Students’ Lack of Basic Manners?
This has happened several times over the past year—students simply barge into my office when my office door is shut. The door is not propped open or ajar—it’s shut, and some students simply open and walk right in without knocking.
Today one of my students showed up early for an appointment. He was scheduled to come by at 1PM. He opened the door and walked into my office at 12:25PM, while I was having lunch. I sent him away and told him to come back at the scheduled time.
When he came back, he just opened my office door and walked in again. This time, when he sat down, I asked him why he barged in without knocking. He said he wanted to check if I was inside!
I can hazard a guess that the prevalent instant-messaging, Facebook and MySpace culture has knocked down the barriers to privacy and undermined any minimal level of appropriateness, but I’m genuinely puzzled and deeply troubled.
