<p>I am not saying a ban except for appointment requests is necessary, but simply providing context for the type of exasperation which might lead a professor to such action. </p>
<p>Yep, got what you were saying, Midwestmomofboys. I was reacting to the policy set forth in the original post.</p>
<p>I wonder if college should offer a course on email etiquette. I think a lot of students could benefit from it in the real world.</p>
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<p>I’m a bit conflicted over that one as from my perspective, LORs are things Profs do AS A VOLUNTARY FAVOR for a student…not as a mandated part of their teaching/mentoring duties. </p>
<p>Moreover, I can see situations where Profs can and IMO, should take back promises to provide LORs to students…such as finding the student has subsequently cheated/lied to said Prof or to a colleague or in some real cases I knew of in college, a few classmates who were oblivious enough to demand the Prof write the promised LORs because it’s an “emergency” and in the process, interrupt the Profs’ holiday dinners with their respective families. </p>
<p>^^ No. Writing LOR’s is a part of my professional obligations. Choosing when it’s more appropriate not to write them is likewise an obligation. It’s not about favors.</p>
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<p>I’m basically saying in practice, Profs are free to choose to accept or decline to provide LORs to students…along with reserving the right to take back their promise to write the LOR if the requesting student was found to have done something which changed the Prof’s initially positive impression of him/her to the point an LOR cannot be given in the Prof’s good conscience. </p>
<p>It’s like any other agreement. The person doesn’t have to agree to do it, but once the person agrees you want it confirmed in writing. Has nothing to do if the professor later changes her mind. </p>
<p>I agree that there should be email etiquette courses, probably in eighth grade. Do they still teach kids how to write a business letter in elementary school? Basic email etiquette should be added to that curriculum. </p>
<p>I would have thought that this stuff would come naturally to my daughter. But last year when she was a freshman, my daughter showed me an email that she was going to send to a professor – a seventy-year-old European man. I was shocked that she started the email “Hey [nickname form of prof’s first name].” She admitted that the professor hadn’t invited students to call him by his first name (let alone the nickname), but all the kids referred to the professor that way and she just assumed that was the more sophisticated way to go, now that they were all adults. And my daughter comes from a household where the rules of etiquette are stressed! (The content of the email was fine; she wanted to send him an article that related to something they had been discussing.) </p>
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<p>This varies greatly by school district and individual school. Many K-8 public school systems writing education can be very hit or miss. Many high school and even college first-years arrive without having learned much basic writing skills…much less knowing how to write a business letter. </p>
<p>In my NYC public junior high school, I don’t recall our teachers teaching us anything about writing business letters. I learned how to do so through older relatives and looking up samples on my own in my HS and public libraries during my HS years. </p>
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<p>This might also be a cultural/generational difference. </p>
<p>I experienced the exact reverse of this when I started my undergrad at a Midwest LAC known for its progressive orientation. Many Profs preferred students addressed them by first name both in class and in writing to “avoid creating a hierarchical barrier” between them and students. </p>
<p>I’ve always advised young students that when in doubt, it’s much better to err on the side of greater formality when corresponding with Profs/employers UNTIL THE PROFS/EMPLOYERS THEMSELVES indicate it’s ok to be more informal. </p>