WDYT?
Seems harsh that children get judged by their names but as a teacher I know that in my school a child called [name]Jade[/name], [name]Tyler[/name], [name]Jordan[/name] (boy or girl) or [name]Kylie[/name] were a handful.
It may seem harsh, but I think it reflect the ‘type’ of parents who would typically choose these types of names and therefore the typical child wearing this name [name]MAY[/name] come from a more deprived background and therefore statistically be more likely to misbehave. I don’t know, but that’s what I think.
To use a UK term, misspelled names like [name]Jayde[/name] or Aimeey tend to be selected by chavvy parents. (please note I’ve used TEND and [name]MAY[/name] as key terms)
I don’t think it is always the case, but I do agree with the bit about mispelled names, how does it help children learn to write if parents just make up their own English rules?
I kind of hate this article. While I really dislike youneekly spelled and overly trendy names, to me this article is less about these names (or the kids with these names or the parents who gave their kids these names) and more about a subtle but rather extreme level of prejudice being displayed by the teachers the article refers to. If a teacher expects a kid with one of these oddly spelled or trendy names to act a certain way, even subconsciously, it’ll influence how they interact with the kid, and perhaps the kid will start acting out specifically because it’s exactly what the teacher expects of them.
I definitely agree that the prejudice by the teachers may set a precedent for how the child may react or act in the future. Especially as children tend to act as they are expected to act and children are very fast to catch on to other peoples perceptions - especially as these teachers immediately seat children with specific names in the front, assuming they are trouble makers.
But in a way I can understand it - especially if the parents fit into a certain mould as well. I’m not saying it’s okay. It definitely isn’t. But teachers are just people and people are prone to this type of prejudices and perceptions, especially if others have similar experiences to themselves.
It does make me wonder how my own children will be perceived, especially if we have a daughter as she will have a very special/rare name.
It’s more classist than anything. I dislike tryndee, made-up spellings, but I think it’s more of an insult on the parents than anything else - it’s inferring that not spelling your child’s name the conventional way means you’re obviously not going to raise your kid to be a well-mannered, polite human being, and naming your kid a classic name in the correct spelling means you are. I guess there are trends among different classes of people and what they name their children, you only have to compare birth announcements in the Telegraph and a local paper from a working class area to see this, but to directly imply causation is prejudice on the part of the teachers.
I did not like seeing my son’s name in this article - he is smart, kind and funny, and knows how to behave (most of the time)! We chose his name because of my husband’s ancestry, so 14 years ago, [name]Kyle[/name] was a well-liked Celtic name, but now is seen as trashy?
[name]Kyle[/name] is a lower class, younger uneducated parents name over here. Doesn’t mean it’s an ugly name.
I like the article. I know quite a few teachers, and this is how it is. Of course teachers have prejudices when it comes to names, we all do (imagine how many children they teach year after year with these names)! Teachers are human too… Doesn’t mean they will treat little [name]Jayde[/name] or Aimeey as if they were troublemakers if they are decent well behaved children.
It is of course not the name though, it’s what kind of people like which names… The middle class would never use these kind of names. Original, sure, but not names considered chavvy or misspelled names.
This seems to be more of a case of teachers looking for what they want to find.
Kyemsma - I’m not sure, but possibly the [name]Kyle[/name] referred to in the article was a girl’s name, pronounced [name]Kylie[/name] by the parents but spelled [name]Kyle[/name]. I’ve run in to a few of these at my daughter’s school - I see a name that I think I know how to pronounce and what sex child it will be, and it’s not what I’ve figured.
Well the article definitely has a UK vibe because names like [name]Tyler[/name] and [name]Kyle[/name] are very mainstream in the US. We definitely have names that people would pre-judge but a name like “[name]Wayne[/name]” isn’t one of them.
I agree with pp’s that the saddest thing about the article is that the teachers act as though it’s perfectly acceptable to judge their kids before they know them–filling out detention slips before they arrive, assuming every [name]Jamie[/name] should be in detention, singling out kids for certain seats based on their name, and talking to each other openly about how terrible their year is going to be while first reading their register—even if that is based on experience I still say it’s dreadfully sad behavior.
I can tell you that in Los [name]Angeles[/name], if you had Naquisha and [name]Treyvon[/name] sitting in the “bad kid” seats and complained about having them in your class–if you did any of that openly you’d have so many right’s groups, parents, and news cameras in your face it would make your head spin.
I agree kala_way.
The aticle says it right here: “I don’t know why Aimeey is always more trouble than [name]Amy[/name], but she is. As a rule of thumb, the more Es or Is or Ys have been added to a name, the more mischievous the child. So [name]Sophie[/name] will probably be a biddable little angel. Sophiie or [name]Sophee[/name]? Watch her like a hawk.”
Well, if [name]Sophee[/name] is being “watched like a hawk” of course more incidents are going to be found!
Yep! There’s actually been psychological studies where teachers were told that X child has tested very high and is possibly a prodigy (when they are really just regular kids). By the end of the year those children actually showed increases in their IQ! (which is not something that usually changes markedly.) There is direct evidence that the way a teacher perceives a child changes not only the way the child behaves but their progress. The reverse is likely true as well.
Thanks for that, @ssterikoff - it was helpful.
@ottilie: In my experience here, [name]Kyle[/name] is a popular boys name with educated parents who have Irish/Scottish ancestry.
So do alternate but legitimate spellings cause problems. [name]Say[/name] [name]Isaac[/name] versus [name]Isaak[/name]?
But I agree, it’s sad but to a point I understand it. I’ve yet to meet a polite, well behaved [name]James[/name]. I know one [name]Jimmy[/name] who is an angel but again, he goes by [name]Jimmy[/name], not [name]James[/name]. [name]Eric[/name], a name I once loved is forever off limits due to knowing three horrible Erics. [name]Just[/name] rude, obnouxious people.
Why are you linking to ANYTHING from the [name]Daily[/name] Fail? That “newspaper” is rubbish.
I completely agree. Being a teacher myself I don’t judge the child before I have met them but I do have an assumption in my head as to what his parents might be like, how he might behave etc. Call this judgemental if you like, but I never treat the children in my class differently and to do so because of their name is just wrong. If that article had been left at “teachers assume [name]Bradley[/name]'s, [name]Kyle[/name]'s and [name]Paige[/name]'s are going to be naughty” then I’d completely agree, but beyond actually writing detention slips and the rest isn’t acceptable.
However, I also make assumptions when I meet little [name]Hugo[/name] and [name]Beatrix[/name]…
I think people who deny making assumptions about people based on their names are in denial, because we all do it. If you had to choose between having a [name]Joseph[/name] or a [name]Caden[/name], [name]Elizabeth[/name] or [name]Princess[/name], [name]Sophie[/name] or [name]Skye[/name]-[name]Ellie[/name] in my class I know what I would go for and that doesn’t mean I’d be making the right decision because little [name]Princess[/name] might be polite, well-mannered and extremely bright and my assumptions would be proven wrong.
I do make assumptions when I see certain names. If it isn’t a somewhat American name, I automatically think that the kid is either black, Hispanic or [name]Asian[/name]. I’m not talking about misspelled names, but legit foreign names like Takumi, Mahir and [name]Jameel[/name].
When I see misspelled names, I think that the parents were most likely trying to be creative and I think they MIGHT believe their child is a perfect angel.
If I see a name that is being pronounced wrong (i.e. [name]Ciara[/name] prn [name]Sierra[/name]), I think that the kid just likes that prn better or the parents didn’t do their research.
The kid had nothing to do with their name; the parents chose it without the child’s input, so I am more likely to judge the parents.
I understand the class and values point the writer tries to make, but it comes off as sloppy teaching. I’ve tutored in the past, and CAN think of hardworking children with K names. A [name]Keziah[/name], for one. It seems like the writer lets one bad association imprint entire names. I know many nice, clever boys named [name]James[/name]. [name]Even[/name] a [name]Jamie[/name]!
but…I can concede their point. [name]Do[/name] you want your child to struggle against a name’s image? It is something parents should be aware of.