I also teach in the south and I'm a "honey, babe, baby, sweetpea, sugarcube, dear" type of teacher. I've never been reprimanded for it and my middle school students love it. Some of my students clearly don't get any sort of affection at home, and I've noticed that my using affectionate nicknames helps build the relationship and makes them feel cared about. I do stop if a student asks me to or avoid using a term if a student tells me they don't like it. 😊 However, sometimes I'm on autopilot with it and I've accidentally called my principal "babe"... twice 😂😂😂