My arms are too small

Today was the first day of teaching a class I'm teaching this Fall.  This course is dramatically different from the one I taught last Fall.  I have 29 students (so far) and have yet to learn all their names in spite of receiving top notch advice from several friends via Facebook...THANK YOU ALL!!!

In fact, I'm going to post them here for easy reference for future classes I teach or in case any of you are in need of strategies.  What great resources we have at our fingertips by sending out a plea via Fb!!

Ok teacher friends, now that most of you have started (or are about to start) a new year: I need advice on how to quickly learn & remember 30+ names. What works for you??

I have an icebreaker activity planned and will learn the names then but I don't think my usual method of having the students make name cards to keep on their desks in front of them for a couple days will work due to the set up of the classroom (I won't be able to see the rows in the back..).

Thanks in advance for sharing your ideas! Happy Back to School Week to you all! — feeling determined.

 

I think of one visual cue to go with each name so heather's last name is (dishware sounding name) so we always called her hearing heather dishware or your hair reminds me of nutmeg so i woould remember you are meg with nut meg hair

 

I print out my faces (blackboard has option to do so for your course), and memorize them!

 

I'm not a teacher, but I am the son of a teacher and a librarian. My suggestion is to have the students sit in alphabetical order at the beginning of the school year.

 

I make a classroom diagram and write their names where they sit. Then when they introduce themselves I write down 2-3 words that will help me remember them.

 

I spend the entire first day (high school class period) letting them do one of those "find someone who..." Worksheets. I spend that time talking to each student. I ask them to tell me something unique about themselves and I make notes. At the end of the period I turn around and ask them to switch seats. And I rattle off their names to their amazement. By the end if the day I have memorized all 140-150 of them.

 

Seating chart - and get to know them. I usually learn all of my students names in about 3 class periods - and that is over 200!

 

I use sticks. Names on one side, nick names on the other. I make a "chart" out of them on the desk and rearrange them frequently.

 

Just when they raise hands to ask a question/say something say "remind me of your name again" "first tell us all your name" and when they say it just repeat it aloud like "thank you bob, and what were you going to say" ... they will stick quicker than you think! and the placards on their desk may not be visible from one point, but if you move around the class a lot they'll still be a help!

 

I don't think any of my professors knew my name, unless I went to them for something! Good for you for even trying! Also, I have no advice...I get the names of the kids mixed up!

 

If there are 20 or so this is ideal. You and everyone else will know each other within 30 minutes. Add an adjective to your name with the same first letter; e.g. Big Bill, Amazing Amanda, Jumpin' Joe... One person starts. The second person has to repeat the first person and add her own name. The third person says both and adds his. Each person repeats every name before them then adds their own. So you hear them all over and over. They are amazed when the last person names everyone. Then we do random order. Works every time!

 

Walk through your house in your mind. Assign a name to each piece of furniture you have as you walk by. Take the same path every time when you call roll and you will have an association of a person with a thing. *Sounds crazy, but it works.

*(Only if you have enough furniture)

 

I have them stay in the same seat for a few days...once I see them in the same spot, I can remember easier.

 

I do something a little similar to what Bill does. We all stand in a circle. Each person must say his or her name and provide dome type of signal. The next person has to repeat the previous person's name and signal and provide one of his or her own. By the time we get to the end, it can get tricky to remember everyone's information, but they all seem.to like it. I've even done it with seniors, but anymore I just use it with my 7th graders.

You should have everyone wear name tags. Its easier!

 

My response to these fantastic responses from my pals:  OH MY WORD!!! You guys are all awesome! I definitely learned a lot from these suggestions/posts and in fact, am compiling them for easy reference in the future!!! THANK YOU so much for being willing to share your ideas!!! I wish I could say I know all 29 of my students after this morning's class but I don't (yet). I went with the trusty old placard idea since I was pleasantly surprised to find out we were in a different classroom than what I expected!! I can't wait to try these strategies out soon though!

 

After teaching this morning, I was starving by the time lunch rolled around but had neglected to pack and bring one today.  So, I dug deep into my bag and found an old bag of Stauffer's animal crackers.  As I tore open the bag and munched on the crackers, bittersweet feelings came over me.  This was the final package of animal crackers that remained from my dissertation proposal defense meeting that was held back in April.  You can see the snacks in the center of the table in this picture.

 

 

I had brought York Peppermint Patties and Stauffer's Animal Crackers for my committee to snack on since both snacks are made in York, PA where I had planned to conduct my dissertation study (cute right?).  I had snapped this picture as I prepared for my defense shortly before my committee members entered the room.  This was before the defense fell apart and the meeting ended so horribly...and to be honest, I've not fully recovered from the defeat I felt during this meeting.  If anything, I've been sinking deeper and deeper into the bottomless pit of worry, anxiety, & fear as I moved along with revisions and currently in data analysis despite the façade of cheerful confidence I strive to put on at school.  The way I feel about the dissertation process right now is a bit like when you walk into a dark room before your eyes have adjusted to the darkness and you tentatively feel your way through the void afraid you're going to stumble but still creeping along bit by bit. 

 

Going back to school to work on my doctorate would be no walk in the park.  It was going to be filled with challenges and pushing myself to be better.  I knew this going into it.  What I wasn't prepared for though were the politics, mind games, and dynamics of working with certain individuals in the context of a committee; particularly of working with clashing personalities and headstrong individuals.  Call me naïve but I wasn't prepared for that at all. 

 

They say you should embrace your cross and struggles with a grateful heart.  Tonight, at dinner, while talking about all of this with a new friend, I was reminded of the story of a saint who was quoted as saying she welcomed hardships and trials since she could "offer it up"....I'm all for suffering (to an extent...what can I say, I'm human!) and have never shied away from hard work or proving wrong others' doubts in me (just ask my parents sometime). 

 

 

But sometimes I just feel like my arms are too small for this darn cross. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yet I know we're not given what we can't handle. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I'm going to keep on trudging on...ironically, as I typed this last sentence, Delilah started playing this song, one that holds a lot of meaning for me.  This is a Godincidence I needed to hear tonight as I return to schoolwork....

 

 

 

 

 

 

In closing, I glanced up and drew inspiration from these little gems I've picked up along the way that are hanging up on my filing cabinet.  Ha!  I knew there was a reason I placed them on that drawer...they are eye level from my primary working spot.  We all need reminders from time to time no?

 

Wow, just now, as I was about to publish this post, Delilah shared these words on the radio: 

If someone is making you feel insecure or inferior.  Don’t listen.  God made you wonderful.  It’s true no one can make you feel that way.  You have to buy into it.  Stop buying into it.  Life’s too short and you have choices.

 

 

Amen...now I just need to believe it!