I read a tweet today that declared an educator's happiness that her school community committed to not sending emails after hours or during weekends. As an educator, I didn't like this practice because I never had time during the school day to write emails, think deeply, plan or prep--all of that work was done late in the evening, early in the morning, or over the weekend. It was the only time I had to write a thoughtful email since for the most part, my time at school was fully time-on-task with multiple students, colleagues, families, and administrators. I know people didn't like it, but I wanted to give people a choice to read and consider the information when they had time--I didn't expect responses after hours.
In this age of 24-7 access to communication, what is respectful communication?
Respectful communication differs from person to person and situation to situation, so in general, I think it's important to discuss communication patterns with those you live and work with. Once the expectations are discussed, you can commit to those expectations or not. To commit is generally more respectful, yet there are times when you may feel it is more important to break the expected pattern. When you do that, your choice will probably not be met with positivity.