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Have you ever had that one student's name that was incredibly difficult to pronounce? The one that is spelled one way and pronounced differently? The one that is incredibly long and hard to wrap your head around? We've all been there, but how we handle it can be the beginning of a great relationship with you and your scholars.
Yes, it is often difficult to pronounce certain names, but it is important that we work and get them right. I've heard teachers say, "Well you know what I meant" or ask, "Do you have a nickname instead?" For me, that's not ok. As a matter of fact, it's one of my pet peeves Why? Names are a kid's first form of identity. Most are rooted in some kind of family history, and were chosen due to some sort of significance. So when we don't do our best to pronounce the names right, we are often time diminishing their identities and their histories.
I posted this on Instagram a few days ago, and I was amazed at the many responses I got. Numerous teachers told many stories about their students who had become ashamed of their names because people did not care enough to pronounce them right. They also told stories about the students who were shocked when the teachers found it important enough to get them right. One teacher told a story of a student who gave a nickname in the beginning and when she asked if that's what he preferred, he said no but it's easy. He was quite surprised and happy when the teacher did everything she could to pronounce it right. Imagine the relationship she was able to build with that student because she showed him that his name was important to her.
So how do we get this right?
Get to know your students. The first thing you can do is to get to know your students. By starting with relationships and beginning to understand them, their names will stick with you. When you learn to associate Sheldon with playing soccer and Sarah with being this super cool actress, remembering their names becomes easier.
Ask your students (parents if need be) how do they pronounce their names? One thing I like to do on the first day of school is to ask every kid how to pronounce his/her name. This I do when taking attendance. If the kids are younger and have problems with their names themselves, I will also reach out to families. For those kids, I will also ask parents about things that they like or some of the history behind their name. I begin to make mental notes about who these kids are. Those mental notes help me when I get stuck on a name. Do I get them right away? No! But my willingness to work on them goes a long way with my kids and my families.
Write down the phonetic spelling of their names. My next step is to write out each name phonetically. How I hear it is how I write it. I then study it until I am comfortable with every pronunciation. While I am taking attendance, I pull out the sheet and I make sure that I pronouncing every name correctly. I keep that sheet on hand just in case. A simple blank grade sheet is a great way to do this.
Associate the name with a picture and/or object. One of the things I always have my students do is to create a license plate on the first day of school. On this license plate, the students add items that are important to them. This includes family, favorite subject, hobbies, etc... I use this throughout the first week to do many activities to get to know them. Using the pictures on the license plate, I begin to also make mental notes that I can connect each student with. A link to this free activity is included below.
Help them understand the significance of their names. This is an activity that I found on TeachersPayTeachers and something that I begin to incorporate in my classroom. Basically, students go home and ask their parents the story of their name. Where did it come from? Why were they given that name? Why is it important? They then put together a presentation and come back and present it to the class. This makes for meaningful discussion and it really helps me as the teacher to cement the names to memory. I think this activity is the one that really shows me just how significant a student's name is and why it is important for me to get it right EVERY TIME!
All in all, it is important that we get our students' names right and not settle for nicknames unless it is truly a preference. Peidra has more of a history than Peter. Jacquese has more uniqueness than a Jack. When we strip them down to a nickname (for our own preference), we also strip away some of their identity. Less take the pledge to get EVERY CHILD's name right EVERY TIME!
Get the License Plate Activity for free here! Click the picture to grab this fun activity!
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