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I think the scary part is they're in college, haha 
I have heard similiar stories from coworkers who teach evening courses, though.
Well, at least DH's students are expected to be smart mouthed idiots from time to time, since they are middle schoolers. I would be FURIOUS if I was dealing with college level students who couldn't compose an email with proper grammer and a little respect.
@divergirl: For the student that asked, "When is ____. get back to me asap thanks" I would sit on that one for a few days if you could. Is it something that you already gave her? If so, I would totally write back that the information can be found ____. Take that!
They're still kids, and that's what they do. Push buttons.
I spend 5 years teaching writing at a tier 1 research university in the southest, and my 8th graders here in NJ are much better writers. Funny.
I work at a university and you would be shocked at the emails I recieve from faculty. Like my subject will be "Meeting December 13th" and they'll write back in all caps WHEN IS THE MEETING????? I hate that. i don't even answer them anymore when they write me stupid emails.
@divergirl - your post made me chuckle, not because I laugh at your frustration but rather because I feel your pain 
. At least they are emails so you can re-read your responses before you send them off! Sigh, students. And they get worse as the holidays get closer. Good luck!
Thanks guys! It makes me feel better I'm not alone. And yes it worries me too that these are college students. For the girl requesting information, she wasn't a student of mine. I did sit on it for a day or two (longer than I would have if she was nicer) and basically told her that in even though e-mails are sometimes informal, they should be professional and capitalization and politeness are appreciated. I mean part of being a teacher is life lessons right? I suppose it's better she hear it from me, instead of a future employer.
I am a student, and some of my classmates send out mass e-mails (to everyone in the class and probably to the professor too) saying "When is this due?" or "What did we do today in class?" Sometimes I reply back, "READ THE SYLLABUS!" (But I'm not the teacher so it's ok for me to be snotty...hehe). It drives me nuts-- I get at least one of these e-mails a day. And every single question could be answered by looking at the syllabus.
UGH I feel you!
I teach an anatomy class and the students had their first bell-ringer EVER and afterwards they swarmed me saying that it is completely unfair that they only get a minute to answer the 2 questions at the station.
I told them that students have been doing bell-ringers for YEARS and always get the same amount of time. And at the same token I told them when I took the EXACT same course 7 years ago I got a minute.
Yet they still believe it is unfair and that they should get more time.
The sense of entitlement kills me!
Jeesh, I thought it was bad when my 6th graders didn't read directions. Hopefully more teachers do like I do. . . I make it a point to teach them common sense. . . which will hopefully pay off for teachers who have to teach those same students in middle school, high school, or college.
Example: We have a spelling test every week. Every week the spelling test gets put in the "Spelling Slot" when they are finished.
Every week a student asks me, "Where do I put my test?"
My answer, "It's a Spelling Test. Where do you think it goes?"
Their answer, (sheepishly and embarrassed) "The Spelling Slot?"
My answer, "Uh, yeah."
Usually they know the answer, but they just want verification. Once they learn to trust their own instincts they stop leaning on me to tell them every step to take ;-)
I teach university-level students too. I get the same types of e-mails and questions too! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one!
@divergirl: I've had profs tell the class at the beginning (during "Syllabus Week") that they will not answer emails that do not include proper grammer. Then I've gotten emails from my advisor that had "!!!" at the end, I really wanted to fix it in my reply.
You should start compiling all the ridiculous emails and make an addendum to your syllabus. Entitle it: "The Art of Communicating with Your Professor -- A How Not To Guide"
I teach high school and I hear you! The part that gets me is how casual they are. They think they can ask anything at anytime without thinking about whether they should even be asking a question in the first place. I never emailed my professors and if I had asked a stupid question I would have been mortified. Not these students!
There is so much more I could say, but I'll just leave it at that...
I teach high school and completely agree with you about the sense of entitlement. Don't care that a rule has been in place for years and years, don't care that there is a purpose behind said policy - this is totally unfair!
I worry that if I tell you about my students, it will seem made up! Year 10 (14-15 year olds, low ability) today, explaining about superlatives I said "If I have the biggest cupcake, can you have a cupcake that is bigger than mine?" "Yes, I can have the biggererest one". Say what?
Ha! I teach college students as well and have the SAME problems. I finally put a clause in my syllabus that says, "If you are late or absent to class or forget an assignment or lose the syllabus it is your responsibility to get information on due dates, exams, assignments, lecture notes and/or classroom activities from another student. Emails sent to me of this nature will be ignored." Harsh? Maybe, but I reached my breaking point.
I also love getting the emails which have no salutation and no signature and the email address will be something like BtrflyGrrrl90@email
and my absolute favorite is this email: "Hi, I was absent from class last week--Can I get a copy of your lecture notes? Thx!" SERIOUSLY??
@divergirl: You aren't alone! I think there really is this assumption with a lot of students today that you are there simply to fulfill any needs (wants) they have. The emails that I can't stand are the frantic ones at 11pm or midnight saying "Oh my gosh I have this super important question, please get back to me ASAP," then the second email an hour later saying "Did you get my email? Why haven't you responded yet?" I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but no, I don't sit at my computer all night thinking "Oh my, if only one of my students would email me so that I'd have something to do."
If you haven't seen these videos before, I think you teachers (especially at the university level) would probably get a kick out of them
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Ok teacher bees sometimes my students (university level) get me so frustrated. I get these types of students every now and then but I've had these two in the last couple days...
Student 1: Writes me an e-mail, with no capitalization at all. I'm lucky she remembered to use punctuation. The real kicker, was instead of nicely requesting information, she basically told me: when is ____? get back to me asap thanks. Get back to me asap thanks???-EXCUSE ME?? Don't get me wrong I'm not the grammar or politeness police, but when did it become ok to to basically demand when someone responds to you?
Student 2: I just sent out reminders saying there wasn't tutoring during Thanksgiving week. It clearly had the date on the reminder. A student immediately sends an email back saying "So there's no tutoring today?" The snarky divergirl wants to write back, "Reread the email. If you still have questions let me know." Instead, I did explain to her that it was for Thanksgiving Break and not this week. I just don't understand why they don't read or think about things before asking.
Please remember this is just a vent. I'm not saying I hate my students or that I think they are all terrible, because I don't. These are just two things that push my buttons, and in the grand scheme of their education, I realize it is probably insignificant. Thanks for listening.