Professors and Students

Solution 1:

In the most general sense, here's the breakdown:

• primary/elementary school: pupils/students and teachers
• secondary/middle/high school: students and teachers
• university/college: students and lecturers/instructors/professors

A high school teacher is certainly not a professor. Sometimes, college/university professors are referred to as teachers in a very general sense. In the US, pupil is not often used. This is more common in Commonwealth countries.

Solution 2:

The terms pupil and teacher usually apply to elementary school through high school. Students can be any level, but you don't get professors until you get to college.

Solution 3:

The term "professor" to mean a teacher is more common in the US than the UK- here even in a university setting you are as likely to talk about a lecturer as a professor.

Since university I have always talked about it in terms of students and teachers or instructors when I have been learning from people. Pupil, although quite correct, carries more of an overtone of a schoolchild.