<p>Instead of Mr./Ms/Mrs.? They're both the same thing the way I see it.</p>
<p>Because they won’t grade you down…They spent the time for that degree, and deserve some respect.</p>
<p>Because they worked hard for their degrees and “professor” is more respectful.</p>
<p>Professor sounds better and shows more respect. No one is forcing you to call them that, but I find it more suitable and decent.</p>
<p>It’s a sign of respect as professors have usually earned Masters or Ph.D in his or her field. Some profs will let you call them Mr./Mrs/etc. and some will even let you call them by his or her first name but if you are unsure, it is always best to call that professor “professor” UNLESS he/she goes by another title (i.e. he introduces himself as Dr. Smith not Professor Smith).</p>
<p>Uh, why does everyone have the conception that professor is more respectful than teacher?</p>
<p>In the truest sense of the words, teacher is far more respectful than professor. Literally anyone can profess, and that is literally why they are called professors - they just say **** and research. They do not care so much about your own edification. Teacher implies a more intimate and nurtured educational relationship.</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t call them either “Teacher” or “Professor” when speaking to them. I would call them “sir”, “ma’am”, “mr.”, “ms.”, “dr.”, etc.</p>
<p>Call them what they tell you to call them. That’s the best way to avoid any problems.</p>
<p>All my professors so far have specifically asked us to call them by their first names (maybe a liberal arts college thing?). I haven’t gotten completely comfortable with that yet, but I can usually get away without calling them anything. I mean, how often are you going to be yelling, “Hey! Professor X!” across the room?</p>
<p>The worst part is when I’m emailing them…still can’t get used to opening with “Hi, Susan…” and launching into my question.</p>
<p>I’ve always felt weird with it, but I find that it’s hard to call a prof by a title, because I never know if they’re a “miss” or a “ms” or a “mrs.” And it’s WAY more polite to call them professor, because they went to school for 12+ years and have done numerous publications - they are not a simple “mr” nor are they a teacher. They are a professor.</p>
<p>And yes, many of them are extremely conceited about this fact. It’s an ego boost.</p>
<p>you can’t compare ‘teacher’ to ‘professor’ because you wouldn’t be saying “teacher smith”, or whoever, lol.</p>
<p>I could never imagine calling a teacher by their first name… it would be so weird. Respect given towards teachers has been hardwired into our brains</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But to the guy working in a coal mine for 25+ years… Yeah, his work isn’t deserving of any special recognition or courtesy. I think it is…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes. That’s about right. I think people who take too much stock in their “title” are just smug and snobby (sans nobilite), which would with hold me from extending them any special courtesy. My father is a “Dr.” but won’t rag on people who make a mistake and call him “Mr.”, and he’s about as old school (Yale '69) as you can get. Genuine people know it is only about the work you do and how you treat others, not about the title attached to the degree you got years ago.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m with you. I have 3 professors this semester that go by their first name. The first two are alright-- we’re a small program and so it’s somewhat close. And both of them have last names that aren’t exactly the easiest pronounced. They prefer to for us to call them by first name. When I email them though, I sometimes type their first name and other times I put Dr. ______. It just kind of depends.</p>
<p>“how often are you going to be yelling, “Hey! Professor X!” across the room?”</p>
<p>Pretty often, but then again, I am in the X-men.</p>
<p>^Haha. I bet telepathy really comes in handy in college…</p>
<p>This is what I think of when professors seem too intent on making people refer to them a certain way:</p>
<p>U.N. Representative: So, Mr. Evil…
Dr. Evil: It’s Dr. Evil, I didn’t spend six years in Evil Medical School to be called “mister,” thank you very much.</p>
<p>^ haha. I like the teachers that want to be hip and tell people to call them by their first name. There was this professor I didn’t care for who wanted us to call him by his first name, but I just kept calling him “professor”.</p>
<p>Why not call your minister by their first name or “Ms” or Mr." instead of “Reverend”?</p>
<p>Why not call your doctor by their first name or “Mr.” or “Ms.”?</p>
<p>Why not call the president of the U.S. by his first name or by using “Mr.” instead of “Mr. President”?</p>
<p>Calling college instructors “professor” is the same kind of social convention. I don’t understand why it bothers you so much to say “professor”.</p>
<p>@Manhattan if there’s a special title given to an experienced coal miner then yeah he’s deserving of it.</p>
<p>My dad is a professor, students just call him Dr. <em>last name here</em>
Not Mr. <em>last name</em> or Professor <em>Last name</em></p>
<p>ROFL at post #15.</p>