Part 2: Pronouncing Names... Kind of a Big Deal

Pronouncing students' names correctly is crucial for creating an inclusive and respectful learning environment. Knowing students names and their idenity help to create inclusive classroom culture that embraces diversity and values each student's contributions. By pronouncing students' names correctly, you set a precedent for respect and inclusivity in the classroom. It encourages other students to appreciate and respect each other's identities and backgrounds. Students names are a part of their identity and it is important to recognize this and be aware of it. A person's name is deeply connected to their identity and cultural background. I always strive to celebrate students identity and their cultural background.

 
I can't think of a time when a student was given a nickname because others couldn't pronounce his or her name..... I've known many students who shorten other kids' last names for nicknames- but I didn't believe it to be disrespectful- perhaps I am being naive!? I will have to be more cognizant of this!!! I feel like nicknames are almost a sign of a higher level of friendship in a way- but I need to think more about this. 

The Hollywood story was thought-provoking. I am pretty sure Ryan Seacrest could learn to pronounce Quvenzhané with a little bit of effort. Of course, I had to read the original source- and sure enough....
The problems with this:
1.  That isn’t her name.
2.  To my knowledge, neither Quvenzhané nor her family OK’d this nickname.
3.  That nickname wasn’t given to her out of love or adoration; it was given out of discomfort around something “other.”
Much different than a higher level of friendship respect! 
Further, the article stated that the act of naming and/or re-naming something is absolutely about power and control, and this is something that slave owners knew very well–a standard practice in “seasoning” and “breaking” a slave was assigning them Anglo-Saxon names.
"Acknowledging a person’s self-approved name is to acknowledge the humanity in someone."
She, like every student we teach, is worth the effort of learning how to pronounce their name!!!

We had a student years ago, who was in kindergarten, and we thought we were pronouncing his name correctly. When the parents were in for conferences, we heard how they were pronouncing his name, and felt very foolish. Of course it’s important to use names correctly and I hope we helped this young man feel comfortable when we made the correction. I feel the Hollywood story is ridiculous because if you’re going to be on TV in front of the world, you really show that you are a complete jerk when you don’t pronounce someone’s name correctly. I love that the gentleman put up a video of how to pronounce that little girl’s name. I hope people like Ryan Seacrest learned from that and do better in the future.
  I have not done name of the day activities, but will start. I will write letters to parents, asking how they chose their child’s name, and what the significance is to them. I hope these activities will make each student feel special and important in my classroom.

I have had some students in the past who, when meeting them for the first time said, “My name is _______, but you can call me ______.” They seemed to attempt to give me an out since they knew their name was more challenging than many of their classmates.  I found that asking them privately, if they really wanted me to use their nickname versus their real name seemed to be appreciated.  A few students went with the nickname and seemed very happy with it, but others helped with their name pronunciation and then we went with that moving forward in lieu of the nickname.
The Ryan Seacrest story isn’t surprising.  I would guess that there are quite a few of those stories out there.  He is also a tool.

I have not had a student from a different culture have a nickname, but I have had a student from our own background request for me to call them something different. It was very effective! It was something that I never would have thought would make a difference, but his attitude, responsiveness towards me, and his participation even in class was more pronounced. The Hollywood story is so interesting! As a person who doesn't look very deeply into cultural differences, I can completely understand the challenge of that story and where the frustration comes from. 
I think that taking the time to really listen to the students and hear what they are saying as far as how to pronounce their names is more deep and important than we as the teacher take credit for. Listening to their peers as well can let us in on a huge insight into their preference and liking of what names to be called in school. 

We have had students who have chosen a "nickname".  They use a translation of their name, or choose a new English name.  I do make sure that families know I will learn their child's name but if they prefer something else I can call them their preferred name.  We had student who picked an English name, and then went back to his Chinese name. I do not want them to choose a new English name to make my life easier.  I think the Hollywood story shows a lazy person trying to be funny, and it's not.  I will continue to be an advocate for students and helping them choose what they want to be called, and their pronunciation by practicing and modeling.

Ryan Seacrest calling her Little Q is very upsetting. He didn’t even take the time to try and learn her name. If interviewed I’m sure he would respond in a different manor. But it shouldn’t matter what type of name. All names and people deserve the respect. I will definitely use this part and be aware of how I handle tricky names. I always ask for nicknames. If it is from the student then that will make them feel better. 

1. What do you Think??  REFLECT: Do you recall a student who had a “nickname” given because others’ couldn’t pronounce it?  What was the effect?  What are your thoughts about the Hollywood story provided?

I have had students with very long names who would go by a shortened version of their names. In that situation the student offered the shortened name and might even offer it before I attempted to pronounce the whole thing, showing that they have already had frustrating experiences that they want to bypass. In most cases it seemed to relieve the student in the moment and then just feel normal to use afterward. Sometimes I wonder if the students wanted to go the shortened name, because they felt their peers would find their name funny. Maybe we should normalize using the full names and appreciating them.

I remember Quvenzhane Wallis when Beast of the Southern Wild was in theaters, being the butt of jokes on late night TV , because of her name. When compared with older, white male peers with complicated last names, being unable to pronounce her name seems ridiculous. It brings to mind all the times "black" names are made fun of or made into caricatures. On the flip side, comedians Key and Peele turned the tables on that masterfully in their "Substitute" skit. Youtube it now if you haven't seen it!

1. Now What??  OPPORTUNITY TO GROW: What steps can you take in your class or school that will show respect and honor toward one or more of your students?

One thing I try to do is address students by their name all the time. Hello, (name). What do you think your next steps are, (name)? You're on a roll today, (name). In the past if I was unsure of a pronunciation, I might avoid saying that student's name all together. That will be obvious after a while no matter how slick you try to be. They know YOU are uncomfortable and will probably get the very false message over time that something is wrong with them. One project that we start Studio Art with is a name design project. The students design fonts that express who they are as they draw the letters of their name. This helps them express who they are through their name and share their name with the whole class at the same time. I've also encouraged ENL students to feel free to make their designs in non-english characters to fully express the meaning of their name, instead of further "Americanizing" it.

Reflect: Okay so this is an extremely hot topic, especially as I think about some of the ELLs that I have taught in years past. Most recently I had a student who decided midway through a year that he wanted to be called "Moses" because that was actually how his name was pronounced in his language, so we went along with it. Then, he comes to school in September the next year looking at us like we had 6 heads when we tried to call him "Moses"....turns out that was totally not the way to pronounce his name and he just decided he wanted a play a "game" on the teachers. But, we went along with the initial request to call him this name because we thought we were respecting him and his culture and obviously wanted to get his name right. It was from that moment on that I realized I need to have an open line of communication with parents and families to deal with these types of thoughts from students. However, it's never ok to give a student a nickname because you found their first name to just be "too difficult" for you. Also, it's good to simply just ask every student in your room if their given name is preferred or if they want to be called something else! 
Opportunity to Grow: Simply take the time to form relationships with both students and the families to foster a greater relationship of respect and honor. When we take the time to get to know our students better and understand even the stories behind their name, we are able to create a strong classroom environment and relationships. 

ahhh the nickname.   We get that a lot at Sweet Home.  Student XYZ will want to go by ABC.  This is crossing over into the land of LGPTQ studies when our students are also playing around with their whole identity and may try on a different name than appears on their school records.   This does come with its challenges.I do take efforts to learn a child's name as he/she/they would like it pronounced .  I seek 1:1 feedback on how I'm doing.   Honestly, I find it hard to switch gears and learn a nick name after I've learned name 1.0.  I do make the effort however.  I revert back to what I wrote in my last reflection.  I will ask a person what they call themselves, and if they would like me to call them that.   I do have to be ready, that the name may not stick for the entirety of the school year.  Recognizing, that adapting is on me...not the way the other human would like to be addressed.