do you address your professors by their first or last name?

[Nick]

which direction do we split?

and why is your room and example of your mind?

 

[principle]

Last name. And if im asking them to boost my grade up when im borderline i call them Dr.(last name), even if they dont hold a PhD.

I think i do this because even though im over 18 i still feel like a kid inside.

 

[Puffy]

Always by first, but I was on friendly terms with most of my supervisers.

I think my room is much more indicative of society and the influence of society on my mind's expression than my mind itself. I don't relate to my room very much. >.>

 

[Budthestud]

I usually avoid calling anyone by their first or last name unless I know them well. I usually make it obvious that I am talking to them through visual cues. probably because I have high social anxiety plus I forget names a lot.

 

[Pyropyro]

Ah this one is easy. For new prof's I address them with their highest rank and surname. Say, VP (Vice-President) X rather than Prof. X.

For more familiar prof's I call them Sir/Ma'am "First Name".

 

[Budthestud]

For more familiar prof's I call them Sir/Ma'am "First Name".

So if their name is John or Mary you call them Sir john or Ma'am Mary

 

[Pyropyro]

So if their name is John or Mary you call them Sir john or Ma'am Mary

It would probably Sir Juan and Ma'am Maria in my part of the world

 

[Budthestud]

It would probably Sir Juan and Ma'am Maria in my part of the world

Oh, do you actually call them that? My bad lol.

 

[Base groove]

So if their name is John or Mary you call them Sir john or Ma'am Mary

Can you translate this into an eastern language to double up your fun?

 

[Absurdity]

I can't think of a single professor that I ever referred to by their first name.

 

[Budthestud]

Can you translate this into an eastern language to double up your fun?

I don't think I can, I obviously have too much of an american bias...

 

[redbaron]

"My homeboy."

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

First name is generally a bad idea in all circumstances, imho. Nicknames or initials work well though if you have rapport. Dr. B, D.A., last name alone, etc.

 

[Polaris]

Most of my lecturers insisted we call them by first name, so never had to worry about that. Must be an Australian thing as most people here, including persons of authority, seem reluctant to acknowledge authority by title, surname, profession, etc. It is one of the cultural things I like about this country; kind of puts everyone on the same level despite social background, education, etc. There is no pretence in that context, generally, compared to somewhere like Europe.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Sir/Ma'am and their academic title, or if there are more academics in one place and you need to pick one, then their academic title and last name. Never first name in the standard circumstances, unless you date one or sth.

I'm from central europe btw, because this also matters.

 

[Happy]

I can't think of a single professor that I ever referred to by their first name.

I can't think of a single professor that I ever referred to by their last name.

However, this sort of interaction is far more relaxed in Australia. It generally makes people uncomfortable to address them by their title and/or surname. I have to address people at work as Sir/Madam/etc and some people are either really thrown off by it or in rare cases, offended.

I have a virtually unpronounceable surname too, so it's extra uncomfortable for people to address me as such...

EDIT: Didn't initially see Polaris' post.

 

[Trebuchet]

I always call people whatever they prefer to be called. I don't find it an imposition to use titles and more formality, nor a sign of disrespect to use their first name. Here in the US, most professors prefer to be called Doctor or Professor Last Name.

If I don't know, I ask, or default to formality. My dean of students once offered his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Steve." Being a brand-new freshman, I decided to ask how he would like to be addressed. He said, "Dean Sanchez would be best." (Not his real name.) This made me wonder why he introduced himself as Steve, but maybe it was just habit or something.

Australia sounds like a neat place.

 

[kris]

Like Trebuchet, I typically defer to a person's preference in address. Some requests are not reasonable. For instance, as an air cadet, the way you address a person isn't just a reflection of your respect for that person, but also of the broader cadet institution. If Sergeant Smith wanted me to call him Captain Smith or John, it wouldn't be appropriate while in uniform.

But with college, it wasn't really like that. Granted, I went to a technical college, so there was little expectation of calling anyone professor. Still, some teachers wanted to be addressed formally while others did not. It had nothing to do with respect for the broader educational institution in that scenario; it was just a matter of the teacher's personal preference.

In high school, there was some expectation that teachers be addressed formally. It made some sense in that students and teachers can foster good relationships with one another, but they are not peers or friends. Even so, it wasn't a hardline rule. When I was in my final year of high school (grade thirteen, so I was eighteen or nineteen at the time) a person I knew from a different social context started teaching at my high school. In the former context she was more of a peer, but in the latter, she was in a position of authority over me. I asked her how she wanted to be addressed and she said first name was fine. I only had her once when she subbed in for another teacher anyway. I would have addressed her formally had she preferred it, though it would have felt a little odd.

 

[Trebuchet]

For instance, as an air cadet, the way you address a person isn't just a reflection of your respect for that person, but also of the broader cadet institution. If Sergeant Smith wanted me to call him Captain Smith or John, it wouldn't be appropriate while in uniform.

Yes, organizations like air cadets are essentially following military rules, which have their own standards. They don't follow the unwritten societal rules about much of anything, I expect. There is a proper, written, way to do things.

Very rarely have I had someone ask to be called something inappropriate. I am sure it has happened, but I can't think of an actual occasion where it did.

 

[kris]

'Reasonable' is a bit of a preemptive clarification for me out of habit.

There are a number of discussions, especially where trans or genderqueer identities are concerned, where I've explained that I address people how they want to be addressed. I extend that to pretty much everyone, even if it just means calling them by a name they like better than the one their parent's gave them.

When I explain that, however, there's often some sarcastic person who then asks to be called Lord Buttfartface, Sir Awesomesauce or something equally disingenuous, at which point they insist I clarify when I will or will not respect someone's request to be called something other than their given name or conventional title or pronoun. It doesn't trouble me, but it's a boring conversation. Don't think anyone would have pulled that here, but like I said, habit just to set limits from the start.

 

[SilentStorm]

Well that all depends on the professor for me. Some of the teachers I've had are very traditional and strict so I always say Professor (lastname). But I've also had a few that are generally very laid back so I call them by their first name.

 

[Pyropyro]

I just accidentally called my boss "bro"

 

[Evel]

uhmm nope, I basically call them by their first name. And if someone comes up with a cewl nickname among students, so be it!

 

[ddspada]

I'm currently finishing high school and all throughout it and middle school I always addressed teachers as "Professor". No last or first names.
If I considered the person to be laid back and we got along well, then I would upgrade them to "Teacher" (it works in spanish, or at least in Mexico). Only one teacher explicitly asked the group on the very first day we met to address him by his first name. I did so but it was a little uncomfortable. My archery coach likes to be addressed by his last name with no title, but I do add it in: Teacher Smith (not his real name).
I've already met some teachers from the Philosophy Faculty I plan on attending starting next August, and around half have asked me, after introducing themselves, to address them by their first name if I ever end up being their student.

Additionally, I always address teachers using the formal usted (as opposed to the non-formal tú).

 

[Klavierr]

Title and last name- "Professor x." Almost always. If I'm in a more casual/personal environment with a professor or if their last name is just too damn long to repeat more than once in a short amount of time, I resort to just "Professor".

I was raised in a very conservative, authoritarian household. I didn't hate it, but i definitely didn't like it because it was very tense and structured. I just "meh"d my way through. Although I have had many, many people express to me how well-mannered and poised I am when presenting myself to older people. I'm just used to interacting with authority, nevermind if they don't "deserve" the authority. as long as they aren't personally damaging ME, I will be as polite as I need to be.

Too bad I can't be similarly relaxed when communicating with anybody my age who isn't an NT. The struggle.