1. Even this year I have 2 students with nicknames as opposed to their given names. One of the students just goes by the first letter of her first name and she told me "That is what I do because no one can pronounce it, everyone just calls me that." I accepted that without much thought. As someone who prides themselves on making the effort, I now see this as an error. At the end of class on Monday I will pull the student aside and make sure I make an additional note on the correct pronunciation of their name. The second student goes by their middle name, and they told me they actually prefer it. I followed up with saying I will call you what YOU prefer, don't make it easy for me. So I see how I was a bit inconsistent in my approach with 2 students with very similar names. I think I just accepted that the first student told me that is what everyone does, and that is my error to correct.
2. I touched on this in the last post, but I tell the students on the first day of school how important it is to me that I pronounce names correctly, and I realize I struggle with it. I would love for them to help with me it by holding me accountable by correcting me if I mispronounce it. That can be in class or after class. I never want to just assume it is correct. I also make notes on the roster I print on how to pronounce them :)
2. I touched on this in the last post, but I tell the students on the first day of school how important it is to me that I pronounce names correctly, and I realize I struggle with it. I would love for them to help with me it by holding me accountable by correcting me if I mispronounce it. That can be in class or after class. I never want to just assume it is correct. I also make notes on the roster I print on how to pronounce them :)