Kids calling teachers by their first names

You're not old.  NEVER GO ON A FIRST-NAME BASIS!

'Bigfuzzydad' and my mother were teachers for 40 years and they were ALWAYS "Mr." and "Mrs."

I am "Mr. Bernstein" to my kids' friends.

I think it might be regional.

I was accustomed to calling my friend's parents by their first names, more than last.   The neighbor kids call me Emily, I am not sure they know my last name.  I would think it REALLY weird if someone called me Mrs. anything.     The only people who use Ms. or Mrs. (barf) are telemarketers or vendors, people who don't know me.  I do remember using Mr or Mrs when I was in school, but wouldn't have blinked if asked to use a first name.  I'm in Minnesota.

However, I distinctly remember my brother-in-law (east coast) being surprised I called his mother by her first name.  That's how she was introduced!  Apparently they would still go with more formal address.

My personal favorite is from a visit to a girlfriend in North Carolina.  Her kids called me Miss Emily.  That I liked. 

I dunno - I feel really awkward calling someone Mr or Mrs or Ms - whatever.  Teachers are really the only people I ever did. My friends' parents never let us call them Mr/Mrs/Ms.  I do understand its the formal and polite thing to do but even at work with our bosses and higher-ups they are referred to by their first names and using the more formal would be weird in my workplace.  And it is a workplace with lots of hierarchy

I am not sure about calling teachers by their first names - because that's not how I was raised but I can see how things are moving that way and how every other area seems to be less formal.  I don't see a problem with it.  Authority or respect doesn't necessarily come from using a title and last name ...

This is what we've taught our kids (4 & 6 year olds) to do with friends and neighbors.  First names, but with a Mr or Miss.  Never thought much about it, but we don't say Mrs.  It's always Miss,  even though all of the ladies are married. 

K- 2nd grade = "teacher"

3-12 = Mr./Mrs. Smith

College = professor Smith.

But yes, I found that in the south it is common to say Mr. Jim, or Miss Susan.  In my first marriage, in her family (from the south) you always added uncle/aunt/papa/mama...  then their frist name.  OR just a nickname.

But for the OP.  I think the world is getting less formal and because of technology, we are getting closer (internet, social media).  Where texting and emails are the norm, calling people Mr/Mrs is not at popular.  I very quicky move to fist name basis on all my business contacts in my emails.  I address all of them after one or two to Sally/James and not use mr/mrs.

I think if that's what the teacher WANTS, I figure allow your kids to address them as they desired to be addressed instead of imposing your own rules.  Why make the interaction incomfortable between the kid and their teacher just so you are more comfortable at home.  Just teach them to us mr/mrs unless otherwise requested.

Wouldn't that be like if you said "Hello Mr. Jones" and he said "No, please call me Bob" and you say, "that doesn't make me comfortable, so I'm going to call you Mr. Jones"?

(just my observations).

Oh heck no.  Teachers should be addressed properly and that is Mr. Mrs ______.  That is a line of respect and disipline that should not be crossed.  Its also proper manners.  

I still remember in middle school my classmates started refering to their parents by thier first names. At one point one of them called my parents by thier first name.  I cut them off cold and in clear terms that they would address my parents as Mr. and Mrs. Carlson. 

Same thing goes for kids answering adults with yeah or nah.  Its yes or no.  My kids slip into that and get called on it.  If I can articulate a question you can articulate a proper reply.

I always addressed my teachers as Mr./Mrs. "last name". That never was a question.

Now, my good friend, I address their parents as Mr./Mrs "first name". That was what they prefered.

In college it was Dr./Professor "last name". Just what they deserved to be called.

Heck, I mentor some younger kids and they call me Mr. Last name, just because that's what they've been taught. I've told them that they are free to call me by my first name and I don't mind.

Guess it's how we're brought up.

I do catch grief for teaching my kids "yes sir/mam & no sir/mam" simply b/c where my wife grew up, the sir/mam was equivalent to calling them old.

I would set up a meeting with the teacher first and explain to him why my child will not be calling him "Bill" all year and then yes, I would tell my child how I expect them to address this teacher and all adults.

Hmmmm, I go with the old school of teaching respect and using Mr./Ms./Mrs. as a prefix when addressing a teacher, unless the teacher was a real loser/pr1ck/jerk/etc. then it would be something entirely different under my breath and in my head.

Just be lucky that they weren't told to call them by a nickname, I guess.

So you don't care about what the teacher of your child wants the interaction between them to be?  Not sure why you can't teach your child to adress all adults with a level of respect that you expect from them, unless specifically requested by an idividual to do otherwise.  Sounds to me like you may be teaching them to not consider the wishes of the individuals they interact with at some level by ignoring their requests.

I think in formal/professional settings, formal/professional titles are called for. I go by Dr. Gearboy professionally, and gearboy socially. I remember once when I treated the child of a person that I knew from a social activity setting. The kid was in the hospital, and the mom said "I'm not sure how to address you". I said "Call me Dr. Gearboy here at work, and gearboy there". Similarly, when the social worker from my unit and I started hanging out (biking or tri'ing, or other social gatherings), I told him the same thing. I call my own physician Dr. when I am seeing him in the office as a patient, and by his first name in other settings.

So teachers should be called Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms/Dr/Professor whatever. Parents of friends? Same thing. Friends of parents? a bit more fuzzy. I grew up with calling them the honorific of Aunt/Uncle. One of my friends prefers to have the "Mr. Bill/Miss Melissa" approach, while another simply goes by first names to our kids. It can lead to some interesting situations (I still get called Dr. Gearboy by my daughter's friends who are in their mid-20's, while teenagers that I have gone climbing or biking with call me by my given name).

I prefer that the kids address teachers as Mr./Mrs. Name, and if the teacher wants that to be a first name, I'll defer to the teacher (so Mr. Tom would be acceptable).  If the teacher really wants students to address him/her by first name only, I'll again defer to the teacher.  We have a similar situation with scout leaders, many of whom prefer to be addressed by their first name.  What I told my own kids in this case is that you can address the person as they have requested, but you should still refer to them as Mr./Mrs. Name when talking about them to someone else. 

Heck, I'm now 30 years out of high school, FB friends with a couple of my teachers from then, and I STILL have a hard time thinking of them as anything other than "Mr. [lastname]". Only one, my band director, do I even think of in terms of a first name.

I think it's up to the teacher, but they will also reap the rewards (or pitfalls) of doing so.

I would ask the teacher in the first parent/ teacher meeting what they are attempting to achieve from having the kids call them by their first name. I can't believe it will encourage a higher level of learning. It might [I have serious reservations tho], but I think it would be at the cost of the kids social awareness of peers and authority figures.

Personally:

K-12 it should be Mr, Mrs, Miss, Dr. I think the salutation denotes a level of authority that will help kids (while their young) to get the concepts of hierarchy, seniority, and respect. This still works in the 9-12 grades because I think to many kids get way to assertive/ aggressive and tend to loose the "respect" factor of someone with more knowledge and has authority over their well being.

Undergrad +, can be fair game. My professors wanted me to call them by their first name, which I did, but I still tended to give due respect to those who were Drs. and full Profs. who worked hard to receive those titles.

In the outside world, it should be titles that show your respect for your peers knowledge and unique position. [Dr, Officer, Principle, Judge, Lt., etc]. Personal life - step mother/ father [James, Lisa, etc.] extended family [aunt X, uncle X, grandma] cousins, nephews, general people met in non business every day [first name].

dissrespecting the teacher in order to teach respect?  addressing someone by Mr or Mrs doesn't imply respect.  respect is shown by how the kid treats the teacher and how they behave and respond to authority. 

times are changing people, keep up.