To think that teachers should be able to distinguish BAME students by name?

[maggiethecat]

I have 2 DDs at different secondary schools and we have recently been having animated table discussions arising from the BLM protests. Both girls separately experienced teachers repeatedly confusing their names with the handful of other BAME students in the class. 13 yo DD cannot understand why she is repeatedly confused with another BAME girl who is much taller than her and unlike DD wears glasses. Apparently the offending teachers do not have this memory deficit with white students in the class

Well yes it would be nice if anyone was called by their name but I don't think this is a race thing personally. Look how many children teachers teach. Especially in secondary school. I'd struggle to remember any name.

Op yanbu

I’m a teacher, I used to be good with names but now I’m old. I mix up kids from all ethnic backgrounds.

Some secondary teachers see upwards of 300 kids, some for less than an hour a week. It's a lot of names to learn.

Classic Mumsnet. Of course it's not a race thing says white poster with no clue.

YANBU that must be embarrassing and infuriating for your daughters

That's funny tiny how you have assumed I'm white? And completely blown what I've said out of context and made yourself look like a tool.

Definitely yanbu. Happens way too often. Sad reality.

It can be a race thing, people in my former workplace 'struggled with forrin names' that were easy to say but they just hadn't come across them before because it was not a very diverse place at all. Some performance pronunciation of Polish, Irish, Nigerian names that I can remember and 'ooh so many syllables' or 'ooh I'll never be able to say that' bollocks.

I never mixed up any of the kids I taught or in my tutor groups and that included several sets of identical twins. By the time I had taught them 4 times I had learned all of the kids names in my classes. There is no excuse for teachers not to remember any of the kids names they teach. If they struggle with names they should use a seating plan.

I mean if it looks like it and it smells like it?

There are three posts along the same lines Teaa, defensive much?

I read an article this year on why people mix up names. It wasnt based at all on what they look like, but associations. I’ll try and find it...

YANBU. This is unacceptable. I went to a very multicultural school and the teachers didn’t have this issue.

If you aren’t familiar with the names, make a special effort and LEARN even if it means putting side 30 minutes to figure out a way to remember.

Pathetic that this is happening regularly in 2020.

You literally said what I said so was clearly aimed at me. You shouldn't assume people's race though because you're completely wrong and made yourself look really really stupid.

I struggle to remember my own children some days so don't hold teachers responsible on this one
Your DDs think the teachers don't confuse other pupils but would they know that with any certainty?

Bloody teachers, eh?

YANBU

@Calmyobadself - It could happen with other girls but it sounds like the muddle is mostly around the small group of BAME girls in the class.

We're human. I mix up loads of names, not just BAME students
My son is Finn. I sit opposite a Phil at work and if it's been s day when I see Phil a lot I call my boy Phil. Phil is black, my son is white if it makes any difference

Samantha Deffler link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-016-0613-z

How is a 13 yo back at school? Seems an odd time to be making this post.

Part racism but mostly laziness.
Every year,from one class per year primary,larger secondary and now 6 th form college my DD has has her name misspelt,mixed with others and when she had short hair early secondary mixed up with some of the boys.
I work in n a hospital so lots of different names from different ethnicities,a little bit of effort and done,the same people also grapple with my Irish surname but we all make what is after all only a little effort.
In schools there are also those teachers who know all pupils and parents names...

I thought it was well known that people of one race have more difficulty telling apart people of a different race. The cross-race effect. It's not specific to a white teacher and black students.

It's not intentional or malicious. The white teacher will genuinely find it more difficult to tell their black students apart. Awareness of the issue could help mitigate it though.

Gulamjamoon - it's interesting to hear that this didn't happen in your multicultural school. Sounds the teachers didn't just lump all the BAME girls together and that they took the time to learn names.

Do all the teachers mix up their names or just certain ones?
I am guilty of mixing up children's names and really embarrassed by it. I mix up names of anyone who looks sort of the same or even siblings in different year groups. It could be two ginger haired boys with glasses or two black girls with cornrows.
Most staff in my school are much better than me when it comes to remembering names so I'm disappointed that it is so prevalent at your DD's school.