teressabee:

theycallme-misssunshine:

artedish:

Me (to 6th grader I don’t know): So what’s your name?

6th Grader: Most teachers just call me Lala.

Me: Is that what your mother calls you? Teach me to say it.

6th Grader: It’s [redacted African name].

Me (clumsily): [her name]

6th Grader: [her name]

Me (correctly this time): [her name]

6th Grader: (lights up)

It’s so important to try to say everyone’s names correctly! Like, my Chinese or Vietnamese or Arab or Pashto or [insert other non-European language here] is definitely nonexistent, but I will always try to say the name correctly.

It can make a world of difference in your relationship with the student. My first year the biggest Trouble Kid in the school was behaving for me and nobody else, and it turned out I was the only one saying his name correctly.