So you think it is OK to call a teacher by his/her first name while you are in school?

Question

Do you think it is OK to call a teacher by his or first name. You are still going to school, but not at school at the moment. Example: IF you see a teacher, and you are like in 8th grade, and see them at a mall, do you think it is ok to address them by their first name or not.

Answer 1

No,

As an adult I later work with on summer jobs with my old 6th grade teacher. I had a very hard time to call him by his first name.

It is respectful to call them Mr/Ms/Mrs.

As a child growing up we never called any of my parents friend Mr/Ms/Mrs, i would call them aunt/uncle so and so.

Answer 2

No, I think that you should still call them Mr/Mrs/Ms whatever. It's just the professional thing to do and it is kind of inappropriate to call a teacher by their first name in or out of school. Now when you get to college, some professors will advise you to just call them by their first names, but not in middle and high school. Especially with the lawsuits that have been going on lately about student teacher relationships. It is just not advisable to get on a personal level like that with your middle/high school teachers.

Answer 3

I guess it depends upon the teacher. Some people like to only be addressed by the first name. Out of respect I always have called teachers by Mr or Mrs. Mr jim or Ms janet would be okay though.

Answer 4

If you are an adult it is generally OK. If you are still in high school, I would stick to the Mr, Ms, Mrs just as a sign of respect.

Some teachers want you to use their first names and not the Mr. -- sounds old.

Answer 5

No, I don't. I think a teacher should always be called by Mr./Ms./Mrs. Last Name. It denotes respect. My husband is a high school teacher & all of his students call him Mr. Miller regardless of if he's in the classroom or at a local festival. I never called a teacher by their first name either.

Answer 6

When I was in high school I had a teacher who told us we were now adult enough to be treated as such and he said from now on he would call us by our surname (like Miss Smith) but if he forgot to give us that respect we did not have to call him Mr. Smith in class. Any time he called us by our first name in class we called him by his first name. Today I live 10 minutes away from him and I always call him Simon (his first name) and he always calls me by my first name. He was the only teacher I ever had that allowed that. I would ask the teacher the question you just asked us and do whatever he says as he still deserves respect since he is your elder.

Answer 7

My daughter is in the eighth grade, and I think her teachers would be shocked if she addressed them by their first names in public. Both the age difference and the status difference (teacher/student) dictate that the non-adult address the adult as Mr./Ms./Mrs. So-and-So, no matter where they are. You don't stop calling your aunts and uncles "Aunt Mary" and "Uncle Joe" just because you see them in public and not at a family member's house, right?

Answer 8

As long as it is ok with the teacher, it is ok.

When you bump into them say "Hi Jeff! It is ok if I call you Jeff, right?" Just insert their first name where you see Jeff.

Most often, if you even know the teacher's first name, they probably are ok with being called by it, and you aren't in college yet, so not too many teachers have over-inflated egos.

Answer 9

No, I don't think it's OK. Using Mr. or Mrs. shows respect for an elder and a person in authority over you and teachers fall under both of those conditions.

Answer 10

Not really it seems wierd. plus i dont even know any of my teachers first names. usually when i see them somewhere i say hey mr. smith and it makes them feel more respected if you do. not really good to address them by the first name though.