Reply to How are kids supposed to address professors? Dr., Professor, first name? Daughter got rude reaction

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If your DD is at a large research university, she may be unaware that her instructors are not all professors--some might be TAs, some lecturers, and only some are professors.  IME, the first-name thing is rather more common among TAs--who are themselves likely calling their professors in grad school by their first name.

I would not assume that the two people who gave your daughter feedback are outliers, nor would I call them rude or obnoxious.  All of us deserve to be addressed in professional settings as we desire to be addressed.  An advisor asking to be called by her title and surname doesn't seem in the least obnoxious, especially since many advisors see it as their job to model appropriate behavior in professional settings for the students they advise.

Moral of the story: it's always better to assume formality and to be invited to use first names.  Your daughter should take the feedback, and be grateful for it.   [/quote]

That occurred to me. When I was a TA a lot of students called me professor, I would correct them. We also had a couple of lecturers in the department who had been there for years (math dept)--there were only certain courses they could teach. I think we called them Mr. and Mrs.

St. John's College prizes formality--but not academic titles. Everyone is Mr. Mrs. Ms. or Miss, student and faculty. [/quote]

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