I don’t know, maybe it’s a bad assumption. Maybe the bigger issue is that I have no idea how to offer that advice without sounding like a pompous narcissist. Here’s an example:
Hello! I have a question. Why did I not earn all of my points? I filled in the blanks reasonably! Thanks!
No idea how to offer etiquette guidance other than, “I need you to use more professional communication with me.”
But I don’t actually want to discuss the assignment in person! It’s easy to communicate what the student did wrong over email (which I did). The question I have is whether/how to communicate the more subjective, “You need to be more professional in your communications”, whether that message is sent via email or in person. I promise you that this particular student would respond with like, “I don’t understand what you mean! I don’t think I wrote anything wrong and I’m not sure why you are saying that I did.”
I have them by appointment only, because having set times means that I’m generally sitting in my office or sitting at home with a zoom meeting open, and no one shows up.
I think your framing is worse. It’s passive-aggressive, because you’re actually demanding that the problem be fixed, not asking for an explanation. It’s backward-looking and focused on what the professor did wrong rather than focused on what you want him to do to fix it.
On further reflection, I would probably just say “Could you please correct this when you have a moment?” and accept that I was going to have to follow up in a week to make sure it got done. But the fundamental problem here is that it’s awkward and uncomfortable for someone in an inferior position to make demands of their social superior. It’s hard to demand that someone do something that you’re entitled to without sounding a bit entitled, but when you’re actually entitled to the thing, it’s much better to just bite the bullet and be clear and direct than to tie yourself in knots to avoid just saying what you’re asking for.
FYP
I think this is exactly right, as long as you leave open the possibility that you’ve interpreted something incorrectly. In my dealings with different journal portals and learning management systems, these cobbled-together systems often provide misleading data and tracking information. (For example, the learning management system could be set to a non-local time).
So something like, “Assuming that I haven’t misinterpreted something, could you please adjust my grade when you get a chance?” is what I’d go with.
Also, 13 minutes before the deadline is NOT last-minute.
The tone is a little presumptuous, but it’s not that bad, imo. A little more deference is probably warranted rather than just assuming there was a mistake and that the professor would correct it. I’d probably include something about how I checked the grading policy and didn’t find any other restrictions on submissions, etc. and then ask if there was something I missed. I’m probably less confrontational than most people however.
Yup. On the occasions where my son tells me he thinks the teacher is wrong about something, I always tell him to speak up, but to not be accusatory. Couch his language in a way where he’s saying he might be wrong, but wanted to be sure. He can get the point across, but not put the teacher on their heels.
this tends to be reasonable in most situations where you’re going to a superior to correct an error they have made.
the second paragraph that begins with, “It shows that you marked off 10 points…” is where things went sideways and was compounded with the command in the last sentence.
I think Bobman is right. If the student beat the deadline and has proof it’s perfectly cromulent to just ask that the late penalty be removed.
It could have read “10 points were deducted” instead of “you deducted 10 points” and “is it possible for the late penalty to be removed” instead of “let me know when it’s removed”, but close enough.
Jesus. This just goes to show how fucked up the system is. Students reasonably expect professors to be narcissistic assholes and so tend to stress out over any interaction they have with them. Professors do not disappoint. Even adults have to be exceedingly careful not to piss off their kid’s elementary school teacher. Christ.
“Yo, professor fuckface. You fucking docked me 10 points for some bullshit late penalty. Fix that shit or I’ll slash your tires.”
That’s probably what I would have written at that age.
I’ve got news for you, it’s not just teachers. An absurd amount of my job as an environmental attorney (non litigator) is spent stressing over the wording of emails to clients, agency officials, and public comments, because there are tons of people out there in positions of authority who are insanely sensitive to tone and phrasing. People just suck.
Undeniable. And sure, it’s worse when there’s a power imbalance. In this case, the people with the greater power only have it because they’re the ones giving out the grades. Professors and teachers deserve some amount of deference but it shouldn’t come from fear. If a whole forum of educated people can’t agree on the proper wording, maybe it’s not so much the communication that’s the problem. If it is, let’s just have ChatGPT write our emails and be done with it.
Heh
But on that note, I wonder what a ChatGPT posting bot would look like
This is just life. I have canned phrases and approaches for the patients I see because of this kind of thing.
Who was the 2p2er? Bob something that had like 40k posts that were all 1k+ words and just the most inane thoughts and stories ever?
Probably similar to that.
Microbob?
Yeah, my students give me odd looks when I discourage them from going to college in America. That is, until I mention the cost of it. For a good chunk of them, free college in their home country is a much better deal than basically any school in the US. Only a few students of mine have gone to undergrad in America.
My dear drunk mother used to drive us around as we rolled around the back of a station wagon.