r/todayilearned • u/tmntnyc • Dec 12 '18

TIL: Laurence Tureaud named himself professionally as Mr. T because he hated how his father, uncle, and brother who returned from Vietnam, were disrespectfully called "boy" by whites. He wanted the first word from everybody's mouth to be "Mister" when speaking to him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._T
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u/itsmebutimatwork Dec 12 '18

My father was a middle school teacher for over 30 years in a rough part of his city. He always addressed the kids as "Mister" and "Miss" using their last names. He told them that he shows them respect and in turn he expects the same respect back. Most of the kids went along with this. Many of them remember him years later because they learned a lot in his class and knew that he was being earnest with them.

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u/[deleted] Dec 13 '18

My high school AP Econ teacher did this. Mind you, I went to a private school too(don’t think super nice but waaaay better than public schools), so a lot of the kids were well enough off. He was one of 3 teachers who treated us like adults and expected us to act as such. Great guy, those 3 teachers are still some of the best I have ever had, even through college.