THOUGHTS FOR PRESERVICE AND BEGINNING TEACHERS (39)

Emails can be double jeopardy and I cannot advocate too strongly, the need to take care and to exercise caution when it comes to their construction and dispatch. Once sent, they are out there forever and cannot be retrieved.

There are constant cases and incidents happening to remind us of the fact that we need to be careful with email traffic. It is all too easy for an e-mail written with haste and without prior thought, to create problems for the writer. Never ever comment on people or personality issues within emails; discuss issues but not people, messages but not the character or reputation of the messengers.

Be careful in responding to parental emails, because responses can be held against teachers and leaders who commit on issues relating to students. My suggestion (based on many years of experience) is to respond by telephone or by invited the parent in for a conversation.

Emails are intended to save time in responding to queries. Sometimes they can be terribly counter-productive.