Dear​ ​Educators

Dear Educators,

You act like mispronouncing names of students is no big deal when really it is. Many kids from immigrant or refugee backgrounds or are a minority have experienced this many times at school that a teacher can't pronounce their name correctly or don't bother to ask how to say it correctly. This shows so much disrespect and coming from an adult it can harm a child's view of school. Our names is more than a word it means something to us. For many children from immigrant backgrounds their name has a piece of their culture, their history, their past, their family, and home. It can make a student feel as if they're not important or worthy compared to their white counterparts. You may ask why do you have such a strange name or why did your parents named you that. Sometimes you mock our names with inappropriate and offensive jokes and even encourage other students to do so. To us this is crossing the line and feel like no one cares about us.Please, don't try to Americanize our names or call us something else just to make it easier for you to say. At least ask if you say it right then just move on to show that you made somewhat of an effort to know how to say our name correctly. Saying a student’s name wrong can have a terrible lifetime memory with them forever of them not feeling like they belong.We spend so much time at school and educators have such such a big influence and impact on young minds. A child may feel unsafe when around a teacher if they have to go through this everyday. No wonder why many students have a negative experience at school. Educators please make the effort to learn how to say a student’s name correctly with the utter most respect.

Thank you,

A concerned student

Sponsored Ads