I got a version of the first message and ignored it. Then a poorly spelled demand for a higher grade. She worked so hard. She is an "A" student. She does not get Cs. Ever.
Then a properly spelled version. In spite of myself that pleased me. I write on my syllabus that I do not reply to e-mails resplendent with typos. HA. She read my syllabus. Finally!
I e-mailed back. No. Your grade was fairly assessed.
She replied, all in caps, that she had calculated her own grade and I was incorrect. I needed to do it again.
I replied that I had not made any mistake. I sent her the grade breakdown that my electronic grade book makes so easy (I do not make any money of it---I swear, but if you are looking for a GREAT electronic grade book try Gradekeeper.com).
She replied in all caps and BOLD letters.
OOOOh. Impressive.
I replied that we were getting no where, and I would not be replying any more unless she had something new to say.
She waited a full day before replying, asking whether I was teaching the same class again next semester.
I'd tell her yes, I'm teaching it again, but please, please, please, take someone else...or you'll get the same grade. (-1 letter grade for being so bitchy earlier...)
ReplyDeleteI DON'T KNOW WHY THEY THINK ALL CAPS CARRIES ANY WEIGHT IN AN ACADEMIC LETTER.
ReplyDeleteSeeing as you've already gone back and forth with this student a couple times, you could automate your further responses to the student. In Thunderbird, compose your response (a subject line must be included), under "File" save as template, then under "Tools," go to "Message Filters," click "New," match "From is" the student's e-mail address, and perform the action "Reply with Template," selecting the subject line of the template you saved. You can also perform additional actions, such as marking the student's message as read and moving it to your "Moron" subdirectory.
ReplyDeleteDoubtless there are also ways to do this with other e-mail clients.
I like the autoreply option for morons just repeating themselves BUT
ReplyDeletewhat if they come up with a new complaint? I'd rather see what they are wimpering about so I know if I have to head anything off or not.
My admin likes us to head things off and over the years I have become adept at it.
Next time just reply with "DON'T YOU RAISE YOUR CAPS AT ME!"
ReplyDeleteBella, you're quite right, and of course one is obliged to be absolutely sure that the student's grade was correctly computed. It's also theoretically possible that the student could be asking a new, substantive question that deserves an answer.
ReplyDeleteAnastasia, I like your suggestion, but I'm afraid of sounding hypocritical. Frankly, I very, very rarely admonish students who are rude to me, partly because it happens so often that the task seems hopeless.