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.
