Mispronouncing someone's name leads to all sorts of bad things.
The My Name, My Identity Campaign
Rita Kohli, an assistant professor of education at the University of California at Riverside, told NEA Today – the publication of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union – that overlooking the mispronunciation of a student’s name is a “microaggression” that can sabotage the learning process.
“Names have incredible significance to families, with so much thought, meaning and culture woven into them,” Kohli says. “When the child enters school and teachers – consciously or not – mispronounce, disregard or change the name, they are in a sense disregarding the family and culture of the students as well.”
Gee. Disregarding an entire culture because I couldn't pronounce a 12-syllable name?
Then there's this:
"Mutilating someone’s name is a tiny act of bigotry. Whether you intend to or not, what you’re communicating is this: Your name is different. Foreign. Weird. It’s not worth my time to get it right. Although most of your students may not know the word microaggression, they’re probably familiar with that vague feeling of marginalization, the message that everyone else is “normal,” and they are not."
How We Pronounce Student Names, and Why it Matters
I have a first name and last name with unique spellings. The last name, though one syllable, has a unique pronunciation. Never got me all lathered up.
The My Name, My Identity Campaign
Rita Kohli, an assistant professor of education at the University of California at Riverside, told NEA Today – the publication of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union – that overlooking the mispronunciation of a student’s name is a “microaggression” that can sabotage the learning process.
“Names have incredible significance to families, with so much thought, meaning and culture woven into them,” Kohli says. “When the child enters school and teachers – consciously or not – mispronounce, disregard or change the name, they are in a sense disregarding the family and culture of the students as well.”
Gee. Disregarding an entire culture because I couldn't pronounce a 12-syllable name?
Then there's this:
"Mutilating someone’s name is a tiny act of bigotry. Whether you intend to or not, what you’re communicating is this: Your name is different. Foreign. Weird. It’s not worth my time to get it right. Although most of your students may not know the word microaggression, they’re probably familiar with that vague feeling of marginalization, the message that everyone else is “normal,” and they are not."
How We Pronounce Student Names, and Why it Matters
I have a first name and last name with unique spellings. The last name, though one syllable, has a unique pronunciation. Never got me all lathered up.
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