Season 9 Episode #4 Teachers—Are You Mispronouncing Student Names?

Teachers—are you mispronouncing student names?

In this episode of The Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast™, Jebeh Edmunds explores why pronouncing student names correctly is one of the most powerful (and overlooked) ways to build trust, affirm identity, and create inclusive classrooms.

With 18 years of classroom experience, Jebeh shares a simple, actionable 3-step strategy you can implement immediately—plus what to do when you get it wrong and how to repair trust in real time.

This episode is a must-listen for educators committed to creating spaces where every student feels seen, respected, and valued.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why names are deeply connected to identity and belonging
  
  
  
• A 3-step strategy to get student names right
  
  
  
• How to respond when you mispronounce a name
  
  
  
• Practical ways to build trust starting tomorrow
  
  
  

Ready to go deeper?
Explore culturally responsive lesson plans and courses at: JebehEdmunds.com

Watch the YouTube Video Here: https://youtu.be/4nlU-D3G8PE?si=boojZ0BWWUjtiE-G

Transcript

Jebeh Edmunds 0:25

What's in a name? Everything. In this episode of the Cultural Curriculum Chat podcast, I share why pronouncing student names correctly is one of the simplest, yet most powerful ways to build trust, affirm identity, and create inclusive classrooms. You'll walk away with a practical, step-by-step strategy that you can use immediately. Teachers, let me ask you something, honestly. Have you ever looked at a student's name on your roster past and then hoped that they wouldn't call on you first, or maybe you've said. Can I just call you something shorter or worse? You avoided calling their name at all. Let me be clear. This is not about shame. This is about awareness and action because mispronouncing someone's name isn't just a small mistake. It's a missed opportunity for connection, respect. And belonging after 18 years in the classroom. I can tell you this, A student's name is often the first piece of their identity that they show you and bring into your space. It carries culture, family. History, language and pride. And when we get it wrong or avoid it all together, we unintentionally send the message of, I don't see you fully, but when we get it right, we say you belong here. I remember a moment in my classroom where I mispronounced a student's name on the first day. They didn't correct me. They didn't say anything at all, but over time I noticed that child participated less. They withdrew, they felt disconnected, and one day I pulled that child aside and asked if I had said their name incorrectly. They looked at me and said. Yeah, but I don't wanna make it a big deal. And that moment stayed with me because I was in fact a student just like that child in the classroom. Very nervous on the first day of school, knowing full well my teacher was going to mispronounce my name, and knowing the routine of, okay, they're gonna get flustered. Students are gonna giggle and I'm gonna have to sheepishly raise my hand and say, it's actually pronounced Jebeh. And then they would say, Jabba. And then the rest of the year I'm called Jabba. And so I understand not having to go through that same rigamarole, but when I talk to that student and that student courageously shared with me how to say it the right way, I. I told that child, I will continue to practice it the right way because I want to see. You in your full authentic self as well as you showing your full authentic self in my class. And that student sat up a little taller. They began to not feel that they had to carry that burden of re correcting me every time I said their name. And I also think that student to say. You know, I understand being a, a student and an adult and not wanting to step on the adult's toes, but this is who your family named you and I take pride in their pride in your name. Your name is so important, and I have an episode on my YouTube channel, Mrs. Edmunds Cultural Corner, and it's titled My Ted Talk, but the TED Talk is. Talking all about harnessing the power of your name. So it will be in the show notes so you can go check it out.'cause it talks more in depth of the meaning of my name and the meaning of all of our names and why we need to take the time to practice. So getting back to it with that classroom moment, that child was more engaged in the classroom knowing full well that I address them. The proper pronunciation of their name, you know, and these little tweaks, it's free to practice a student's name and even if you feel flustered again, just. Practice, practice, practice, and have that student correct you and let your ego go at the wayside. You know, this is not the ego trip, this is not the Mrs. Edmunds moment. This is that child's moment for them to feel fully comfortable in your classroom community. So here is my three step strategy that you can do today. First things first, don't ask. Don't assume. So even on the first day or even tomorrow,'cause you know, even in the middle of the school year, you're gonna have that new student in the middle of the school year. You know, you're never gonna have that same roster of students from your first day to your last day. So again, don't assume, and you know what happens when we assume, you know that riddle, you know that thing, I'm not gonna go there. So before you even utter or try to pronounce it, you're going to. Ask, can you teach me how to pronounce your name correctly? And if that student isn't there on the first day, maybe consult with this, you know, school social worker to see if they know how to pronounce that student's name. Maybe you call that adult of that student and ask them before they enter your classroom. I know so and so is gonna join us tomorrow, and I want to greet your student with so much joy and enthusiasm. Can you share with me how do you pronounce. Your child's name correctly, and write it down in your roster phonetically, just so you don't feel extra anxious on that first day when they enter your classroom. The second step, practice it out loud, repeat it back and forth, and trust me, you're gonna mess up. Try again.'cause you know, practice makes progress. You won't get it perfect the first time, but keep practicing their name and saying it out loud and normalize the correction. Sometimes when we as adults are in front of our students, we always call each other as adults and as educators. We're lifelong learners. Well, learners are always making mistakes. That's how we learn. So have that in your essence of teaching, every day you're gonna say, okay, if I say your name wrong, please correct me. I wanna get it right. I'm not gonna embarrass you or shame you. It's a learning process for me as well. And you know, even if your name is different, share a little bit of your story too. You know, my name is different and teachers used to mess it up all the time. Not on purpose, but they just didn't know and they didn't take the time to learn. That's a teachable moment. Two, with your students and say, you know, I feel you. I have a different name and I understand and I wanna make sure I am, you know, calling you in the right and proper way. This creates your classroom community where students feel safe when they speak up. Students' identity is respected and mistakes are always going to feel as that part of learning because it is that part of learning. So many of us have this feeling of, okay, Jeb, what if I get it wrong? Repair it, you will get it wrong. So now let's get over that piece of what if I get it wrong to say, okay, I'm gonna mess up now, how am I gonna repair that mistake? And this is what I want you to do is don't ignore it. Don't laugh it off. And I'm not saying the embarrassment laugh'cause you're gonna be like, Ugh, a little flustered, like, ugh, I'm sorry, but don't laugh it off because again, that is a cultural pride of that child's name in front of you. Okay, so. Don't ignore it. Don't laugh it off, and don't move away from it quickly. Don't go, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's how it always happens. Next student. And then you keep going. That student's gonna feel that shame, that student's gonna feel embarrassed. That student's gonna say, wow. This is how you're gonna be treating me. You're not even gonna try to, you know, say my name. There was one professor when I was in grad school, and I mentioned this in previous episodes, where he was just ignoring my first name. Not even trying, not even saying, you know, Mrs. Edmunds or Miss Edmunds, and he was just like, okay, whatever. Whoever's name starts with J. Were there multiple students that had the J first letter in their name, so that wasn't helping. And then he just completely ignored me in the session. Didn't even acknowledge me, even when I had points in discussion. Didn't say, okay, I heard your point there. Um, what do you think about this point? You know, no follow-up questions. He completely ignored me. And so what I did was I did not put my first name in the, the virtual class. I put my last name. This was over a month that this particular professor completely ignored my name did not call me, and so I put my last name on there saying, okay, if you can't pronounce my first name, here's my last name. He literally thought I was a new student. He goes, oh, Edmunds, who is Edmunds? And I said, it's me, Jebeh Edmunds. Are you new? I said, no, sir. I've been in the class since the beginning of the semester. And he was flustered again, just like we have a new student, nobody told me about. Same person. Same person. So. I want you to know that he did not repair. He just kept moving. And again, that was something that always stuck with me, you know? And there is that saying of from Maya Angelou that says, students are not always going to remember all that you taught them, but they will remember how you made them feel. And that was one of the things that got me into education. I wanted all of my students to feel seen, valued, recognized. And heard. And so when we're doing this repair piece, I don't want you to ignore it. Don't laugh it off, and don't move on so quickly. You're gonna say, thank you for correcting me. I wanna say your name the right way. And this is the moment where you repair, and this is the moment where you trust is built. Now, I want you to think of it as also the bigger picture. It's not just about names. All right? It's about identity, belonging, and representation. It's about creating classrooms where students don't have to shrink to fit in. You could do a whole s. Study on names and how names came about and how different cultures name their students and name their children. There's, you know, ethnic groups and tribal groups in Africa, in the continent. Different tribes that wait a certain period of time before they have a naming ceremony to name their child in the meaning of their. There's other places around the world that have certain types of names that correlate with the weather, correlate with the days of the week, correlate with the cycles of the moon. These are the things that students can really glom onto and learn up. About the power of our name. So this is something that is a teachable moment, not just for that particular student, but for all students to ask their, you know, adults in their lives. How did I get my name? And if there's students that are, uh. Adopted, you know, have that opening of some adoptees, have their name of their homeland as well as the name that their families carried with them, and also have room to understand. There's a lot of research there too, of the trauma of some adoptee children that have some trauma with their name and why their names are changed. So with that being said, you could even open up. Uh, uh, a dialogue of, Hey, if you could change your name for a day, what name would you pick? What would it mean, and that would be something that you could use that name and have it as a writing activity. If I could change my name for a day, this is a name I would do, and this is why I would name myself this, and it comes from this culture or it comes from that. Not to say that your name that you are given is not important, but it also opens up an imagination. It opens up an imagination of, wow, if I could pick a different name, this was the name I could, and it could be a child in your classroom that's like, I love my name. I don't wanna change it. Wonderful. What makes you love your name? What makes it feel unique and powerful and special? Put that in your writing piece. So many things that you can do to make this a fully immersive activity. So I wanna leave this with you, my dear. Who is that one student? Whose name you need to learn and relearn or honor more intentionally. I want you to start there, and if this episode resonated with you, I want you to share it with another educator who is committed to creating. Inclusive classroom communities, and if you really are ready to dig deeper, I have resources, lesson plans, and courses designed to help you move from intention to action. I've got courses all about perceptions for educators. I have code switching 1 0 1. I have a whole professional diver. A whole professional development full course for educators that talk about biases, especially when it comes to names and different cultural identity groups. So check it out in the show notes. I will have my links to those mini and full courses from my website. In the show notes, and until next time, I want you to keep teaching, keep learning, and keep building spaces where every student feels seen. I'll see you here same time next week. Bye-bye.