To Sir with Love

To thwart rising tensions, Braithwaite has an honest yet off-the-cuff discussion with his class. He tells them he will try to make his teaching interesting and would appreciate feedback from them on what does or does not work. He tells them that because they will be leaving school for the adult world in a few months, he will treat them as adults. He is interrupted by Pamela Dare, who noisily enters the room. He lightly scolds her, forcing her to reenter the room properly, much to Dare’s humiliation.

He returns to his original conversation, telling the students that they will address him properly, as Mr. Braithwaite or Sir, and that they should refer to the young women as Miss and the boys by their surnames. The students protest, specifically Potter, and Braithwaite counteracts this protest by asking Potter if he believes any of the young ladies do not deserve this respect. The young women stare at Potter and “he quailed visibly before their converted eyes” (74). Braithwaite says that to earn this respect, Dale-Evans will teach the young ladies how to act and dress properly in domestic science class, although he reminds himself to ask her to do this later, as he is making up the rules as he goes.