Stephanie Stowe wrote:
"toypup" wrote in message
m...
Am I Mrs. Mylastname? I'd feel funny being Miss Myfirstname. I
even feel
funny being Mrs. Mylastname. It's so formal. I like being
Myfirstname,
but that's too informal, if I have to call the teacher Miss
Herfirstname,
which I figure I have to, since she introduced herself that way.
What is
the best way to introduce myself to a teacher who introduces
herself as
Miss Herfirstname? This happens so much, I never know what to do.
I just
say my whole name, but I'd rather figure out what I'm most comfy
with, so
I'd like to know what other people are most comfy with first.


IMO, she introduced herself as Miss Herfirstname, so that is what you
call
her. You introduce yourself as YourFirstName, and that is what she
calls
you. I would think it a little dopey for me to call someone Miss or
Mrs
while they call me Stephanie. But I don't know who Mrs. Stowe is, but
it
sure is not me.... So either the teacher just introduced herself so
you know
which of your childn's teachers she is, and will say Oh call me Kate
(or
whatever) or you are stuck calling her Miss Whatever.

Wow. I'm not at all accustomed to people being Miss Herfirstname . . .
it's always been the last name around here.

One caviat. If calling her Miss Whatever while you go with your first
name
is going to cause you to feel you are speaking with an Authority
Figure
rather than a professional peer, then you might want to adopt Mrs
Lastname.
You do not want to set a tone of poor beggar at the doorstep of the
Authority.

I was thinking this too. I remember when I was in my early 20s, my mom
worked with a woman who also taught my youngest brother. We were at
some kind of event (fundraising, concert, something) and I was sent by
mom to ask this woman for something. To get her attention, I called her
by her first name (we had been introduced by first name by my mom). She
said, "oh, my students call me Mrs. G." I thought, "well, I'm not your
student." I admit I continued to call her by her first name b/c I felt
she was trying to establish a power dynamic that I didn't appreciate.

I'm a first name person, generally, but if someone insists on being
called by an honorific, I expect the same in return.

It would seem really silly, to me, to see two women calling each other
Miss Jennifer and Miss Heather (or whatever). In a similar situation, I
might be sneaky and say, "I'm ds's mom!" And then she would either be
forced to call me Ms. Mylastname or ask my first name - and presumably
then say, "please, just call me Kate," or whatever.

Melania
Mom to Joffre (Jan 11, 2003)
and #2 (edd May 21, 2005)