How do your students address you?

[wtncffts]

I go by my first name, and every fellow TA I know during both my MA and PhD did and does. I understand if you're the actual instructor of a course, regardless of whether you have a PhD or not, that there's legitimate reasons for creating 'distance' by, for instance, being referred to as Professor or Doctor (if applicable), but I frankly would find it bizarre for a TA to go by anything other than first name. And believe me, I'm an extremely deferential person - there's maybe 2 profs I interact with that I call by first name, every other I go by Prof., and that includes my supervisor! 

[Katia_chan]

I realize this thread has kind of stagnated, but figured I'd add in my two cents anyway.

 

I go with the "do as you like" approach, as long as it's respectful.  I admit, it does a bit to my giddy-meter when a student calls me "professor...", but I could never actually ask them to call me by that title, especially since it's more for my benefit ("yay they think I'm an adult!").

 

To introduce the notion as a joke, I tell them that if they call me professor, it makes me feel like I'm in Harry Potter, and I give (fake) bonus points for doing it in a British accent.  This gets a few more of them to use "professor," but everyone is still free to do whatever.  And it seems to amuse them, and (hopefully) gets the point across that I really don't take myself too seriously in that sense.

 

...I'm not smart/intimidating enough to be cool, so I have to be funny, or at least try.

[Guest |||]

Hey Johnny Blaze / Theyre in my eyes, my eyes.

[gr8pumpkin]

I can't repeat what some of them call me on my evals.

[lifealive]

There was an interesting debate about this on Inside Higher Ed:

 

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/03/06/essay-problems-created-students-who-are-too-informal-professors

 

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2014/03/10/essay-professionalism-and-formality-teaching

 

And Rebecca Schuman's follow-up: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2014/03/what_should_students_call_their_college_professors.html

[Kamisha]

First name

[Between Fields]

I'm a TA, but 80% of my students call me "Professor." I gave them the "use what makes you comfortable" line on day one, but only one uses my first name. The graduate dean here thinks TAs merit the verbal address of Professor, though, as we're the instructors of record in our own courses. I never ask for it, though, I just don't correct them downwards if they use it.

[maelia8]

I'm a teaching assistant at a high school right now (I know this is a bit different, but the principle is the same) and I prefer that the pupils call me by my first name. Being called by my last name makes me feel uncomfortable, and I feel that it tends to age me unnecessarily in the eyes of the pupils (I'm 24). Both my first name and my last name can be difficult to pronounce, but I feel that the first name is a bit easier, and the pupils seem more comfortable and ready to approach me once I tell them that they can call me by my first name.