As a maturing kid going through grade school, it was a given, and almost a silent rule, that we were to address our teachers by their last name along with the proper prefix.
Professor BeerBelly. Mrs. GarlicBreath. Or Doctor IDontBelieveInMultipleChoiceQuestions – and what-have-you. Whatever their credited prefix was, we said it. Why? Because, it showed respect. It showed reverence. And quite frankly, it was unorthodox to say anything otherwise.
But as we’ve moved into the college level of learning and have progressed from maturing kids to young adults, we are now able, and sometimes encouraged, to address our professors by their first names. Weird? To some, yes… and with proper reason.
We were raised learning that the first-name-basis relationships were strictly for peers, colleagues, those younger than you or overpaid celebrities whose first names alone give them their identity.
The first time I was encouraged to call my professor by his first name, I wasn’t too sure I was comfortable with it. Sure, the professor and I had a great relationship and I thought very highly of him, but it was for those exact reasons that I refused to discredit his achievements by removing the “professor” or “doctor” that followed suit.
If our professors went to school for seven to 10 years to get that master’s degree or doctorate, then it’s only fair that I credit them for that. They worked hard for the “doctor” classification, so why take that away? The same argument can be made for the “professor” characterization as well.
Perhaps I’m dealing with a woman professor who is proudly married, and I choose to address her as “Mrs.” as my way of congratulating that.
In a nation of 50 percent divorce rates that are still on the rise, it’s not as easy as it used to be to sustain a marriage, and keep it healthy for that matter. With great icons like Tiger Woods and John Edwards, who are primary examples of great marriages (insert eye roll here), it’s only right that I make that a part of her salutation.
But in all seriousness, does the dropping of rightful prefixes really determine the amount of respect a student has for a professor? Not at all, but addressing him or her on a first-name basis certainly heightens the cushion of comfort that students can have with a professor.
I’m not saying to start calling every professor you know by his or her first name, because I’m not sure that all of them are OK with that, but if one does seem to encourage it, then I guess there’s no damage done.
And maybe not everyone wants that type of personal relationship with his or her professor because it’s all too weird, or maybe even frowned upon by your peers.
Whatever reasons a person might have, it’s best to play it safe and stick with the formal addressing we were taught during our childhoods. That – or just raise your hand and hope to be seen or called on.