For those of you who are college teachers...

[telophase]

...you will laugh, cry, and nod your head sadly in recognition at this thread: "favorite" student emails.

(I am on page 16 of the EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX PAGE thread, which has been active since 2006. It features a letter with this paragraph: "That is unexculpable, because in point of fact you knew that it would be impossible for the entire class to bring a copy of the text to class today. To that end it is also possible for students to share the text outside of class, however there is no way this can be reflected in your quiz.")

Comments

[chisotahn]

... oh, man, I have some from my tenure at the Writing Center that would fit right in there. Oh, students.

[cicer.livejournal.com]

As the daughter of a college professor, and someone who hopes to be a professor herself one day, these e-mails make me weep. They make me laugh too, but oh my gosh, some students are just so dumb it hurts. D:

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

Ah, I have some contributions to that thread that I've posted over the years. The chronicle fora are great, and there's an area there for academic librarians too.

[kungfufighting.livejournal.com]

As someone who has intercepted many e-mails of this sort working as a program secretary AND as someone who is currently back in school, I have to say, it makes me both laugh and think, oh, man, I hope my e-mails aren't that bad. I can't ever remember being mean to a prof or demanding, and most of the responses I've gotten back have been friendly, so here's hoping. :)

I also pretty much never ask a teacher to fill me in on what I've missed if I'm gone, particularly over e-mail. I might ask for handouts in person, but if they aren't available, it's my tough luck. What is it with people thinking professors have no lives of their own?