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Thursday, February 11, 2010
Instilling a sense of professionalism in our students
Do interactions with students outside of the classroom gives us additional "teaching moments" beyond the doctrinal lessons of our courses?
As a teacher, I am struck by some of the ways in which students treat our interactions. Student emails are often very informal, even given the relaxed norms of electronic communication. For example, I frequently receive emails written without any capital letters, or that address me as "hey!" Another tendency I've noticed is for students to send multiple emails with questions, seemingly as the questions pop into their heads -- and then retracting one or more of the questions, rather than working through the material and drafting one email that contains a few key questions. Towards exam time, I've received emails that appear to be large portions of an outline pasted into an email, followed by the question "is this right?"
I struggle with how to deal with such emails. I'd like my students to know that emails occupy a delicate place in the communications hierarchy: while they do not need to be formal memoranda, they also should not be treated like a text message.
I worry about what would happen if students sent a message to a law firm partner or senior associate that read, "hey! just wondering if u could explain rule 15 stuff to me again." On the other hand, interacting with students is one my favorite parts of teaching, and I hate to seem unavailable or unwilling to answer student questions.
Am I too curmudgeonly? I hate to click my tongue and mutter about how I treated my professors "back in my day," especially since I am a 2001 graduate of college and 2004 law school graduate! But, perhaps we do our students a disservice by failing to direct their attention toward improper workplace etiquette.
Posted by Robin Effron on February 11, 2010 at 12:05 PM in Teaching Law | Permalink
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One issue that has not been mentioned is age and gender. As a young female professor I find that my students are far more casual and take many more liberties with me than my older male counterparts. They see me as one of their contemporaries. I endeavor to deflect this kind of "kindred spiritedness" very early on, but it is difficult to get the balance between friendly and professional at times.
Posted by: Sally | Feb 14, 2010 12:48:02 PM
Before you even get to content there's the issue of the email addresses. I'm actually seeing this less (not to suggest that's data) but sometimes students will send email from their personal account--not the school's--and some of the names that seem cute or funny for a college student are wildly inappropriate for a law student let alone an attorney. To pre-empt the issue, I suggest to my incoming first years that they get a gmail address with as close an approximation available of their name.
Posted by: Jennifer Bard | Feb 13, 2010 12:16:17 AM
Writing concise, informative, and professional emails to clients and colleagues is actually an extremely important skill in practice, and although it's possible that students are simply opting not to apply knowledge that they already have in emails to their professors, I worry that the explanation is that (a) they lack the relevant skill, and/or (b) they don't even realize that in practice they are going to have to write emails differently. I have not actually taken up this cudgel in my email interactions with students (so far, I've simply opted to try to provide an example), but I don't think it's a bad idea to be explicit about it.
Posted by: Bruce Boyden | Feb 12, 2010 10:46:33 AM
When I taught undergrads I'd usually send an email to the class list early on saying something like this:
"The easiest way to communicate with me is via email. When you email me, I'd like you to use a salutation that includes my name, as if you just say, "hey" or the like I feel like you don't care about me, personally, as an individual. That hurts. You should call me "Matt", as I don't (didn't) have a PhD, so you can't call me "Dr." and I'm not a professor, so you can't call me "professor", "instructor" sounds weird, and "Mr. Lister" is still my father. If you want me to do something for you, I probably will, but the chances are greater if you ask me to, rather than just telling me to do it or that you need it. The later makes me feel like a servant. Finally, if you respond to an email to the class list, be careful to distinguish between "reply" and "reply all"." They almost always followed these instructions, except for the bit about not using "reply all". As many professors I know also can't seem to make the distinction, I didn't hold it against them.
I have somewhat better luck with law students using proper, or at least minimally acceptable, greetings in email, though I still usually have to prompt them a few times to not call me "professor", given that I'm not a professor. I leave it up to them whether to call me "Matt" or "Dr. Lister" and most of them use the former.
Posted by: Matt | Feb 12, 2010 7:49:08 AM
hey robin!
i got ticked when a student set an appointment to meet in my office and didn't show up. that might have been OK, except when i got up in his grill about it, the student was all like "I figured you'd be in your office anyway so I didn't think I had to cancel."
O . . . M . . . G . . .no wai!
laters!
(on a serious note, not showing up for meetings is 1000x worse than an overly informal email, in my eyes. )
Posted by: andy | Feb 11, 2010 5:53:54 PM
Professionalism encompasses many of the "soft" skills that are very important, but difficult to quantify. We tend to notice their absence more than their presence. In other words, we notice when they're missing, as in the case of the "too casual" e-mail. Personally, I would like to see these skills openly addressed in the law school curriculum, possibly as a one-credit-hour course during students' third year of study. I think many students see a need, but don't know where to turn for guidance. As an example, I accepted an invitation to conduct a "Dress for Success" presentation yesterday. It was held during the noon hour, and even though food was not provided, the room was packed. Students had great questions, and we discussed interview attire, business casual, and cocktail attire. The students have also asked me to conduct a similar event that focuses on other aspects of business etiquette. There are certainly those who may scoff at the need for this, but I agree that it is an important topic to discusss.
Posted by: Kelly Anders | Feb 11, 2010 5:47:14 PM
Robin--I have been discussing this precise issue with several colleagues. In my view, it's actually broader than e-mail; it's a lack of self awareness, and sometimes, as you indicate, it's a failure to comport oneself with professionalism. I have also had this discussion with my friends from law school, who unlike me, do not teach law students, but supervise junior attorneys in practice. They have confirmed that to the extent that students are thoughtless in their approach and interactions with professors, they're not necessarily polishing up and putting in the effort to be more diligent, considerate, and prepared for their supervisors and clients. So, for example, a student who asks me questions about what the reading is for that day because he can't be bothered to consult the syllabus is likely to be the same student who wastes a partner's time by asking certain basic things about an assignment that are clearly knowable without resort to the partner. A student who expects me to keep track of, look up, and report to her about her absences likely is the same junior associate who, a few years later, is seen by the senior associates for whom she works as having unrealistic expectations that they will keep track of her work, deadlines, and responsibilities and that they exist to make her life easier instead of vice versa. A student who shows that he cannot be bothered to consolidate questions or proofread assignments or correspondence is likely the same associate who yanks things out of the printer and drops them on a senior associate’s desk as he strolls out of the office, or shoots careless correspondence off to a client or judge without regard for who is going to catch his careless mistakes. These associates quickly tarnish their reputations internally, externally, and permanently. They don't last in jobs, and they don't last in practice.
Today's cost-conscious client does not want to pay 3/4 of a senior person's hourly rate to employ a junior person and have shoddy work, wasted hours, and an unreliable person who cannot be bothered to exhibit professionalism as counsel. They'd rather pay full price for the real thing, because it's cheaper and better for their case and for their overall representation. I have long thought that we as law professors owe our students more in terms of their complete professional training, but I, too, have struggled with how to address certain of these issues without alienating students or seeming less approachable; I pride myself on being very accessible to students. I won't even get into scenarios where a student is disrespectful, but clearly doesn't realize that she is being rude at all. I fear we may do our students the greatest disservice when we remain silent as we strive to build their confidence and facilitate their ability to speak freely to us. We graduate them, but then the real world must (and invariably does) correct what we have not deemed to be our place to address. It's a topic worthy of further discussion, and I am glad that you brought it up.
Posted by: Kerri Stone | Feb 11, 2010 5:10:55 PM
Yes, Robin, you are being a bit too curmudgeonly, at least as to form. "Hey" is a common greeting these days, denoting no disrespect. The absence of capital letters only means that the student was in a hurry. If there is a hierarchy in which email requires more formality than texting, well, I haven't heard about it.
Regarding the substance of student requests, I always think it is a good sign when students consider me approachable. If the question is too broad or disorganized (or if there have been too many of them), I just ask the student to do some thinking and make it clearer.
In some ways, email has made students more respectful. For example, I regularly get emails from students who are going to miss class -- that sort of pre-apology never happened in pre-email days.
And fwiw, I graduated college in 1970 and law school in 1973.
Posted by: Steve Lubet | Feb 11, 2010 2:04:43 PM
Robin - I could not agree with you more. There's an epidemic of informality among the present generation of law students. That's not bad per se, but can be quite problematic when (as you point out) circumstances demand a bit more formality. If you come up with a remedy, please share!
Posted by: Ron Colombo | Feb 11, 2010 1:58:58 PM
Come on - the "not trying to suggest there is a causal link" language was referring to the fact that I have seen some students act differently with different professors. I just don't know enough about those professor's interactions with the students to claim causality.
Posted by: anon | Feb 11, 2010 1:27:51 PM
Robin - I think you make good points and are not being a curmudgeon. Perhaps the answer is to specifically address the situation in class. I've seen some of this type of behavior by students, but not nearly as much as I perceive you have - if mine reached such a critical mass, then I'd spend a few minutes in class on it.
Posted by: Jeff Yates | Feb 11, 2010 1:23:15 PM
Anon, I think you were right on to suggest a causal link when you wrote that x "may elicit different behavior." But to then demur in the very next sentence that you are "not... trying to suggest that there is a causal link" strikes me as the ultimate in academic nonsense.
Posted by: come on | Feb 11, 2010 1:04:00 PM
Have you considered that one's interactions with students in class and in the hallways may set the tone for their informal e-mails? For example, a professor who calls students by their last name (e.g., "Ms. Smith") may elicit different behavior than a professor who uses first names and tries to be a buddy to the students. I'm not passing judgment on either approach or trying to suggest that there is a causal link, but I have noticed that some students act differently with certain professors than others.
Posted by: anon | Feb 11, 2010 1:00:35 PM
This is a great question to raise, Robin, and one that I think about a lot.
There are lots of professionalism issues with students, but just in terms of email, I have the same issue (I was planning a post for my Prawfs visit titled "OMG Professor!" which was the actual subject line of an email I got). My approach on this is twofold. First, I try to make sure my emails get the right tone (not too formal but not too informal either), and second, by pointing out to students who use txt-speak in emails that it may not be a good idea. I've always had good reactions to this; students seem to get the message but aren't deterred from communicating.
Posted by: Dave | Feb 11, 2010 12:23:00 PM
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