Email transmits so fast that we are led to believe it is also reliable. But between spam filters and imperfect humans, email delivery can and does fail. As teachers we must be especially aware of this potential loss.
Lost email can unnecessarily, unintentionally, and silently end long-standing friendships and well-established trust. It is not uncommon for both writer and recipient to assume that the other person made an active choice not to answer, and not to confirm this assumption.
This is one of those rare potential high-cost problems in teaching that is also simple to prevent. If you as a teacher rely on email to teach, if the communication is important, follow up. Review, on a regular basis, any unanswered email you have sent. Send a follow-up note to each student who does not reply in the time frame in which you expect them to. Request at least a confirmation that they have seen your email. Do not rely on return receipts; you must contact the human on the other end to know what the human has understood.
And for our part, we must be sure we answer email sent to us, even if only to say that we have received it, perhaps have read it – that it is not lost. This habit tells the student that a lack of response from us is worth following up on. Because the cost of an unreceived letter can be high, we must not be dissuaded by the far smaller cost of re-sending or confirming our correspondence with the student.
Our society’s increasing reliance on email to stay connected with more people can lower our expectations for exchanges so that we may not even notice when an exchange falls silent and ask why. An important part of the teacher’s job is to ensure that communication with the student is working and not inadvertently ended. If you use email in your teaching, take extra steps to be sure that every email you care about has arrived and been seen.
It is rare that we find such low-hanging fruit in teaching, so we must pluck it when we can. The more important your message, the more important it is to be absolutely certain it was received.