Teacher Discussion Forums

In Spain there's a tencency lately for students to call their teachers 'tu' instead of 'usted' which was prevalent in the good old times of good manners.

My guess in that this tendency is typically Spanish. Since there is no such distinction in English-speaking countries this would be equivalent to being called by your first name. Does this happen or tend to happen anywhere outside Spain? I am always talking about students upto the secondary level.

I am particularly interested in what's going on in this respect in France, Germany and Scandinavian countries.

Thanks

Wi-ri-yum sensei

Students hae been using 'tu' to their teachers since the 70's. Originally it was the teachers who encouraged it to mark them apart from the Francoists.

When I worked in Spain I always encouraged students to address me by my first name, regardless of their age.

In Turkey, they enevitably started with "Mr Endi" (sic), Then Just "Endi" when I told them that Mr+first name isn't used in English. So now you know where my email address comes from. The children called me Mr Patterson to my face. I'm sure they called me other things behind my back.

In Poland most Adult class students call me "you". The children called me Mr Patterson to my face - they included Poles, Germans, Danes, Swedes and Latvians. Again I don't know what they called me behind my back. Private students call me "you," "Andy," or "Andrew" one called me "Professor" which is unfortunately something which I'm not.

Hey all!

When working in New York City, I had a colleague who insisted on addressing all his students as Mr or Miss plus their last name. He also insisted that they address him in the same fashion. It was part of his English Teacher Persona.

I was lazy in picking up the usted thing until it came in handy one Christmas during an arguement with my landlady in the stairs of the building.

I have allowed my kids to call me "teacher" and a poor phonetic rendering of my first name until just recently. Now I insist, rather jokingly, that they refer to me as Mr (last name which happens to be the same as a popular music star's to whom I am not related). It wasn't until university that I began calling my teachers by their first name, and even so there were a couple that had to be called Dr so-and-so.

In my opinion (and here I give a peek into my age bracket), I prefer the good old days of addressing the teacher with the respect he/she merits, usually by using a title like Mr or Mrs or Miss or Dr, or whatever. I notice the lack of formulated respect in the poor discipline encountered in the Spanish public and private schools which spills out onto the street every afternoon.

peace,
revel.

Come to think of it, a lot did address me as "teacher" in Turkey. It was quite a long time ago. A few occasionally called me "efendi" too. It's in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, btw, but with a slightly different meaning. It's like "Sir" but even more respectful.

In Saudi iit's nearly always "doctor".

I m working in Turkey and the ss call me "teacher "too.Since I 'm younger than all of them ,it is OK.

You considered changing your first name to "Indiana", Stephen?

They almost always try "teacher" but I try to nip that one in the bud. I tell them it makes them sound like they're 4 years old (which it does) and that usually works.

You know it's just sad when "teacher" is not a title of respect in your culture. I mean, doctors like being called "doctor"; it just sounds good.

When I worked with adults, I usually had them call me by my first name. It just seems weird to have them call me Ms. when so many of them are older than me. Also, the informal is so much more useful in the US than formal language. . .