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

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Its likely related to race, but not in a bad way! If you have a minority of children, lets say for arguments sake 2 black children in a class of 25, its absolutely understandable that you're likely to make the subconscious error of occasionally mixing the two names up. its not racist its how the human subconscious mind works.

Well it's simply not good enough. People need to learn the students names, and if it takes more effort then you must put that effort in. It's not acceptable to muddle them up for some simple reason. You can take the time and effort to learn the correct names. It is very offending not to. Please stop making excuses.

To be fair to teachers who teach 300 kids a week it can be tricky. I used to work really hard to memorise names in the first 2 weeks of term. Two boys swaps seats for their second lesson and I regularly called them the wrong names for the rest of the year. Fortunately they found it funny.

Pleasantly surprised to see @VivienScott ‘s post deleted. Some great active anti-racism, well done MNHQ!

Love this summary by Uzo Aduba. Well worth the couple of minutes.

@Cadent really? I’m fairly appalled as plenty of others have said the same as me.
@DawnMumsnet I’d be interested for an explanation as I’ve said nothing racist in that post and am categorically not racist.
I went to a very ethnically diverse school in south London and was regularly mixed up with other girls with my colouring, so I don’t see the race thing. Why is it racist to explain my experience?

@VivienScott but not appalled at what BAME people have recounted on this thread? Figures.

@VivienScott - FWIW, I didn't report your post. I accepted the subtle racism, much to my shame.

@Cadent I’m appalled by all racism. Growing up in south London as an ethnic minority I saw all forms of it. Things that were outright and things that on reflection were subtle. I don’t accept it or any other type of inequity in treatment.

@VivienScott yes my heart bleeds for ‘white, slim and blonde’ ‘ethnic minority’Londoners 🙄

You must be having a laugh now. 😂

Well it's simply not good enough. People need to learn the students names, and if it takes more effort then you must put that effort in. It's not acceptable to muddle them up for some simple reason. You can take the time and effort to learn the correct names. It is very offending not to. Please stop making excuses.

This may well all be true! But the point made by the post you replied to is its not racism. It's laziness (of which I am constantly guilty.)

@Cadent well we were, biggest ethnicity was Pakistani, white was an ethnic minority. We were spat at in the street, my sister was bullied so mercilessly at school for being white she stopped going. We were also told to move away.

@TriangularRatbag if you’re a teacher I pity your students

Hi @Cadent, yes I am.

@Cadent sorry it doesn’t fit in with your expectations or experiences but there are other stories to hear. I also saw a lot of racism between other races as well that was pretty disgusting. This is all my experience and I’m telling you what I saw, none of it is right.

@VivienScott glad you got it off your chest. Why not start a White Lives Matter movement?

What's my excuse for calling my own children each other's names?

No one gives a shit what people call their kids.

@Cadent you’re obviously just here to start an argument with myself and others rather than listen to people.

I had trouble almost 50 years ago with one teacher insisting on calling me Ariana not Ariela. For the one whole year that she taught me. Nothing to do with BAME, and there were others in the class with very unusual unpronounceable if you didn't know how names that she got right. She just had a mental block with my name. Nothing to do with my name (no one else of either name in whole school), the fact I had red hair or anything. Still got it wrong.

Ive had a lot of boys who were very similar looking and names very similar - jack, jakes, zaks. Would often get them confused.

Sometimes I get a name in my head for a child because they look like that name and I have to second guess myself every time and still getting it wrong.

Also we have the Eva/Evie/ Ellie/ Ella/ Ellie-May all in one class.
Isobel/ isobella.
Amelia/ Emilia
All make it hard to remember a child's name sometimes, especially if you don't have them full time.

Where in south London are white people the ethnic minority. Is this in the 70’s/80’s/90’s

No one should be bullied or spat on that is absolutely disgusting

And I myself am not aware of such a huge Pakistani population in south London (Indian and Sri Lankan maybe but not the majority)

@EnthusiasmIsDisturbed it was Croydon/Thornton Heath in the 80’s/90’s.
Really sorry people don’t believe me but why on earth would I make this up!?!?

All through my sons primary life every teacher called my son and his class mate the others name, they look nothing alike, one taller, one had long (ish) hair the other very short shaved hair and one wore glasses and the other didn’t. Must’ve been that they each looked more like the others name. I don’t think it’s a race thing at all but can see how you could perhaps be mistaken in thinking that x