John- I would suggest that respect is a two-way street. If you want students to call you by a title to show respect for, "what we have done and what we do" then how do you show them respect for what they have done and do? I agree that respect is important - but it should be mutual respect. I would much rather have a student say respectfully, "Don, could you go over that one more time? I really don't understand it" than to have a student sneeringly say, "Sir, your lecture is very unclear".
-Don ----- Original Message ----- From: "John W. Nichols, M.A." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, February 24, 2004 12:00 PM Subject: Re: Don't Call Me Mister > Obviously, "Mister" is not only acceptable, but also appropriate in my > case. I have no problem with it being used. > > I used to tell my students (back in the old days when I actually saw > them) they could call me "Mister", "Professor", or "Master" - anything > except "Dr.". When asked what the M.A. stands for, I respond "Master of > All things" (which, while true, seems to let them know that I am not too > concerned about degreeism). > > I do not like for students to call me "John". That suggests a degree of > familiarity that I do not care for since ours is a professional > relationship. It is just my opinion - but it is my educated opinion - > that teachers (like parents) should not be their friends. We worked > hard to become what we are. We have earned, and deserve, respect for > what we have done and what we do. That, of course, assumes that one > respects learning, knowledge and education. Using first names does not > show respect. (OK, true, it is not that hard to become a parent. It > is, in fact, more fun than work. Parents, however, still deserve > respect.) > > I was raised in a military family. I would have never even considered > not saying "Sir" or "My-yam" (I was also raised in the far, deep South) > when addressing an adult. Even today, I use the terms when addressing a > superior or senior person. I do not view it as a demeaning thing for me > to do but, rather, as simply a proper display of respect. (I have been > known to use other terms when respect was absent.) > > Again, it is only my opinion (though I know I am right), that many of > the problems seen in schools (and families) today result from a failure > to teach students (and children) to show proper respect for those who > deserve it by their effort, actions or status. If students do not > respect their teachers, I seriously doubt that they can be expected to > respect and appreciate what they are taught. I suggest that lack of > respect is a large part of the cause for innumeracy as well as ignorance > about geography, science, history, and so many other subjects we teach. > Is there an academic subject in which American students rank 1st in the > world? I think that the effort to be friends and to be informal is > misguided and actually contributes to the problem. > (I have certainly seen ample evidence of lack of respect and > appreciation for parents in many young people in recent years. Too > little respect, parents who want to be friends of their kids, and > excessive self-esteem, are to blame. That is just my opinion, of > course.) > > I do not become violent when a student addresses my by my first name. I > do, however, become wary of their motivation and I think a bit less of > them and their upbringing. > > My solution to the problem of how to sign emails is pretty simple. I do > not sign individual emails. I use a .sig file on all of my professional > accounts, just like the one below. That seems to me to be sufficient. > It shows all of the necessary information, in a properly formal way, for > a professional relationship. That is how I view our relationship with > students. > > > > > > > > > "Karl L. Wuensch" wrote: > > > > Freshmen in my intro class often call me 'Mister,' which I don't > > like. I prefer first names, but if they must be formal, I prefer > > 'Professor' or 'Doctor.' I found a brief discussion of this put up by > > UCF, at > > http://www.ucfnews.com/news/2003/06/25/Lifestyles/Whats.In.A.Name.How.To.Add ress.A.Professor.In.Class-440611.shtml . > > Do you all speak to your freshman about how to address professors? > > > > http://core.ecu.edu/psyc/wuenschk/Professor.htm > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > Karl L. Wuensch, Department of Psychology, > > East Carolina University, Greenville NC 27858-4353 > > Voice: 252-328-4102 Fax: 252-328-6283 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://core.ecu.edu/psyc/wuenschk/klw.htm > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To unsubscribe send a blank email to > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -- > > ----------==========>>>>>>>>>> ��� <<<<<<<<<<==========---------- > Sometimes you just have to try something, and see what happens. > > John W. Nichols, M.A. > Assistant Professor of Psychology > Tulsa Community College > 909 S. Boston Ave., Tulsa, OK 74119 > (918) 595-7134 > > Home: http://www.tulsa.oklahoma.net/~jnichols > MegaPsych: http://www.tulsa.oklahoma.net/~jnichols/megapsych.html > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
