I received an e-mail from a teacher for my high schooler today
And apart from whatever else she had to say
About expectations from this particular class, which is to be conducted online
The part that most interesting I did find
Was how she had laid down (reasonable) expectations
For students to use in their e-mails proper grammar and punctuation
With special emphasis on avoiding typing in upper case
That is tantamount to yelling and has in a formal environment no place
I was glad she had given this instruction in etiquette
Along with the other expectations she had set
These days the proper way of composing letters is hardly ever taught
And most teenagers write e-mails without putting in much thought
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I recall receiving a similar e-mail at a much older stage
Addressed to medical residents, where our median age
Was in the late twenties, though many of us happened to be
International medical graduates not from this country
To ensure that all of us understood rules of etiquette the e-mail was designed
Seeing the message addressed to my son’s class brought that memory to my mind..
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I should remind my son not to leave the CAPSLOCK key on while writing an e-mail
I don’t want him to ace the math class but in etiquette fail
Passion...unbridled 