Part 1: Pronouncing Names... Butchering Roll Call

I have lived both sides of this issue. People have always mispronounced my first and last name, Jayna (Jay-nah) Galley (Gal-ley), even though I think it's pretty straight forward. Now many people, including my students, mispronounce my married name, Pawlak. The good news is, I usually only have to correct them once, but it was still a frustrating experience. I'll never forget the track meet where my name was called for high jump (an event where you only have a limited time to show up and complete your jump before it's counted as a miss), but it was mispronounced and the official became angry with me when I finally realized it was me he was calling and stepped up to my mark. The mispronunciation became a running joke between me and my best friend's family, but in the moment it was a stressful situation.  

Now, as a teacher, I sweat on the first day of school. I do not want to frustrate, offend, or cause confusion to any of my students. I don't want them to feel foreign in my classroom. Sometimes I look at a name and feel like I shouldn't even guess out of fear of butchering it and instead write it on the board. I don't do that, though. I want everyone to feel welcomed, so I do pride myself in being the teacher who asks students to repeat the pronunciation several times, as uncomfortable as it may feel. I also check in over the next several days to ensure I have memorized the correct way. I am very glad to have read about the resource Pronounce Names. I saved it to my bookmarks and double-checked a few names of the students I currently teach. I believe I have the best intentions, and now the resource to support me. 

1. What do you Think??  REFLECT:  Perhaps you have a name or you can recall a classmate with a difficult name to pronounce.  Predictably, year after year, teachers butcher the same name.  What was the outcome?  Was it awkward, long-lasting, humiliating?  What was the impact??

My mom had a difficult name for people to pronounce (D'Andrea) and she hated it. It was frustrating for her when people tried to shorten her name (Andrea or Dee) because that wasn't what her parents had named her. It was also annoying for her when people didn't ask her how to pronounce it and leaned into their incorrect pronunciations (arrogant manglers). As a result, she named me Sarah and my brother John--she thought that our names would be "standard" enough in the United States for people to pronounce them correctly. Despite her best efforts, it was hard for people to associate me with the name Sarah. I had teachers that would add extra syllables to my name (Sahara) or change the letters around complete (Sasha). It made me feel like my name didn't fit, like they couldn't imagine someone who looks like me with the name Sarah. As a result, I've always been militant about pronouncing names correctly.

2. Now What??  How might you become a “calibrator?”  What steps will you take this school year to learn student names properly in your class?  (avoid a side-show!)

I set my norms up at the beginning of the school year where I have all students know that they are able to correct my pronunciation at any time as long as they do so in a way that isn't disrespectful. It's one of the examples that I use to demonstrate mutual respect (I will call you by your preferred name and pronouns, you will hold me to that respectfully). Because of my experience with teachers assuming that my name was different than it actually was, I have students write down what their name rhymes with in my beginning of the year. This helps me memorize the pronunciation more easily, and i love seeing what rhymes students come up with.

1. What do you Think??  REFLECT:  Perhaps you have a name or you can recall a classmate with a difficult name to pronounce.  Predictably, year after year, teachers butcher the same name.  What was the outcome?  Was it awkward, long-lasting, humiliating?  What was the impact??

Growing up, I definitely remember a classmate with a difficult name to pronounce. I remember in the early years, the classmate almost thought it was funny when the teacher pronounced their name wrong, and was easily able to laugh it off. As we got older, I remember laughing it off turned into embarrassment. My classmate would shrink in their chair and did not think it was funny. This was a negative impact on my classmate, as they felt embarrassed for something that's not their fault. 

1. Now What??  How might you become a “calibrator?”  What steps will you take this school year to learn student names properly in your class?  (avoid a side-show!)

This was my first year at WR and I will admit I was a bit apprehensive about pronouncing names right at the beginning of the year. Before the school day started, I did ask a few teachers how to pronounce different names. In the midst of the craziness of the first day of school I admit I was unable to retain the information on how to pronounce each name! What I ended up doing and found helpful was to ask each student how to pronounce their name. All of my students were able to tell me, and I would repeat it and ask them if I pronounced it right. Since I was in a small group/individual setting, I was able to focus on each child equally and learn their names in an appropriate amount of time!

This hits with me because I have a relatively difficult last name to pronounce. It’s always awkward when people are trying to say it for the first time. I am never very good at pronouncing names too, but I always ask the students first or a teacher that has taught the student in question from a previous year. My fall back at the beginning of the year is usually to just take attendance with only students’ first names. I usually stick with just their first names throughout the year. I would like to focus on being a calibrator this year. Especially with so many ENL students coming into Sweet Home. 

Throughout my own years as a student, I can recall classmates with names that were difficult to pronounce. I also had my maiden name that was difficult for those who had not heard it before. While listening to the video, I could relate to that awkward pause before my name in the roll call and I could remember how embarrassing it was when it was mispronounced. 
Now that I am a teacher, I try my best to pronounce my students' names correctly. I strive ever year to be a "calibrator" in Gonzalez' words. In the past few years, as the diversity of SH has increased, names on my class roster have taken more of a deliberate effort to make sure I am getting it right. It is worth the effort! I had not thought of using an online resources for pronouncing names correctly and I will add that to my toolbox. Often, I will ask former teachers or brothers/sisters of the student to say the name a few times. I might even record them saying it so that I can practice on my own. In the first few weeks of school, I try to say the name many times throughout the day until it becomes automatic. 

What do you Think??  REFLECT:  Perhaps you have a name or you can recall a classmate with a difficult name to pronounce.  Predictably, year after year, teachers butcher the same name.  What was the outcome?  Was it awkward, long-lasting, humiliating?  What was the impact??
For as long as I can remember people have had trouble pronouncing my name.  I can recognize the uncomfortable look when someone who needed to read names for whatever reason would have and long uncomfortable pause.  Typically because my last name was a "beginning of the alphabet" name I'd often jump into rescue prior to any attempts, because it often ended in laughter. Or I'd hear "I'm sorry I'm going to butcher this name", and I'd jump right in to avoid any awkward attempts. It's more of just something I got used to, when I was much younger it bothered me because I was very shy I'd often ask my parents why they couldn't have given me a normal name.  As I got older I got more used to it,  however it does affect how I approach names I'm unfamiliar with, I know it can have a huge impact on kids. 

Now What??  How might you become a “calibrator?”  What steps will you take this school year to learn student names properly in your class?  (avoid a side-show!)
At Sweet Home we're so lucky to have students from all over the world, it really is important to take the time to learn how to say our students names correctly.  If I'm unsure I'll often ask teachers or kids that know the student and practice, I'll write notes down so that I can say it correctly.  If I can get it right on the first day, I want to!  Otherwise I will privately ask the student to help me, I'll write down and make sure they know I care about getting it right. 

This podcast was right on the money. Since I do not always have student rosters before I meet students, I have experienced the roll call name pause. For me, the first time I need to say a child’s name is often during their first book check out. I always ask the student how to say their name and I repeat it back to them to make sure I am getting it right. I also ask them to correct me if I am saying it incorrectly. I make it a point of repeating the name multiple times so hopefully I will remember the correct pronunciation the next time.   I have bookmarked the Pronounce Name link and I know I will be using it in the future. I think this will be a great tool to help me get it right in the future.

This podcast emphasizes the importance of pronouncing names correctly.  When one does so, it shows respect and recognizes the person for who they want you to see them as.  When one pronounces a students name correctly, it makes the student feel that they are important.  Calibrators are the only way to be!

Taking the time to learn to pronounce kids' names correctly AND asking them what they want to be called from Day 1 is showing them respect and showing them you care about them. We all have been fumble-bumblers with some names, but hopefully we skip right over the arrogant mangler category and head right into the calibrator category. We can't expect respect from the kids, if we can't even take the time to learn how to pronounce their names correctly. Butchering someone's name repeatedly is humiliating and definitely an aggressive act and can feel like a power move by the adult toward the kid. It is so avoidable and we all must try hard to calibrators!

I'm glad I listened to this. At Sweethome, there is a great deal of diversity amongst our students and also our co-workers. Even though teachers are constantly busy, doing a million things, it is so important to take the time to learn how to pronounce another person's name correctly. It shows that you care and help builds relationships. I have a few students in my class this year that took me a good week to automatically pronounce his/her name correctly. I tried to be a "calibrator" and kept checking in to make sure I got it right. I grew up with a friend and I remember teachers never being able to pronounce her name correctly and she would say "I'm used to it." I'm sure it always bothered her though. A few years ago, I was at one of my children's college graduations. I remember the person giving out the diplomas being unsure of how to pronounce about half of the names. It would've been nice if they had practiced beforehand...especially with the amount of money people spend to get that diploma! I will continue to be mindful of the importance of learning and pronouncing names correctly...students and anyone else I meet.