What do you call your child's teacher?

Question

Whether talking to my daughter, writing a note or email, or speaking with them in person, I have always referred to my daughter's teachers, and principal as Mr. Smith, or Ms. Jones, but I noticed at a School Council meeting, one of the parents referred to the teachers and principal by their given names.  Am I the only one?

desmeran · Accepted Answer

as anywhere, "Mr. Smith" or "Ms. Jones" ... unless and until they ask to be called by their first name (which often happens if you see them a lot ... as might be the case for someone involved in School Council.)  though even if a teacher has asked me to use their first name, i use "mrs. smith" when talking to them in front of kids.

VeganMom · Answer

I agree. In front of the kids and with my daughter I refer to the teacher as Mrs. Adams. My daughter's pre-school teachers were Ms. Beth and Ms. Emily. As they used the more casual version with the title and the first name, I just usually referred to them as that.

Part of it, is just habit leftover from my school days. However, I like that as things get way too casual and relaxed, it's nice to see that the formality in schools for Mr. and Mrs. still remains.

? · Answer

I address them how they introduce themselves to me.  One of my kid's teachers this older than most teachers and she's definitely a Mrs... but my other kid's teacher introduced herself by her first name so I call her that.

Side note: when we lived in Quebec, I was surprised to find that the teacher not only referred to herself to *me* by her first name, but the *students* called her that too!  And this wasn't uncommon at all; many of the teachers did this. So there's a bit of a cultural thing associated with it too.

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What do you call your child's teacher?

3 Answers