What to do...what to do? So most of you all know that my full name is Deborah Michelle Fish. I've always gone by Michelle, except during that brief stint in kindergarten when I decided to exercise my independence and become Deborah.
Anyway, most of my records say Deborah Michelle Fish because of SSN/tax stuff. It's just easier to explain to people that I go by Michelle. So whenever I'm in a new class, I try to let the teacher know right away that I go by Michelle. And this is what happened in federal regulation of international trade. The teacher had us introduce ourselves as he went through the roll, and I let him know my preference. I guess he forgot.
About every other week, when my assigned case happens to come up, he calls me Deborah. And then he even calls me Deb...which is WEIRD!!! Only my closest friends and family call me that. Seriously. It's sort of reserved for people like my mom...or dad...or Dawn...or Nate. What do I do? We're half way through the semester and he's used the name for the last five weeks or so. Do I tell him or just go with it? I ask because some of my classmates are confused. Yesterday one of them asked me what was up. Would it be rude to tell my professor at this point that I go by Michelle?
5 comments:
I guess it depends on the kind of relationship you have with him, but I would say just tell him that no one calls you that (you don't have to mention that only family and close friends do) and that you prefer to go by Michelle. He should understand. It is pretty funny that he not only calls you Deborah (which I kind of understand since that's the name on his roll), but that he even shortened it to "Deb".
I agree with Amber. You could even say that you don't mind that he calls you that but it's confusing everyone else. I had a similar situation at school one of the teachers kept calling me Theresa. I have no idea where that came from, I corrected him the first couple of times and then I just started ignoring him when he called me that. Mean I know, but he's also kind of creepy... Eventually he figured it out.
From a teaching stand point, I would appreciate being told. I take some pride in being able to call on my students by name, and if I wasn't doing it properly, I would want to be able to correct it. That's my two cents.
Josh
That is so tough. I hate awkwardness so I would have such a hard time doing it. But I guess it is even worse if someone else points it out down the road. I had a classmate that thought my name was Michelle and at first I didn't think he was talking to me so I didn't correct him and then it was too late. Good luck. I'm excited to see you in not that long. ~Meredith
I'd just call him out on it in class. "Look buddy, you've got a J.D., X number of years of experience, and you're a professor at a law school. I think you have enough intelligence in that head of yours to remember that I go by Michelle... not Deborah, and especially not Deb."
That's my two cents.
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