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[rowan1]

In my family the great Aunts were refered to as the "Aunties" and were well loved and respected. 

However, as my generation began having kids the term "Auntie" was attached to the eldest cousin who is an insufferable busybody and it was not intended as a term of endearment. 

Now, my Evil SIL is only still alive because we do not live in the same state and because she didn't actually touch my son when she yelled at him (he was 3).  But I am so tempted to teach him to call her "Auntie"  just to tick her off. 

In our circle of friends all the little ones call the various parents Mama Rowan or Papa "Dad's name here", the lesbian couple are refered to by the kids as "the mommies" when discussed as a couple, and everyone enjoys the easy nature of the relationship the kids have with all the parents.

Mama, but never "Auntie" Rowan

[infopri]

This all reminds me of an experience I had when I was about 38.  OldFriend and I had known each other (and, of course, each other's mothers) literally since diaperhood.  We've kept in touch and even coincidentally lived within an hour of each other as adults for a long time (but not anymore).  Our mothers, who were friends in the old neighborhood when OldFriend and I were children, lost touch around 1970 or 1975 or so, give or take a few years.  Some two or three decades later, purely by coincidence, they (the mothers) live in the same town in another state, and OldFriend lives about half an hour away from them.

So, one day, the four of us went for lunch together, the two mothers and the two daughters.  OldFriend addressed my mother as Mrs. LastName, as she had done all her life.  Mom said, "OldFriend, you're 38 now.  I think the time has come when you can call me FirstName."  OldFriend beamed.  OldFriend's mother immediately chimed in (unasked), while staring STRAIGHT at yours truly, and said "Well, I have always called my mother's friends Mrs. LastName, and that's how I'd like to be addressed."

I never saw her again.  Coincidence?  Perhaps.

[iomhaigh]

Hate to tell you guys, but what the parents tell their kids to call relatives is going to stick. I have far more opportunities to mention a preferred name to my kids than the relatives do, that's just what's going to stick. So, my mother would have liked my kids to call my dad Grandpa PooPoo, but plain PooPoo was much easier and short for my toddlers to say, so that's what stuck. My mom can mention "grandpa PooPoo" all she wants, they will still call him PooPoo.

I suggest not getting worked up about it.

Knid of like when my students call me Mrs Happybut and I just smile.

So true -- and also a reason to be careful about what you call the relatives of whom you are less than fond.  My parents and other close relatives referred to some of the distant family as: the old hag, the old man, pouty princess & jawbreaker.  At the funerals of both "the old hag" and "the old man," I realized that I did not actually know their first names.  I was in my late twenties for both funerals.  I have since worked hard to learn what to properly call cousins pouty princess & jawbreaker, but I have to admit that my thought process before I address either is still "her name is not pouty princess, it is Amanda.  Right. Amanda."

[cc_alan]

Hate to tell you guys, but what the parents tell their kids to call relatives is going to stick. I have far more opportunities to mention a preferred name to my kids than the relatives do, that's just what's going to stick. So, my mother would have liked my kids to call my dad Grandpa PooPoo, but plain PooPoo was much easier and short for my toddlers to say, so that's what stuck. My mom can mention "grandpa PooPoo" all she wants, they will still call him PooPoo.

I suggest not getting worked up about it.

Knid of like when my students call me Mrs Happybut and I just smile.

PooPoo and Mrs Happybut. Now I'm smiling... of course, I've been accused of having the emotional maturity of a 6 year-old.

Alan

[athena1]

PooPoo and Mrs Happybut. Now I'm smiling... of course, I've been accused of having the emotional maturity of a 6 year-old.

Alan

Glad to be good for a giggle!

[drsyn]

"Professor Syn,  can you please ask the people in your Science class if they are missing pages from their books. Yesterday when I barely opened my brand new book I noticed that it was missing many pages and I was not able to do my homework. So I am very upset right now and I was hoping you could ask the class if anyone else had the same problem."

I am surprised that she didn't ask for an extension for the assignment.  Hopefully, it is only the end-of-chapter problems for Chapter one that are missing.

It would be awful for her if this happened every week.

:)

[mrhistory]

"Professor Syn,  can you please ask the people in your Science class if they are missing pages from their books. Yesterday when I barely opened my brand new book I noticed that it was missing many pages and I was not able to do my homework. So I am very upset right now and I was hoping you could ask the class if anyone else had the same problem."

I am surprised that she didn't ask for an extension for the assignment.  Hopefully, it is only the end-of-chapter problems for Chapter one that are missing.

It would be awful for her if this happened every week.

:)

When I was a TA the prof got a similar e-mail with an extension request (which he granted) and asked the student to stop by so he could "take a quick look" at the textbook before complaining to the publisher.  Student brought the textbook and it was clear that the pages had been sliced out.  You would think the student would feign horror and say "someone cut them out!?!"  But, no, the student was furious and said: "that's not fair, I thought you were only taking a fast look at the book not looking closely at it!"

[dr_evil]

When I was a TA the prof got a similar e-mail with an extension request (which he granted) and asked the student to stop by so he could "take a quick look" at the textbook before complaining to the publisher.  Student brought the textbook and it was clear that the pages had been sliced out.  You would think the student would feign horror and say "someone cut them out!?!"  But, no, the student was furious and said: "that's not fair, I thought you were only taking a fast look at the book not looking closely at it!"

LOL!  So often statements that begin with "that's not fair" become entertaining.

[yemaya]

But, no, the student was furious and said: "that's not fair, I thought you were only taking a fast look at the book not looking closely at it!"

That's when you say that it doesn't take a close look to know when someone's cut out the pages.  Then you report said student to the honor board for lying.

[drsyn]

"I got on to check the assignment because I wasn't done with it and it was already in the past due link. The due date was ambigous due to the fact that it stated it due as 1/27 at 12:00 am. The date made it possible to think that it we had all day the 27 to do the problems until 12:00 am, not work on them until the 26 at 12:00 am. due on the 27. So to clarify from now on the date stated means to finish before it hits that day at 12:00 am? What would happen with the past due assignment?"

To clarify, I had explained this in class.  It does catch a lot of students by surprise.

[notaprof]

"I got on to check the assignment because I wasn't done with it and it was already in the past due link. The due date was ambigous due to the fact that it stated it due as 1/27 at 12:00 am. The date made it possible to think that it we had all day the 27 to do the problems until 12:00 am, not work on them until the 26 at 12:00 am. due on the 27. So to clarify from now on the date stated means to finish before it hits that day at 12:00 am? What would happen with the past due assignment?"

To clarify, I had explained this in class.  It does catch a lot of students by surprise.

There is actually no such thing as 12:00 am or 12:00 pm since am refers to ante meridian or before midday and pm means post meridian after midday.  Since 12:00 equals midday, it cannot be either before itself or after itself. So you should either say noon or midnight or use 11:59 pm on the 26th or 12:01 on the 27th to clear up any confusion.  I think the former is less misleading.  Otherwise it is as if one was trying to trick the students.   

[neutralname]

There is actually no such thing as 12:00 am or 12:00 pm since am refers to ante meridian or before midday and pm means post meridian after midday.  Since 12:00 equals midday, it cannot be either before itself or after itself. So you should either say noon or midnight or use 11:59 pm on the 26th or 12:01 on the 27th to clear up any confusion.  I think the former is less misleading.  Otherwise it is as if one was trying to trick the students.   

I disagree. 

The standard use of "12:00 pm" may refer to the instant of time of no duration referred to as midday, by convention, even if technically speaking it is actually midday.  It can also refer to the 60 second period of time after the instant we define as midday.

For 12:00 am, even the instant of time of no duration is before midday (which follows 12 hours later on), so it is unquestionably ante meridian. 

As for when the date changes, students should be familiar enough with digital clocks and watches to know that 12:00 am of Jan 28 is the same date as 12:01 am of Jan 28.  If they don't know this, (and doubtless some don't), the prof should not be seen as trying to trick the students; rather, the students should suffer the consequences of their ignorance.

[dept_geek]

There is actually no such thing as 12:00 am or 12:00 pm since am refers to ante meridian or before midday and pm means post meridian after midday. 
.....

I disagree. 

The standard use of "12:00 pm" may refer to the instant of time of no duration referred to as midday, by convention, even if technically speaking it is actually midday.  It can also refer to the 60 second period of time after the instant we define as midday.

.....

After too many semesters of this discussion (and the intense whining that comes with it), all my assignments are due at 9:00PM.  End of discussions & whining. (Well, not true. the whining still continues, but it has nothing to do with whether 12:00AM is noon or midnight. )

[ptprof]

There is actually no such thing as 12:00 am or 12:00 pm since am refers to ante meridian or before midday and pm means post meridian after midday. 
.....

I disagree. 

The standard use of "12:00 pm" may refer to the instant of time of no duration referred to as midday, by convention, even if technically speaking it is actually midday.  It can also refer to the 60 second period of time after the instant we define as midday.

.....

After too many semesters of this discussion (and the intense whining that comes with it), all my assignments are due at 9:00PM.  End of discussions & whining. (Well, not true. the whining still continues, but it has nothing to do with whether 12:00AM is noon or midnight. )

Having run into a similar problem, I switched to requiring the assignment to be posted by the start of class time on the day that it is due.  Also, they are informed in the syllabus that later the same day is considered late (-5) and the next day is late (-10) etc up till a week after which it is no longer accepted.

[infopri]

As for when the date changes, students should be familiar enough with digital clocks and watches to know that 12:00 am of Jan 28 is the same date as 12:01 am of Jan 28.  If they don't know this, (and doubtless some don't), the prof should not be seen as trying to trick the students; rather, the students should suffer the consequences of their ignorance.

Don't count on student sophistication, here.  I actually had a student (in 1992) who swore it was the nineteenth century because--you got it-- the year began with a "19."  This idiot was three months away from graduating.  I felt that I, along with all his teachers since kindergarten, had failed at our jobs.

If he doesn't know what year it is, how can he be expected to know what day it is?  (But I do agree with the 11:59pm suggestion (or with the posters suggesting other times of day) to avoid the problem.