I attended the interview of Dr. Yapici and Dr. Alabi this past week. Much of the interview focused on their experiences teaching which I found highly enjoyable. I have always wanted to teach so to hear the inside scoop from two professors at Cornell was very enlightening. One topic that struck me substantially was brought up by Dr. Yapici when she said that she disliked being addressed formally in the classroom. I have had fears about this very thing as I often feel uncomfortable when addressed as “Mr. McGinnity Schneider.” I greatly prefer to be addressed by my first name in any situation but felt that maybe this was odd given no teachers I had ever had shared this preference. I was glad that during this presentation she brought up this point and how it can make the learning environment more inclusive and comfortable for all.
Rose Scholars Fall 2020
Endless possibilities
I find this sentiment the professor has out of the ordinary. I have never had a professor openly accepting of students referring to them as anything other than “Professor X.” I also ran into this problem related to TA’s once myself. Usually, TA’s are ok with calling them by their first name, but one of my past TAs stated that I must call her by her last name after I used her first name once in an email. Hope the interview helped you though!