Even if they’re banished from the classroom – Miss and Sir are already in decline

By Paul Baker. Does it matter what we call our teachers? Some academics seem to think so, and have called for the titles “Sir” and “Miss” to be banished from the classroom because they are sexist. Yet their use in the English language, along with “Mr” and “Ms”, is already in decline.
I went to a fairly strict school in the 1980s – uniform, school tie, the cane, having to stand up when a teacher entered the room – where Sir and Miss were de rigueur. More...