Do you like being called, "Mr./Ms. Teacher"

[Steven Edwards]

I don't see the point in retaining this antiquated title structure in schools. I'd like students to call me by my name.

"But it's a sign of respect." No, it's not. It's a sign of authority and a means of legitimating power structures. Respect stems from actions, not titles.

"So you just want your kids to run all over you?" No. Nor do I wish to be a totalitarian. And that's beside the point anyhow.

It's time we question what function titles serve in schools.

[wig]

I am not their peer. Antiquated or not, I am Mrs. Wig. But then again I still call my aunts and uncles with the title Aunt and Uncle (as do my children), My parents as Mom and Dad (as do my children) and older members in the congregation as Mr. and Mrs. Maybe it is a generation thing.

[Ima Teacher]

I do not want my students calling me by my first name. I am not their peer. I want them calling me Mrs. Teacher. Several years ago there was another teacher with my same last name. Then the called me Miss Teacher, and they added my first initial if they needed to distinguish between the two of us.

When I am around other teachers, I refer to them by their title and last name if there are students around. I work in my hometown, so I work with my former teachers, my school-age peers, and a few former students. All of my former teachers are always called by their title. I just can't call them by their first names. It doesn't seem right.

[mopar]

I'd like to be able to think that I could use my first name with students. As that would open the classroom up for more dialog and students teaching each other. Many times I want my students to view me as a resource not the "hander down of knowledge" as they often do.

However, I still believe it is important to use titles. It sets us apart from the students-so that when situations arise, they know that they need to listen to me. It also would be rather confusing if a student had the same name as me to know when they were asking for the teacher or the student.

I also think that titles help many teachers to remain professional. And especially for younger teachers, it puts a boundary for the students. I remember when I first started teaching and was in the high school. It was very difficult for the students to see me as a teacher being that I looked younger than many of my students. The title really helped them to see me as a teacher and separated me from my students. Of course, not enough to keep them from asking me to the dances...

[sweetsass]

First-name basis doesn't work in the ghetto, where I teach. You MUST establish yourself as an authority to be respected, or they will eat you alive. They try to, in any case.

Kids also call their coaches "coach" instead of their first name. It's a sign of respect for their knowledge.

[LaurenDS]

I completely agree with you, sweetsass. I am doing my student teaching in really high poverty, high crime rate area. If you don't establish yourself, they will walk all over you. Using the title is a sign of respect. If your kids don't respect you, you will have a hell of a time teaching them, let alone surviving the school year. To add to it, I teach in the South, so everyone is automatically called Miss or Mr. anyways.

[kingrichie]

You know, in most all other parts of the world being a teacher is one of the most revered professions in the community. If you are not respected by your students for being a teacher, then you must find a way to show your students reasons to respect you for being a teacher.

[merrynl]

I did some teaching at a university before heading to a high school. At the university level, I often allowed my students to call my by my first name, but it depended on the situation. In the lab, first name was fine. WHen I was in a lecture situation, I still preferred Ms/Miss.

Now that I'm in a high school, I insist on being called Mrs, because it's with a different age group. All of my students here are younger than me, unlike at the university level. I think it's a sign of respect. Teachers in a K-12 setting should not allow their students to refer to them by their first names. We are in the classroom to be their teachers, not their friends.

[FrazzleDazzle]

I worked in private schools where teachers were called by first names instead of Mr/Mrs;now I am Mrs. Teacher in a public school. It is true that I was respected by most of the kids who called me by my first name, but I do feel more respected with the title-- and I didn't think I would. I think it does help to create a culture-- it *should* be clear that schools are a hierarchy with teachers above students.

I am wondering what Steven Edwards beileves the benefits of students calling him "Steve" would be.

[teach1027]

You cannot be their friend. You have to be an authority figure. If not you lose their respect even though it doesnt seem like it. Students today already have no respect for anything because their parents do not demand it. Somebody needs to teach them some. You don't call you principal by their first name do you?

[bella mundi]

I work in special ed with students with pretty severe disabilities, so I go by my first name, "Bella." I also worked with kids (in the same building) of a different type of population, and they called me Miss Mundi. I still insist on it, those that know my from those days, even when they hear my own class call me Bella.

However, in a totally different situation (not with low-income kids or anything like that) I would not be opposed to Miss Bella. That way there is some familiarity, but still respect and a distancing. It would only work with certain types of kids though. I agree that inner-city kids need to have that distinction.