What's in a name?

Sophomore shenanigans:

Soph: Ms Discray..

Me: Boy, you better turn around and figure out my name. It’s almost Christmas!

Soph: Wait. That’s not your name?

Me: there is not an r or a y anywhere, in any portion of my name.

Soph 2: There’s no coming back from that man, just sit down.

Names are hard, but seating charts help. I am not sure I have ever excelled at learning and remembering students’ names quickly. My ability has decreased over the years, or maybe I can blame increasing class sizes. There really is nothing to blame except that I do not excel at learning names quickly. Open House is always fun as I very rarely can call students by name. Truly, it’s a good time. Or there are the meetings to discuss a child’s need for accommodations at a time in the year when I can’t place a name with a face, must less give a detailed account of that student’s abilities. The expectations on teachers are unreal, truly.

My work around? Seating charts. I use seating charts to help me learn their names in a somewhat timely (a month, it takes a least a month) manner. But goodness gracious I do try because names matter.

There are times, too many to count, when students butcher my name or ask me what it is. At the beginning of the year, I get it. They are adjusting to a lot too. But by Christmas? The better know how to address me. I even simplify matters by using only the last letter of my last name. One letter, that’s all I’m asking you to remember. While I am trying to remember almost 200 names, they have 8 teachers max to remember.

These moments lend themselves to discussions on how to properly introduce ourselves, address people appropriately, and how to give a proper handshake. We practice, I demonstrate, and I try to impart on them the knowledge and power of a good first impression. Why? Because it matters. I want these students to walk into college interviews, job interviews, any room, and be able to present themselves in a manner that will have them moving closer towards their goals. Too often, they are lacking in basic communication skills and are seriously lacking in confidence to initiate these encounters. It is these small things that matter, that will set them apart whether we want to believe they are true or not.

I want them to know their own names, their place in this world matter. And the last thing I want is for them to be denied an opportunity because they lacked such basic skills.

What’s in a name? Everything.

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