E-mail from parents, students can quickly eat up your time
Q. As a longtime high school teacher of history, I find myself facing more and more e-mails from students as well as parents. I've lost valuable time repeating information I already covered in class or correcting a student's grammar and lack of etiquette. Have you experienced a similar problem? How have you handled it?
Mr. S.
Belmont, MA
A. The ease of e-mailing, which many parents see as a blessing, turns quickly into a teacher's curse. Yes, my colleagues and I have noticed a sharp increase in recent years of parents "just checking in" on the progress of their sons. With most of us teaching close to a hundred students, it takes no time for those breezy inquiries to turn into a tedious part-time job. An unfortunate irony: Time better spent on instruction is lost to correspondence.
My approach: Thank parents for their concern and encourage them to have their sons visit with me to discuss assignments and grades. Most parents then understand that their kids should be taking on more responsibility for their academics as they move through high school. If there's a serious problem with a student's work or character, I'll turn to the phone or request a meeting with his guidance counselor as well as parents.
Student e-mails are another matter. Compromised by solecisms and a lack of formality, they read more like sloppy texting than respectful requests. Early in the academic year, I attempt to impress on my students the importance of holding formal electronic correspondence to the standards of a well-written letter. (Then I chat about the antediluvian act of letter-writing.) If their query meets those standards, they get a response; if not, I'll tell them why in person.
Some of us see in this matter a teachable moment: a chance to discuss with students and colleagues the challenges of balancing courtesy and efficiency and how to avoid becoming a tool of the tool that is technology.
Q. My son has a relatively new English teacher this year who repeatedly quizzes the class on details in their reading that in the big picture seem kind of trivial. She will quote a sentence or two from a novel and ask the [seniors] to provide a detailed context. I could see if she was choosing key moments in the book, but her selections seem arbitrary. Do you think this is a valid form of quizzing? Should I say something to her?
T.E.
Plymouth, MA
A. I empathize with your son's English teacher. It sounds like she's attempting to give quizzes that winnow the true readers of books from the canny consumers of online study guides. In her bid to remain one step ahead of those tech-savvy students, though, she may have gone too far. If your son has made an honest effort to read the assigned text, he, a senior, should feel comfortable discussing with his teacher what he sees as an unfair assessment. I'm guessing she'll be open to a thoughtful view of the matter and reconsider her approach. No teacher wants to have a student see his or her efforts as futile.
Q. How many times should students take the SAT?
D.O.
Westwood, MA
A. Though there's no limit to the number of times a student can take the SAT, two shots seem reasonable. Anxiety can sometimes hinder a student's performance on the first exam, in which case his or her scores might improve a bit the second time around. Third and fourth attempts rarely offer marked improvement and may seem a bit desperate to some admissions officers. More, every test score will appear on a transcript. Some colleges will take your three highest scores - reading, writing, math - from each exam; some average the results of each exam. Check with individual colleges to see how they handle multiple exam scores. Or consider applying to a school that doesn't require this questionable measure of a student's intelligence and potential.
Ron Fletcher teaches English at Boston College High. To submit a question, e-mail asktheteacher@globe.com. Include your name, town, and e-mail address. Questions, upon request, can be printed anonymously. Ask the Teacher runs on alternate Sundays with Campus Insider, a roundup of higher education items.
