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At the start of my teaching career, when I was fresh out of graduate school, I briefly considered trying to pass myself off as a cool professor. Luckily, I soon came to my senses and embraced my true identity as a young fogey.
After one too many students called me by my first name and sent me email that resembled a drunken late-night Facebook post, I took a very fogeyish step. I began attaching a page on etiquette to every syllabus: basic rules for how to address teachers and write polite, grammatically correct emails.
Over the past decade or two, college students have become far more casual in their interactions with faculty members. My colleagues around the country grumble about students' sloppy emails and blithe informality.
[...] Sociologists who surveyed undergraduate syllabuses from 2004 and 2010 found that in 2004, 14 percent addressed issues related to classroom etiquette; six years later, that number had more than doubled, to 33 percent. This phenomenon crosses socio-economic lines. My colleagues at Stanford gripe as much as the ones who teach at state schools, and students from more privileged backgrounds are often the worst offenders.
-- submitted from IRC
Source: The New York Times
(Score: 4, Insightful) by r_a_trip on Wednesday May 17 2017, @10:06AM
***Unless you're set to profit from the collapse of western society, which of the previous listed achievements should command the Millennials' respect?***
It is not about giving respect to people. It is about maintaining good form, so that the people who can negatively influence the course of your life, are not given a reason to do so. Courtesy and formal address go a long way to make sure you don't end up at the bottom of the pile.
Don't sputter that acting in that way is unfair, because guess what, nobody who matters cares. Those in power can equally use it or abuse it, mostly with impunity. You are dealing with humans. Humans are irrational and emotional critters. We simply do more for people who make us feel good about ourselves.
Go ahead. Piss off the people who in part decide on your advancement in life. See if that gets you what you want. My guess is that the people who do use formal address and who are inclined to communicate professionally will have it easier than the ones not adhering to formal standards.