what's in a name, pt 2

It's really weird when my students call me “Ms." and use my last name. It sounds so foreign! In my elementary school, we called all teachers and administrators by their first names. At the school I worked for the past two years, we also used first names. This created a certain relationship between students and teachers. There was a degree of closeness, almost like that of siblings. There was never a problem of authority because we were using first names. It was always clear that the teacher was in charge.

Now, when my students use the formal designation, it feels strange and unfriendly. I can’t help but sense a great distance between myself and the students when they can’t even refer to me by my real name. The only other people who address me as such are medical or business professionals, with whom I don’t even have an acquaintance. I know that we use this formal title as a sign of respect and authority, but I can’t help think of it as a barrier to closeness.

I wonder about the use of names in relation to social justice. One of the key themes that keeps popping up in the equality debate is the elimination of the us-them dichotomy. We do home visits and ethnographic research to know where our students are coming from. We discuss culture and heritage in the classroom so that our students will appreciate their history. We do everything we can to not let our white, middle-class, college-educated privilege blind us from educating our students.

Yet, every time I addressed, “Ms.,” I am reminded that I am in a position of power and privilege. Every time I hear my last name, I am reminded not to get too close to my students. Doesn’t the title get in the way?