Schools allow children to call teachers by first names
BY MICHAEL FOX
Is it OK for primary school pupils to call teachers by their first names?
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Education
Tradition has gone out the classroom window as an increasing number of primary schools allow children to address teachers by their first names.
The move away from honorifics - reflected across other aspects of society too - has sparked debate among education experts. Teachers say it removes an unnecessary level of authority and encourages more curious and questioning students. Critics say it gives children more freedom than they are prepared for.
Wellington's Mt Cook School principal Sandra McCallum said using Christian names changed the learning dynamic. Instead of passively accepting what they are told, children are not overawed by authority and are more questioning.
"The old adage that children are there to be seen and not heard - that has changed," she said.
But Victoria University anthropologist James Urry argues that removing the age-based hierarchy is empowering kids before they are ready.
"The consequences of this usage in schools is a collapse of authority and a lack of respect which also extends beyond school. Children are empowered often without the social skills to handle their empowerment," he said.
"There has to be discipline, there has to be authority or it's Lord of the Flies."
And the issue of honorifics has extended further than the school gates.
Dr Urry said the trend for less formality could be seen in wider society, with the dropping of uncle or auntie as a form of address for family members, as extended families gave way to the nuclear model.
Stuff.co.nz spoke to Wellington woman Bridget Pivac, who said her five year old niece and eight year old nephew still referred to her as Aunty Biddy.
She likes the title, saying it shows a level of respect. Aunty and uncle are used across her family.
"If there's an inlaw deemed good enough, they also get it," she joked.
Dr Urry says mums and dads are still likely to keep their titles. But not always: Actress Nicole Kidman has been quoted as saying her teenage children call her by her first name.
DIFFERENT SCHOOL APPROACHES
Te Aro School principal Bryce Coleman said children had addressed staff by their Christian names at his school for more than 20 years.
"We find it makes the relationship with the children a lot more personable and less authoritarian which suits the philosophy of our school," he said, adding that there were no issues with the children, who addressed other adults the same way.
Mt Cook School teacher Sam Silby, 22, said having children call her by her first name helped her to bond with them.
"It's so nice. They come in and say, 'Hey Sam, how was your weekend?' When you have that close bond with them it's much easier to teach."
She did not feel it eroded her authority. "They still see me as their teacher. I'm double their size."
Brooklyn Primary School principal Chris Bryant said his staff were left to decide what they preferred.
There was a risk that the lack of formality could lead to a crossing of professional boundaries and teachers needed to be sure they were comfortable with it, he said.
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Nga Mokopuna spokeswoman Mere Hawaikirangi said they used the formal Maori terms of "Matua" or "Whaea", meaning uncle and auntie respectively, for teachers and parents at the school.
The Seatoun-based school used the traditional terms of address to ensure the level of respect Maori custom required be shown to elders.
"At some point there has to be that defining line between adult and child and I think if you become too familiar that line becomes quite cloudy," she said.
She said young people were more prone to take liberties if they lost respect for their elders.
Lyall Bay School principal Dennis Thompson said his school still used honorifics, along with other local schools such as Wadestown, Roseneath and St Patrick's.
Pupils used formal references for teachers but not other staff such as caretakers and office workers. A decision that hadn't been questioned in his 20 years at the school, he doesn't think it affects the children's ability to learn either way.
"These days the role of the teacher is more of a mentor for the children as well, so if it helps that mentor relationship role it's a good thing. If it eroded the discipline it wouldn't be a good thing, but I don't see that it would have potential to do that."
Mr Thompson says it is a further relaxation of formalities between students and teachers, moving further away from the old Sir or Ma'am forms of address.
OPPOSITION
Canterbury College of Education associate dean Barry Brooker said it was "definitely" not an environment for new teachers in particular.
"That's not the way to start your interaction with a group of children," he said.
Dr Brooker said formal titles developed a demarcation between students and teachers and gave the teachers the authority needed to do their job properly.
The use of first names put the relationship between teachers and students on a more equal footing, "and no matter what you think, it's not an equal footing".
It should not be a relationship based on equality as the students were at school to learn. While it worked well in some schools, it would not be successful in others, he said.
Dr Urry, whose wife is a primary school teacher, also refuted suggestions it put teachers and students on a level-footing.
"How could you be equal with a seven-year-old?" he said.
The Education Ministry declined to comment saying it was a matter for individual schools.
- © Fairfax NZ News
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Respect is not who you call other people, it is not dispectful to walk in and say hello to the teacher by first name, hwever the teacher might have to take other measures to make sure that the children does understand that the he/she is the one in control.
Katherine (#185) , Mad Matt (#184), David (#183) et al
I reiterate - look at outcomes.
Trendy ideas such as this, however well meaning, and however well dressed up in sugary language, have been associated with the decline of educational outcomes over the past couple of decades.
The recent ERO report shows how our schools are failing youngsters, yet we get sideshows like this.
When today's teachers are turning out kids educated to the same standard as their predecessors did thirty or forty years ago then they'll have the right to try out their novel ideas. Until such time they ought to concentrate on getting the basics right. If they're up to it. Unfortunately I don't think that a lot are...
So where does it discuss what the teachers want to be called? Surely that is the most important consideration (barring unreasonable demands).
"Kids need to learn respect" - trust me, they don't learn it from having to use titles. Most kids when I was at school would call a female teacher "Miss" (not "Miss Lastname",) whether they were a Miss, Ms or Mrs. And even if they used the right title that still didn't mean they would bother to be quiet in class or do their schoolwork. Kids learn respect (if they learn it) from their home environment, and I'm not sure you can teach that at schools, especially not with the number of teachers that go on power trips.
I (very respectful as a kid, because I was so shy) got told off once because my handwriting was very poor and I hadn't capitalised a parent's name well enough for the teacher. It showed a lack of respect, apparently. If teachers are this bad at judging respect, perhaps they are not equipped to teach it? Though a few teachers I've had could do nothing but gain respect from all their students.
At the day care centre that our children attend the carers are addressed by their first name, so why not school? The kids still respect these carers authority and ability. 50+ years ago in business senior managers were referred to as Mister [surname], but there would not be many places like that now. Times change.
It is imperative that young children are able to identify and interact with their teachers at this pivotal time of learning. Yes respect is a vital component of this, but the use of Mr/Miss/Mrs is not necessary for respect and the people who say it is are misinformed. What people seem to forget is that respect is a two-way street and I think it would make it far easier for children to respect their teacher if they are able to feel comfortable using their first names.
For the person who compared primary and secondary education? Haha, what a joke. They are completely different entities and should be treated as such. That you (Mark, #175) think that this shows how secondary schools are more "professional", is so naive it borders the ridiculous.
As for the teacher in the photo, Sam, she is a lovely teacher. I know some of the kids she teaches and they find her a fantastic teacher and role model.
Mahara (#181) - You need to look at 'outcomes'.
In the 'bad old days' the outcomes were much much better than we're getting today, despite the huge amount of money poured in (e.g. $45M to solve a discipline problem that didn't even exist before these trendies got to work).
The snakeoil that's been peddled over the last couple of decades by the "children industry" (made up of legions of those who cynically use a faux-concern for children's issues to build a lucrative career) is working to the detriment of a huge number of kids.
These side shows are just a smokescreen for the reality that many teachers are inadequate and only succeed by the very dubious and dumbed-down yardsticks they're allowed to create for themselves. Hence the hoo-haa over national standard - they know that in the wider world we'll all see the general failure of today's educators.
That is the TRUE abuse that our children face today. Not the occasional smacked bottom.
@ 176 - Respect through fear is not really respect at all but compliance based on intimidation. Anyone who uses this method, and not just in regards to the teaching profession but within the relationship between any two people (or one person in authority and a group, or even one person within a family network, etc) doesn't deserve respect anyway.
In regards to the debate at hand, I am a preschool teacher and children address us by our first names. It makes sense to the children - after all, they have learned that Mahara is my name, and it is what their parents/siblings/whanau etc call me, it is what other teachers call me, so why shouldn't they address me by my first name also? I feel that having a first name basis, particularly in early childhood, is an important part of the nurturing and education process we strive towards. As part of the education process we guide the children to learn manners and respectful attitudes through role modelling and positive guidance. Of course, this is not soley our job and parents too have a role to play in teaching their children these vital life skills. Respectful attitudes start in the early years and you can't expect children in primary school and up to suddenly learn respect for adults if they haven't learnt this from an early age. It's not how to address teachers that is the issue here. If a child has been positively guided to show adults proper respect and to use their manners it shouldn't matter whether they call their teacher by their christian name or use an honorific - either way, the sucessfully educated child will understand that adults deserve respect and this should be enough.
I agree with Margaret #159 that New Zealanders love the whole "oh I'm gonna be different to the whole world" stuff. This? Well, this is just lame.
Of course it has everything to do with respect. Addressing teachers Mr and Mrs Whoever IS the way of SHOWING RESPECT.
As soon as teachers us first name and start this "Okay, I will be like a friend to you, so that you can respect me more" method of teaching, students are going to lose all respect and teachers will have no control over students.
Scott #145 : Thank goodness for you. I always pre-emptively cringe when looking at the comments on a story like this because I know the terms 'politically correct' and 'PC' will be wildly and inaccurately over-used. It has got to the point that if anyone uses the term 'PC' that is an automatic strike against their opinion with me, because I don't think I've ever seen it as part of a sensible, non-reactionary argument. As a secondary school teacher myself, I would infinitely prefer to be addressed as 'Sarah' instead of 'Miss! MISS!' which is what I so often get. Every year I make the effort to learn over a hundred new first and last names, some of which are quite hard for me to pronounce. (I once mastered the Indian surname Paskaranandavadivel only to be told by the student that she went by 'Paskar' at school.) I do it because it's a good way to show respect and establish a working relationship. I wish more students would make the same effort with their teachers' names. I'm getting more stubborn as I get older. I think next year anyone who calls me just 'Miss' will be pointedly ignored until they say 'Miss <i>Dove</i>,' whereupon I will smile sweetly and say 'Yes, [Name]? I wasn't sure you were talking to <i>me</i>.' To me, the problem is not really what students call their teachers. It's the tone of voice in which they speak to us. It's the way they will ask me a question, and while I am answering, turn their heads to speak to somebody else. It's the way they will raise their hands just after I've explained what we are going to do today and ask 'Miss, what are we actually doing today?' We need PARENTS to teach their children to speak politely and pleasantly to their teachers, and to understand that we don't owe them infinite patience no matter how unpleasant they are.
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I actually went to a school where we called our teachers by their first names. Out of the forty students in my year 13 group, more than 30 of us have completed a bachelor degree, or are studying towards one. Several are now studying towards masters or doctorates. The school in question is a public school, but they thought it more important that we respected our teachers, and that they respected us. I think it is wrong for students to be walked over by teachers who think the students are not showing appropriate respect, when the teacher hasn't given them any respect. True, my example is of a high school, but primary schools can use the same techniques - like the teacher said in the story, she is twice their size, of course they will respect her even if they are calling her Sam. Lastly, Sam seems a lot more respectful of her students than the primary school teachers I had, who thought of us as mere irritations.