in the rare times when i am dr. janus geminus [1], it's because, for some reason, i have to push what little authority i have to enact something.
done judiciously, it works wonders.
earlier, when checking my webmail, a chat window appears and my officemate says hello. then (s)he tells me that a student just stopped by the office, and (s)he gave the student my mobile number.
..
[bangs head against wall..]
to be fair, it's never come up in our conversations. i never give my mobile number to students. heck, i rarely pick up the phone for my family and friends.[sighs..]
almost all of my students have been fine persons whom i'd be happy to befriend after they graduate.
however i've also had a few grade-manipulative mercenaries, and then a handful of crazies. it's because of them that i draw the line between my work life and my personal life.
sure enough, on my phone there's a missed call and a voicemail message. so i call, introducing myself as "dr. janus geminus of the university of p,"
- explain the override system,
- offer to write to the appropriate people if it was an emergency,
- explain that it wasn't his/her fault for not knowing my policy,
- but then tell him/her, in friendly but no uncertain terms, to never call this number again.
which is a good tone to have with students.
[1] this is, of course, a nom de guerre .. q-:
unrelated addenda. in other news i've changed the formatting of this webpage. in particular, you readers can leave "reactions" (see below) to what you think of these posts.
2 comments:
your officemate had no right to do give out your phone number and needs to be firmly told how uncool that was. even if unaware of your preference, one should err on the side of caution and NOT give it out. and finally, why even volunteer such information. the officemate should have sent them to the math office (this is the reason why there is a receptionist there) or brushed them off. what a boneheaded stunt.
/end rant
to be fair, i don't think my officemate has ever had to teach (she's a visiting graduate student from china) and therefore didn't think anything of it. it could also be something cultural: who knows?
she apologized later, though, which is fine.
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