Names

The names around here are killing me. KILLING me. There are 350 kids in the school, and I teach 200 of them. But I only see each class 1 or 2 or 3 days each week, so I am struggling to learn their names. Add to that the complication that some people here go by their first names, others go by their last names, and others go by nicknames formed by combining the first few letters of their first and last names. And add to that the complication that I’m terrible at learning kids’ names anyway. And add to that the complication that all of these kids are Haitian. I’m accustomed to having about 10 Haitian kids in a class, and 7 Latino kids and 6 White kids. That makes the odds that I’m going to guess a name right a LOT better for me. I know, I know, it sounds like I’m saying all the black kids look alike. I’m not and they don’t. I’m sure I would be having the same challenge in a classroom full of 25 white kids with the same hair color. Oh, and did I mention that they’re all wearing uniforms? That really doesn’t help. It’s getting to the point that it’s kind of awkward for me to keep asking their names, since it’s probably the 7th time I’ve asked each one his or her name. Maybe by Christmas …?