they do not have to determine what is an excused/vs unexused absence. You are still responsible for the homework. Often they may drop a quiz or two for this very situation.
I emailed my sociology professor and told him I was going to be absent the same time I emailed the other professor. he responded with “Thank you for the note. I hope all goes well”
While maybe the professor could have worded the reply better, give him some credit. He responded promptly, addressed the issue and clearly stated his policy. He also seems to imply that he trusts his students to have a good reason for missing class and does expect an explanation. Overall, I would have been happy at the response.
There is a world of difference between a reply that is rude and one that is curt. This one was curt. I suspect the professor sent it with zero malice intended and would be momentarily surprised if someone (like a colleague) pointed that out. noname87 seems to be right on the mark.
I am also a writing professor, and I have surprised myself on occasion by discovering an unintended vibe in an email I’ve sent. I write at least 10 each day in various capacities, and sometimes it happens. To the student, it may seem like a big deal, because this might be the only email exchange they will have in their entire lives. That’s unfortunate, but I would urge students to try to put it into a larger context.
Avoid going to the prof and asking “Did I miss anything?”. Answer: Nope. When we heard you would not be here it became obvious we should cancel class and wait for your return."
English Professor emailed me this… I’ve been trying to figure out what to reply but I have no idea http://postimg.org/image/ffgh7isuz/
Hmm… I don’t know if I would reply, really. It sounded like a “just letting you know” email. I guess you could just reply with a quick thank you, but I don’t even know if that’s necessary.
Was this like a progress report of some kind? Or did it come out of the blue?
AvPsychologyGirl-that email was unintelligible to me. Did you understand it?