Supply Teacher giggling at name of child in class

[everythingflies]

Is it very unprofessional for a supply teacher to start giggling when taking the register in a class which they have not taught in before, because one of the children's names is "Bourbon"? Supply teacher in question is normally very professional but couldn't help themselves when hearing the name of the child.

One eastender actor I see has a child called 'Trilby'...

Interesting choice!

It’s not as famous outside North America while bourbon biscuits are popular in not only in UK but also in common wealth countries.

Custard cream is a nice name :)

There is a big difference between an adult actively making fun of a child’s name and an adult getting the giggles uncontrollably. I was once dealing with a child’s poor behaviour as a colleague walked past my classroom and for one awful moment I could see how crazy the situation must have looked to her as she walked past, and I got the giggles just for a few seconds. Luckily, I pulled myself together but it was totally out of my control for that moment. It’s a human reaction that happens to the best of us sometimes.

Must depend on the commonwealth country- I'm in Australia and I instantly thought of the whiskey. Don't think I've ever heard of a bourbon biscuit -initialky didn't sound very nice but google tells me it's not actually bourbon flavoured! And I can get them at my local supermarket under the name 'britannia bourbon chocolate biscuits' - might give them a go.

Am I the only one who wondered why they named their child after a drink?

Oh posted without reading the whole thread, glad I wasn't the only one after all.

I'm in NZ and have never heard of a bourbon biscuit either, my mind instantly went to whiskey.

First name or surname? This is very important. Parents who give their kids daft first names shouldn't be allowed to complain when people keep asking little Khaleesi where her dragons are.

Joking aside, I think it depends on the context. Did she outright laugh at the name, or was it a little titter that she couldn't help? Neither are ok, obviously, but the former is an issue that needs to be dealt with formally while the latter can probably be forgiven with a quick apology.

The ones who ruled Spain and Austria (and later the Austrohungarian empire that included Czechia, Slowakia, parts of Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania and more) were the Habsburgs.

Whose Spanish branch died out to be replaced by the Bourbons, if memory serves. Remained in charge of Austrohungary until 1918 tho.

#onlyhereforthebatshitneighbours the Habsburgs were the chinny ones, too. A certain amount of cousin marriage going on, I believe, which also helps explain their dying out. The Armada was sent by a Habsburg, btw.

Sorry, historian here, getting my coat. Btw. I thought (or hoped) there was (an undetectable quantity of) Bourbon whisky in Bourbon biscuits....

It is name with unfortunate connotations and you wonder what the parents were thinking when they chose it. But for a supply teacher to laugh is unforgiveable. I went to school with some children with truly unfortunate surnames and no teacher ever sniggered. My teachers were a very mixed bunch indeed, some of them doing stuff that would get them struck off these days, and yet they managed to keep a straight face about names.

Having once taught a Bacardi, I can empathise. But it's never right to giggle or laugh at the child just judge the parents HARD

Bourbon? This is what happens when you give a child a ridiculous name. 🙄

If there were biscuits called Windsor or Tudor and we were in France or Spain, sure it'd be like that.

Unprofessional, yes.

Is it the child's first name or their surname?

The teacher may have been laughing at something else. What proof do you have apart from the story of a pupil? Were you there? Did you see it? Also, whilst we live in a free society with choice, it is up to the parent to provide their child with a serviceable name that will take them from cradle to grave without fuss. We may want to put onto our innocent offspring our delights but they have to live with them. Perhaps we could call our next child Garibaldi?

You give your child a stupid name and then expect everyone to keep a straight face. You have the right to name your child whatever you want, but others don’t have the right to express their opinion about it - is that what you’re asking? How I feel for the child who has parents that thought ‘let’s name her/him (?) Bourbon ... Supply teachers are only human. No it’s not ‘professional’ but maybe they slipped up? Maybe after all the idiotic, alcohol and biscuit related names they’ve heard in class before, this was the moment they could not keep a straight face anymore?(OP I really hope you’re the teacher in this scenario and not the parent who called their child Bourbon. THANK YOU for being a supply teacher, and please don’t beat yourself up about this!)

Is it not after the whisky.

It's like Chardonnay, after the wine

People are thinking biscuits- my first thought was whisky

Oh, do shut up.

Or, if you are the one who giggled, ignore the idiot harassing you about it.

God I would have struggled with that one but yes, it's VERY unprofessional. (Sniggers)

Sometimes I do get patients with such daft names I have to practice saying them out loud so I can keep a straight face when I call them through. I don’t laugh to their faces though!!

Thankfully there is a choice to change a name by Deed Poll. No one is lumbered with a ridiculous name from cradle to grave.

😂 they need to bring back the funny emoji 😂

I know someone who had an aunt called Trilby.

I would be more inclined to blame the parent for naming their child after a modestly priced chocolate biscuit.