I'm well aware that there are undergrad institutions where it is the norm to call professors by their first names. In graduate school, I rarely called the professors I worked with Dr. Collaborator.
However, here at TempCollege, students only call professors Dr. Whatever or Prof. Whatever. My students call me Dr. Reaction or Prof. Reaction. I'll even respond to Dr. R.
Occasionally, a student will slip up and call me Mrs. Reaction. It makes me bristle. I don't show it on my face, but I do always make sure I pointedly correct the student.
My reaction surprises me. When I was in college, I always thought it a bit over-sensitive when my professors corrected a student when they misspoke the title. Who cares, I thought. The rest of us knew the prof was a PhD.
So why do I insist that they call me Dr.? It's not because I need daily reminders that I suffered through almost five years of school for it. I guess I feel like students can convey their respect for me by using my proper title. It helps maintain a certain line.
Think I'm overreacting? Perhaps. But then again, what would you do if a student started an email with a Howdy Unbalanced?
