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Students greeting teachers

 
 
stach
 
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 01:14 pm
A new school term is about to begin and I have just scrolled down our
school students' behavior code or whatever you would call it in your country, and it mentions something like "a student has to greet all adult people in the school politely".

So as my students speak in English to me and call me Mr Whatevermylastnameis, I wonder if saying "Hi" when they run into me
is polite enough. I sometimes greet them first to show that I feel equal, a philosophy I might abandon soon - being equal - equally mature, equally stupid, equally sensitive etc. OK, so not equal any more.

So what do you think, wait until they greet me?
Let them greet me "hi" even if they call me Mr soandso? Or should they say at least Hello?

I guess Hello, Mr Soandso is not necessary.

And Good morning, sir. Yes, sir. Certainly, sir. I am sorry, sir. Have a nice day, sir. That would be probably ridiculous, right?

What is accepted at high schools in the US? Thanks
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FreeDuck
 
  1  
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 01:30 pm
At high schools in the US kids are not required to be polite. Or if they are, it is not enforced. Therefore, I think it would be fine for you to acknowledge children with a nod or by saying hello and expect them to say something like "hello Mr. Soandso" in return. If they say "screw off old soandso", that would not be polite.
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Letty
 
  1  
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 01:34 pm
stach, as far as I know the only code that secondary schools have in America is an unwritten one. Students are expected to treat all teachers with respect, but the teacher should earn that respect.

Generally, A student just addresses the teacher by Miss, Mr. or Mrs. and there is no formality.

If I may ask, where are you located?
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stach
 
  1  
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 01:53 pm
Letty wrote:
stach, as far as I know the only code that secondary schools have in America is an unwritten one. Students are expected to treat all teachers with respect, but the teacher should earn that respect.

Generally, A student just addresses the teacher by Miss, Mr. or Mrs. and there is no formality.

If I may ask, where are you located?


we also don't have a code, but in Czech (I live in the Czech Republic) it is
inappropriate to say Ahoj or Ciao to a teacher (funny - Ahoy is from English, old sailors' greeting and ciao is Italian, but both are the most common informal greetings that students must not use when greeting teachers

so I know Hello is absolutely fine, but I was not sure about Hi - doesn't "hi"
match calling someone by her first name rather than her last name?
Like Hi, Jane. Hello Mrs Smith. So if they call me Mr Soandso, is it okay if they say Hi to me? Just Hi, nothing else? I don't care if they dont' greet me but our school code requires them to greet me politely.
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stach
 
  1  
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 01:58 pm
And for your information, I communicate only in English with them, exceptionally they may ask me to speak Czech if they are very bad at English and want to discuss something complicated, but that happens like once a year. So I try to represent American culture which all English teachers have to do to a certain degree when teaching English - even if they choose Scotland or Australia - but culrue is very important part of a language in my opionion. Also, most of my English teachers were Americans so to me the way they deal with students is standard.
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Letty
 
  1  
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 01:58 pm
Of course, "Hi" is perfectly acceptable in America.

Hi, Mrs. FreeDuck.
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stach
 
  1  
Reply Thu 30 Aug, 2007 02:03 pm
Letty wrote:
Of course, "Hi" is perfectly acceptable in America.

Hi, Mrs. FreeDuck.


Great, so I am going to tell them they can feel free to yell hi to me when they see me.

Thanks
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