- 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.
- 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!
