Literal-mindednesss and academia

[rainbow_goddess]

A couple of nights ago I was at a party, and one of the other people at the party was a university professor. She said that the first assignment she gave her students was to send her an e-mail. In the e-mail, they were supposed to include their name, their hometown, and their major. That's all she told them. She didn't say to include anything else

Comments

[pklemica]

On the one hand, yes this is ridiculous, and on the other hand that's how the rest of the world is going to continue treating us outside of school as well so mostly what I'm wondering is how she used this assignment. Was the point just for her to feel clever, and not even tell them their scores? Or does she use this as a teachable moment, have a conversation about unspoken assumptions and business relationships and the unfairness of it all, and encourage people to keep an eye out for moments they're following stated rules without really paying mind to the unstated social niceties?

Because as a high school teacher, I could totally see using this as a place to start a conversation.
And, I'd never actually score my students so. Perhaps 10% off, never a 0.
And, having recently left academia in favor of communities more focused on pedagogy, I also am gonna go ahead and hazard a guess that no, she's not thinking about much of anything except how much it pisses her off when students don't address her exactly as she wishes, and she pulls this completely out of spite, with no mind toward the fact that DUDE IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE GONNA LEARN IF YOU DO IT ENOUGH IT'S DIFFERENT KIDS EACH TIME.