The Right Way to Email a Teacher
January 16, 2021
With online learning, clear communication between students and teachers is even more important than it is usually. With this comes the students’ responsibility to address their teachers the right way.
74% of the students interviewed at Booth said that they prefer talking over texting. However, a conversation among peers or friends is far different from how students should address their teachers in an email.
“When you’re talking to your peers, it’s usually more laid back, not that you should be afraid to talk to your teachers, but they went through a lot of education to get to where they are right now,” Lizzie E., an eighth-grader at Booth said. “I wouldn’t recommend saying LOL or What’s up? or TTYL.”
Since staff members are in positions of authority, the wording in an email should be courteous.
“Be respectful…I wouldn’t talk to [teachers] how I talked to my friends most of the time,” 7th-grade student Erica B.said.
Besides vocabulary, students need to have good grammar when writing to teachers.
“Always use the correct punctuation and capital letters at the beginning of sentences, especially if it’s your English teacher because you don’t want to be proving straight to them that you don’t know how to type,” 8th grader Lizzie E. said.
The final thing to watch out for when corresponding with teachers online is how long the message gets. Short emails are best, though it should still explain your problem or situation well. Content is such a vital aspect because teachers get many emails each day that they have to respond to, on top of their other daily tasks.
“It just depends, the closer we get to a test or report card, kids get more concerned, so I get maybe ten a day, whereas, under normal circumstances, like today, I think I got about five.” One Booth teacher said in an interview.
Following the simple guidelines above while writing emails can help students convey their messages to teachers more easily.
Leland Hawkins • Feb 25, 2021 at 1:52 pm
When writing a email to a teacher you should be respective, and you need to use proper grammar. You should also watch out for punctuation, and you need to keep it short.
I think that it is a good way to talk to teachers vea email.
Ryland Smith • Feb 25, 2021 at 8:58 am
Lizzie. E writes the emails perfectly! This article is very helpful, and I will use it in the future if I ever need to email my teacher. Erica also gave great advice, but Lizzie advice was more helpful.
Emily Y • Feb 25, 2021 at 8:48 am
This article is very true. I try my best to sound formal when emailing or speaking to teachers, but when I’m texting or talking to my friends, I sound the opposite of formal. It is important, as you need to be respectful while speaking to someone that teaches you.
Sean Stallcop • Feb 25, 2021 at 7:58 am
I need to remember these when I email my teachers.
Proper language is important, especially when talking to teachers.
When in doubt, I should use proper language in all my emails, not just the ones to my teacher.