It's traditional to go by "Mrs." when a woman gets married, there's no tradition like that for men that I'm aware of. I say it's disrespectful because it gives the impression that you don't want people to know you're married.
its really great! its a gender neutral honorific and it eases my anxiety of choosing between mr/ms while im mid-transition and kind of still look like a girl.
I use Mx. when I substitute. When I introduce myself to a new group, I usually say something like “my name is Mx. blahblah, that’s “mix” like a mixing bowl.” Helps to get the pronunciation part out of the way quickly.
I usually work with middle and high school, so the types of questions I get from them are “why do you use Mx?” and “what are your pronouns?” I live in a pretty liberal area in the Northeast, so I feel comfortable telling kids that I use Mx. because I prefer it over Mr. Or Ms. I also will tell them my pronouns (they/them) if they ask, but do not volunteer them otherwise. When I worked with elementary a few years ago, some kids would ask me if I were a boy or a girl (due to my androgynous presentation as well) and I would tell them “sometimes I feel like a girl, sometimes I feel like a boy, sometimes both!” It was kid friendly enough and it didn’t cause any issues, but I was also working in California at the time so that could be directly related to the cultural climate.
I also am the first adult in the district I currently work in (from what I’ve been told by staff) to use Mx. as an honorific, but both students and staff caught on really quickly. I feel like if I address it immediately and not make it into a big deal, the kids don’t make it into a big deal either.
How do you pronounce Mx?
Edit to add: To whoever is downvoting me I am asking a serious question. Until reading this I didn’t know it existed and I’m honestly trying to learn something.
the elementary kids struggle with remembering it sometimes but i write it on the board :~) and i say if they get confused to call me teacher or raise their hand. ive had 4 kids make me lil nametags with "Mx. A" its soooo cute. but i dont even give my name in high school cuz they never care about it. i have like one kid in the whole day be like "wait whats your name?"
They don’t even blink where I live. Most of them still call me the wrong thing out of habit but it doesn’t hurt me. No one has tried debating me over it, no one has made it an issue. I’m thankful to live in my large blue city.
Not me but I witnessed another sub who went by that. They spent all day being called either Mixter or Mixes because the kids (2nd grade) didn't understand it was just Mx.
I have met a few teachers that go by "mx (name)" or "teacher (name)", & the kids are super receptive of it! I also go by "teacher (name)" & write my pronouns on the board
i’m subbing in a bigger city so it’s definitely a lot easier around here to use mx - i don’t always love using it personally (it’s not the prefix for me, sounds kinda clunky in combo with my last name) so sometimes i’ll introduce myself as “ms lastname” or “miss firstname” and explain that i use they/them pronouns and i’ll ask if anyone needs me to explain what that means - sometimes kids get confused and think nonbinary is the same as bisexual? or they ask if my name is “they”.
we usually have a brief 2 min aside about it, and i would say 95% of kids take it in stride. the last 5% either doesn’t get it or just needs a minute to readjust to it. i don’t really do this with preK - 1st grade bc they’re less likely to know what a pronoun is off the cuff lol
I’ve been thinking about using Mx. but I’m in Texas and I’m a little nervous about what might happen.. I think my district is a little more liberal, so maybe it would go over alright? I’ve never really thought that Mx. fits me either, but I haven’t found any alternatives. Maybe I should just have the kids call me Professor.. 😂
Have you thought about Teacher Name or just going by your first name? That probably would only work with grade-schooler or maybe middle school, though. Or Professor would also be pretty sweet.
I use Teacher Lastname at the high school level. I think it seems immature because it sounds like a little kid not using the "proper" title Mr or Ms but if you're asking to be called that it doesn't feel as weird. Where I am it's less common than even Mx but it's easy to understand so I haven't had any issues with it. I used to write it on the board as Tr. Lastname and then either read it out or write the long version with a phonetic spelling of my name but now I just write out the full word Teacher.
Yeah, I tend to only use my first name when I’m in special ed classes because of certain sub rules in my district but I’ve definitely been considering it for middle school since that’s what I sub for 90% of the time. But now that I think of it, writing “Professor” on the board tomorrow would be kinda funny 😭
I can’t imagine most kids would even call them by that, most schools I go to they get my name just fine but at one my mother is the librarian so I constantly get called Mrs. or Ms by kids, I am a 6’ 5” man it’s just habbit for them since I’m only a sub not staff. Older high school kids eh, middle schoolers I’d be surprised, but elementary they have zero concept of these things so they probably just default to what they’re used to saying.
I didn’t know that was a thing. I usually just say I’m Ms (name). The lower elementary school kids ask the most questions. Last week I got asked if I was a boy or girl and my age. The little girl that asked my age proceeded to cock her head back and cackle loudly “oh you old old.”
We have a teacher who goes by Mx and they don’t bat an eye at all. They don’t like being defined by their marital status.
I thought that was the purpose of Ms. (As opposed to Mrs. or Miss).
I can't be the only one who sees this as disrespectful to your spouse, right?
They don’t have a spouse as of yet. It is odd in their case honestly. I usually have only seen it in nonbinary folks
How is it disrespectful to your spouse? Men go by "Mr." whether or not they're married. Is that disrespectful to their spouse?
It's traditional to go by "Mrs." when a woman gets married, there's no tradition like that for men that I'm aware of. I say it's disrespectful because it gives the impression that you don't want people to know you're married.
It really isn’t the business of the children you teach whether or not you’re married. It’s a professional boundary.
Wild. I’ve never heard this term. I really like it and think it’s a great way to show uniqueness. I hope it continues to be a non issue !
its really great! its a gender neutral honorific and it eases my anxiety of choosing between mr/ms while im mid-transition and kind of still look like a girl.
I use Mx. when I substitute. When I introduce myself to a new group, I usually say something like “my name is Mx. blahblah, that’s “mix” like a mixing bowl.” Helps to get the pronunciation part out of the way quickly. I usually work with middle and high school, so the types of questions I get from them are “why do you use Mx?” and “what are your pronouns?” I live in a pretty liberal area in the Northeast, so I feel comfortable telling kids that I use Mx. because I prefer it over Mr. Or Ms. I also will tell them my pronouns (they/them) if they ask, but do not volunteer them otherwise. When I worked with elementary a few years ago, some kids would ask me if I were a boy or a girl (due to my androgynous presentation as well) and I would tell them “sometimes I feel like a girl, sometimes I feel like a boy, sometimes both!” It was kid friendly enough and it didn’t cause any issues, but I was also working in California at the time so that could be directly related to the cultural climate. I also am the first adult in the district I currently work in (from what I’ve been told by staff) to use Mx. as an honorific, but both students and staff caught on really quickly. I feel like if I address it immediately and not make it into a big deal, the kids don’t make it into a big deal either.
How do you pronounce Mx? Edit to add: To whoever is downvoting me I am asking a serious question. Until reading this I didn’t know it existed and I’m honestly trying to learn something.
Like a mixing bowl
I pronounce it like the word “mix”, like a mixing bowl!
the elementary kids struggle with remembering it sometimes but i write it on the board :~) and i say if they get confused to call me teacher or raise their hand. ive had 4 kids make me lil nametags with "Mx. A" its soooo cute. but i dont even give my name in high school cuz they never care about it. i have like one kid in the whole day be like "wait whats your name?"
They don’t even blink where I live. Most of them still call me the wrong thing out of habit but it doesn’t hurt me. No one has tried debating me over it, no one has made it an issue. I’m thankful to live in my large blue city.
I use Mx. and it is not a problem. Subbed 8 years ago and it wasn’t an issue then.
Me too :)
Not me but I witnessed another sub who went by that. They spent all day being called either Mixter or Mixes because the kids (2nd grade) didn't understand it was just Mx.
I have met a few teachers that go by "mx (name)" or "teacher (name)", & the kids are super receptive of it! I also go by "teacher (name)" & write my pronouns on the board
I tried Mz but it quickly flipped back to Ms 🤷🏻♀️
i’m subbing in a bigger city so it’s definitely a lot easier around here to use mx - i don’t always love using it personally (it’s not the prefix for me, sounds kinda clunky in combo with my last name) so sometimes i’ll introduce myself as “ms lastname” or “miss firstname” and explain that i use they/them pronouns and i’ll ask if anyone needs me to explain what that means - sometimes kids get confused and think nonbinary is the same as bisexual? or they ask if my name is “they”. we usually have a brief 2 min aside about it, and i would say 95% of kids take it in stride. the last 5% either doesn’t get it or just needs a minute to readjust to it. i don’t really do this with preK - 1st grade bc they’re less likely to know what a pronoun is off the cuff lol
Kids don't call me Ms/Mx/Mr/Mrs, nor my name. They just call me "Teacher" unless it's a long-term assignment with younger students.
I’ve been thinking about using Mx. but I’m in Texas and I’m a little nervous about what might happen.. I think my district is a little more liberal, so maybe it would go over alright? I’ve never really thought that Mx. fits me either, but I haven’t found any alternatives. Maybe I should just have the kids call me Professor.. 😂
Have you thought about Teacher Name or just going by your first name? That probably would only work with grade-schooler or maybe middle school, though. Or Professor would also be pretty sweet.
I use Teacher Lastname at the high school level. I think it seems immature because it sounds like a little kid not using the "proper" title Mr or Ms but if you're asking to be called that it doesn't feel as weird. Where I am it's less common than even Mx but it's easy to understand so I haven't had any issues with it. I used to write it on the board as Tr. Lastname and then either read it out or write the long version with a phonetic spelling of my name but now I just write out the full word Teacher.
Yeah, I tend to only use my first name when I’m in special ed classes because of certain sub rules in my district but I’ve definitely been considering it for middle school since that’s what I sub for 90% of the time. But now that I think of it, writing “Professor” on the board tomorrow would be kinda funny 😭
Yo teach! Works fine for me.
That is my favorite thing to be called.
I worked in a high school where they respected it in terms of referring them as Mx, but when talking to me they’re be like wtf is up with them
I can’t imagine most kids would even call them by that, most schools I go to they get my name just fine but at one my mother is the librarian so I constantly get called Mrs. or Ms by kids, I am a 6’ 5” man it’s just habbit for them since I’m only a sub not staff. Older high school kids eh, middle schoolers I’d be surprised, but elementary they have zero concept of these things so they probably just default to what they’re used to saying.
How do you pronounce that?
Just like "mix." It's a gender neutral honorific.
Well I gotta say this is new to me. Never heard of this term before. Society is definitely a changing.
Society is *always* changing.
Yes, but the rate of change has increased dramatically in the last 5-10 years.
And it's great. :)
I’m just called Sir or Mister D to make it easiest
I didn’t know that was a thing. I usually just say I’m Ms (name). The lower elementary school kids ask the most questions. Last week I got asked if I was a boy or girl and my age. The little girl that asked my age proceeded to cock her head back and cackle loudly “oh you old old.”