The exclusion of a teacher's first name from classroom interactions is often associated with aiding effective classroom management. The use of titles can be viewed as a simple and benign way to keep visible demarcations between teachers and students (Rosenblum-Lowden, 2000). There is the risk and fear that students may view teachers on a more personal level if the teacher's first name is used, and in turn, result in behavourial issues that upset the classroom learning environment. Despite these assertions, classroom management is still 'a murky area of conflicting ideas and vague rules' (Konca & Otugen, 2009, p.7). The reason for such vagueness is generally equated with the fact that each teacher is unique and has distinct preferences based on their beliefs (Konca & Otugen, 2009; Rosenblum-Lowden, 2000).
One of the most important aspects of classroom management is establishing clear rules and expectations of the students in terms of their behaviour, and consistently enforcing them (Konca & Otugen, 2009). Such rules and expectations can be teacher or student generated depending on the teacher's approach (Woolfolk-Hoy & Weinstein, 2006). Through consistency and continuity these rules become part of the classroom routine and can ensure the effectiveness of classroom activities, as students are aware of what is required (Konca & Otugen, 2009). From these points on classroom management there appears to be little basis for why a teacher should be called Mister or Miss. Is the use of such titles just a culturally embedded norm of what student and teacher roles should be?
An important aspect of rules and expectations around classroom management is to consider how many are simply 'ritualistic practices to be strictly adhered to' (Widdowson, 1987, p.85) and that may not be necessary. It is engaging students in interesting learning activities that is the most significant way of avoiding classroom management issues (Kyriacou, 1998). Widdowson (1987) distinguishes between two types of engagement that he felt need to synchronize for effective classroom practice: interactional and transactional. An interactional purpose is focused on roles of appropriate behaviour where it is the mode of interaction itself that is meant to have the educational effect, i.e., socializing students into existing school norms. A transactional purpose is concerned with meeting specific learning objectives, where norms and expectations are pedagogically based and roles are determined based on achieving such objectives.
There is often an incongruence between these two types of engagement where a proposed change in one conflicts with a protocol governing the other. Interactional engagement is associated with enforcing things such as labels and titles (teacher, student, Sir, etc.) and in many ways goes against the nature of more student centred approaches that focus on transactional engagement. Having students address the teacher as Mister or Miss may be seen as a necessary interactional engagement, but it could be argued that such a protocol goes against a transactional focus on student initiative and ownership. Such visible demarcations like the use of titles keeps a control on what students may be willing to do. For example, Mian (1995) noted that a student teacher found students had enhanced engagement and felt greater respect when they were addressed as Mister or Miss by their teacher, as opposed to only the teacher being addressed in such a way. It is worth considering the use of titles such as Miss, Mister, etc., in the school context and the effects it has on interactional and transactional engagement and the alignment between them.
The value of titles is worth assessing in the classroom. To finish, here are some quotes on the use of titles to consider...
- The clouds may drop down titles and estates, and wealth may seek us, but wisdom must be sought. ~Edward Young
- I am not interested in medals or titles. I don't need them. I need the love of the public and I fight for it. ~Olga Korbut
- People don't follow titles, they follow courage. ~ William Wells Brown
- I didn't come into the business to get awards or titles. ~ Julie Walters
- Titles are but nicknames, and every nickname is a title. ~ Thomas Paine
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References:
-Konca, M. & Otugen, R. (2009). Effective classroom management in relation to classroom routines and rules. In 1st International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 9-10, 2009, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
-Kyriacou, Chris, (1998). Essential teaching skills (2nd Ed.).
-Mian, T. (1995). Classroom discipline and management perceptions of a TESL student teacher
-Rosenblum-Lowden, R. (2000). You have to go to school... you're the teacher!: 300+ classroom management strategies to make your job easier and more fun. Corwin Press, Inc. A Sage.
-Widdowson, H. (1987). The roles of teacher and learner, ELT Journal, 41(2), 83-8.
-Woolfolk-Hoy, A., & Weinstein, C. (2006). Students' and teachers' perspectives on classroom management. In C. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook for classroom management: Research, practice, and contemporary issue (pp. 181-220). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
