Some people really don’t understand that “after hours” still applies to professors.

So, what would you do if a student messaged you on Thanksgiving with a question that could’ve waited?

Would you tell them that upfront? Or would you wait for another inappropriate time and message them back?

In the following story, one professor finds himself in this predicament and decides to play along.

Here’s what he did.

contact me inappropriately 2 can play that.

I teach a course at the local college.

I have learned the hard way not to give out my personal phone number.

I used to get called by students at 11:30 pm or later on a weekend for a question that could have waited for class.

The official policy of the school is that all contact should go through email.

I use GroupMe to send emergency updates (e.g., an accident on the road on the way to school, or that the student will be absent/late).

A student texted him on Thanksgiving.

Of course, students direct message me.

The new generation seems to think we should be available 24/7 to answer questions that they can just look at the handouts to answer (thank the maker for DND mode).

On Thanksgiving, one student messaged me in the middle of dinner that they have a question.

My wife actually wanted to message back for me, saying it’s inappropriate to contact me on a holiday.

I told her I got this.

This is sweet.

For my regular job, I get up at 4:40 am.

I responded to that student right after I got up.

I assume they got the point as they have not replied yet.

Yikes! Maybe he misunderstood the student’s intentions.

Let’s check out what the readers over at Reddit think about this whole thing.

For this reader, that’s how messages are supposed to be used.

Here’s someone who knows what the student was doing.

According to this reader, he should be a better teacher.

This person’s roommate did something similar.

He needs to relax. It was a message, so there’s no need to respond immediately.

The person probably just didn’t want to forget.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.