In my department, students refer to academics by their first names - that's the standard practice, whether it's good or bad, and generally our students are pretty respectful, for students. So it always sets off warning bells when a student uses formal titles in communication - they're usually Up To Something. In a recent email, one of my students got off to a really bad start by writing:
"Ms Academic:
Professor Colleague said that you would fix [this problem] for me..."
Not only did I get demoted to Ms from Dr, my (male, of course) colleague (who is my junior in age, job title and in the context of the email, since I run the module) was promoted from Dr to Professor (which in the UK is a relatively rare title and the highest possible academic rank within a department - most career academics never get to the rank of professor in ordinary universities, because there are a limited number of jobs at that rank to go around).
Oh well, that's what happens when you put information about these things on the syllabus. I mean, why should a student with a problem look at the syllabus????? I mean, there's a woman and a man teaching the course so clearly he's a Professor and she's a Ms. Guess it's better than Miss!
Grrr........................
I was perfectly polite in my reply, although I took inward pleasure in not being able to fix [the problem], since not even my Magic Wand of Ms-dom can turn a mark of 23% with one more essay to go into a passing grade.
My adviser was Oxbridge-educated, and the importance of the title "Professor" has been hit home many times. It's very, VERY important to him. I feel your pain. At least the student didn't call you "honey."
ReplyDeleteNow you know why in the U.S. we keep firearms legal... And somehow, it's reassuring to know ours isn't the only country where there are children who never learn that when one is in trouble, it's best to be nice to people.
ReplyDeleteAt least you got "Ms." Most of my students think "Ms." is for divorced women and/or nasty feminists and call me "Miss" or "Mrs." indiscriminately.
ReplyDeleteI don't think any of my students (here in Canada) know the difference between an instructor and a professor, or an MA and a PhD. They throw all sorts of titles at me and I've stopped bothering to correct them.
I used to get upset about titles and so on, but I don't think the students really think about them at all. They just call you what they call you, and it's rarely them trying to insult you. They just don't know. I'd rather fight a different fight.
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain! And it is SO UNFAIR!
ReplyDeleteWhat I especially enjoy is when single female colleagues are called "Mrs. X" when they're not even married! The only way they can be a "Mrs. X" is if they either married their brother or were their mother. Both options are unappealing... but students don't care... about oh-so-much!
"Mrs." is at least an honorific - it's what they were taught to call their high school teachers.
ReplyDeleteThat's the way I was as a student. I wasn't disrespectful, but I didn't know - nor really care - who had which degrees, titles, ranks, etc. I didn't know an adjunct from a the dean. By my junior year I knew who the head of the department in my major was, but that's about as much as I ever knew.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about language is that "Ms" was used a long time ago, at least in my section of the Mid-Atlantic/South (USA).
ReplyDeleteIn public school, when we didn't know if a teacher was "Miss" or "Mrs", we'd just slur it together and call her "Ms" (this was before the "Ms" became popular in general culture). When Ms came along, I thought that was the oddest thing, since a lot of us had used the term since we were small children.
[At the University I attended as an undergrad, everyone was Mr or Ms/Mrs/Miss and not Dr or Professor (except, oddly, in the Education School). At the same school as a Masters student, we were allowed to call folks by their first names. In my PhD program (another institution), it went backwards. Folks were called Dr (however, they also said we could call them by their first names, but I felt uncomfortable with that since no one else did!).]
Look, I teach freshman and explain all the titles the first day (and postions-- adjunct, assistant, associate, and why they matter, what a PhD is, what they represent, etc). They have a choice of three correct titles to call me, including my first name. I point out how titles and positions matter in any professional setting. Etc. Etc. Etc.
ReplyDeleteI continue to correct them as the term goes on. Not in a bitter sort of way, but in a matter-of-fact, you're a big-boy-now-and-you-need-to-stop-using-little-boy-words sort of way. Not just when they call me the wrong name or honorific, but when they refer to one of my colleagues in an incorrect way as well.
I don't think of it as a battle. I think of it as a part of the curriculum when you teach freshmen. Along with "This is what an office hour is," and "Only a quarter of Americans graduate from college. You are not entitled to a college degree."
I also mark a point off their papers if they spell my name wrong on the cover. It's a lot less stressful than getting angry.
Should I have to do any of this? Probably not. But like I said, it keeps the rage to a minimum.
I've spent enough time in the UK that I actually correct undergrad students when they call me Professor - I say, 'no, just Dr.,..., I haven't earned the title Professor yet.'
ReplyDeleteOh Captain, My Captain.
ReplyDeleteThe title thing irks me, but I've given up on it. I really like Cute Cleo's attitude, though.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest battle was with someone misspelling my name. I think I've told this story before. Anyway, student kept spelling it Opeli. (It's not like my name isn't all over the place in the online classroom.) Student sort of apologized and then said, "I don't pay attention to names. They're not that important." I'm sure the student's boss would love to hear that!