JsMum Report post Posted September 12, 2009 Just read this and cant believe that all a teacher has to do now is hear a name and they make a judgement on thier behaviour, or compair it to a previous child of the same name, and if they were naugty they assume this child will be. Have a read what do you think, do we really make a judement on someone just by a name, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8243684.stm JsMum Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NobbyNobbs Report post Posted September 12, 2009 i suspect most people do this with the more unusual names anyway. i know as foster carers we get comments of surprise when we have children with very middle class names, and negative comments when we have a child with a name typically associated with working class families. i think its probably more of a judgement on the parents than the child, but i do have to say percentage-wise we do get rather more kids in care with certain names. i think this is more a class issue than anything else. if you look at the lists the 'bad' list are names more common within working class families, while the 'good' list are names used almost exclusively within the middle and upper classes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted September 13, 2009 My boy's name is amongst those! Have to admit, it wasn't just the AS, he was very, err, mischievous! Seriously though its a bit worrying that some kids can be damned simply because of their parents choice of name. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted September 13, 2009 (edited) Interesting how many 'C's' in that list... 2/3rds - It's gotta mean something. I also think the spelling can be a bit of a giveaway - when a parent has named their child with a fashunabel sellebrities name but not notissed despite having red it 4 miilyan times in 'take a break' how it is spellt. As an example, Chanel (another 'C') Spelled channel... And now that goes full circle by having 'celebrities' (think big brother housemates and other c and d listers) who have mispelled variations themselves who inspire a whole round of 'correctly mispelled' variations. Apologies to any Chanel/Channel/Channelles out there or any Shawns, Tracies or Collins. I'm sure none of the horrible judgements I'm pretending to make apply to any of you. Neve's are exempt - what the hell is 'Naimh' all about, anyway? Oh - another thought: I wonder how highly the listed names would rank on a compilation of the most common names heard on the Jeremy Kyle show? Oh - just noticed the name of the 'spokesman said' for the research group: Faye Mingo... I'm saying nothing... Edited September 13, 2009 by baddad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted September 13, 2009 My boy's name is amongst those! Have to admit, it wasn't just the AS, he was very, err, mischievous! Ah, but your son was named before that name became common, so probably wasn't exposed to the current stereotypes about it while he was at school. Niamh is an Irish name and is spelt in the traditional Irish way. Anglicising foreign names is just lazy in my opinion. I once new a little Irish girl called Sadhbh (Sive). ANyway, I do think that we make prejudgements about people based on all kinds of things we hear about them before we met them. If you heard that someone was a train spotter or an actress, you would make judgements about their personality before you met them. It's only natural. I just hope that teachers are professional enough to not let their prejudgements affect the way they treat children until they actually learn about their individual personalities . . . I think they probably are! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted September 13, 2009 Ah, but your son was named before that name became common, so probably wasn't exposed to the current stereotypes about it while he was at school. *nods* you are right, they all came along in droves after him so I am seriously peed off ... wouldn't mind but he was named after his great uncle. Best name I found in our local rag's 'Camera Cuties' comp this year - Daytona Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted September 13, 2009 When I had my first job in a girls' convent school I had to contend with lots of Irish names like Niamh, Sinead and Grainne. (very pretty they were too, once I had learned to pronounce them. I wondered why no one answered me the first time I called the register.. ). No names can possibly be as bizarre as those which celebrities foist upon their children. I wonder what teachers would do if, Princess Tiaamii, Tiger Lily, Apple, Blanket or Prince Michael turned up in their class? I thought I had done well with my children's names, but my daughter has now changed hers. Mind you, I've always hated mine too. K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted September 13, 2009 Best name I found in our local rag's 'Camera Cuties' comp this year - Daytona Probably named after the place of her conception a'la Brooklyn idiot Beckham... How many poor little sprogs are likely to get tarred with 'behind the bus shelter' or 'in Tesco's Metro car park' if that becomes the norm? Kathryn - totally agree about trad oirish names - lovely If Ben had come out with the other kind of bits he was going to be Briony Maya... Briony has always been a fave of mine for girls and Maya is Polynesian for 'little flower'. Not so keen on it now though, as a couple of years later it went from being really obscure to, erm, not so obscure... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
call me jaded Report post Posted September 13, 2009 Neve's are exempt - what the hell is 'Naimh' all about, anyway? I plead guilty as charged on making judgements on names. There were always 2 and sometime 3 of us with my name in every class I was in. That's what I call 'common'. My parents thought they were being modern and progressive, along with the rest of the world. On similar lines to above, DD's friend's big sis is 'Shivonne'. lol every time I think of it. The girl is 15 and it sums up aspects of the '90s perfectly for me, when the best of us dumbed down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baddad Report post Posted September 14, 2009 Had a few further thoughts on 'Daytona' and other named-after-the-place-conceived names... According to the Tourist Board credit crunch Brits have stayed at home in droves for their annual holidays this year, which could mean a big reduction in the numbers of Daytona's, Brooklyns and Lourdes we see. But, oh God, pity the poor children due in April/May next year who are gonna get stuck with handles like 'Shanklyn' and 'Selsey' and'Whistable' and (shudder) 'Skegness'... My heart really bleeds for the poor little boys who get dubbed 'Littlehampton' and the girls whose parents holidayed in either the Breckland or Plymouth 'Hoes' Jeremy Kyle is licking his lips in... ... anticipation Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NobbyNobbs Report post Posted September 14, 2009 now that i think about it one of the first questions we ask when we're offered a foster placement is 'and what are they called?' purely because we can get some interesting ones and we are generally right in our assumptions from that. sadly i can't share the most unusual as thats going through court but apart from that we've had 2 Chanels, Angel, 2 Caitlin/Kaitlins (in a row too!), Jade, Declan, Chloe, Damien, Kieran, Bailey, Gracie, Leanne, Lewis... a reasonably nice mix and not a silly spelling in sight. ni had a friend in secondary called shardae after the singer sade, but growing up where i did that was about the extent of it... mostly Alex, Hannah and so on.. i did have one class with 5 Alexs, 3 marks and 2 hannahs Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pearl Report post Posted September 14, 2009 There was a boy in our paper tonight called Shyann Poor, poor kid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted September 14, 2009 My son was at primary school with a girl called Sian. Pronounced "See - anne" rather than "Sharn", would you believe. K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daisydot Report post Posted September 15, 2009 This good name bad name thingy is not new. One of my colleagues (who is a teacher) has been telling me about these lists of names for years. My son is on the bad list and his best friend is one of the "C" names near the top. My colleague who is into this good name/bad name stuff tells me that my son's name can go either way, as can certain names like William and Jack. I dont agree with Alexander being a good name - I know a couple of Alexanders who are right little wotzits. My son asked me a few weeks ago if he could change his name to Bart ! Wonder where that comes on the list. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS_Teacher Report post Posted September 15, 2009 There really isn't anything in this at all ... teachers judge children based on what they say and do, not by their names! The article in question was put up on our staffroom wall but as a joke - there's absolutely no way any teacher would be so inept as to make any lasting judgement of a child based on their name! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daisydot Report post Posted September 15, 2009 I beg to differ and could show you several teachers who would quite happily make those judgements and have done for many years. I dont personally agree with the article but there are definitely those who do - and no joke. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kathryn Report post Posted September 15, 2009 I think names do evoke subconscious feelings which are highly subjective depending on first encounters with people who have that name. For years I hated a particular boy's name because a classmate with that name gave me a difficult time when I was 7. Among other heinous crimes, he stole my pencil and carved his own name on it. I vowed never to forgive him. But I ended up marrying someone with that name - many years later, so I was obviously over it by then. I agree with your post above AS Teacher. I'm sure (I hope!) the article wasn't meant to be taken too seriously. Welcome, by the way. K x Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS_Teacher Report post Posted September 15, 2009 I beg to differ and could show you several teachers who would quite happily make those judgements and have done for many years. I dont personally agree with the article but there are definitely those who do - and no joke.In ten years of teaching SEN children I've never seen it myself ... that's not to say that it doesn't go on at all though. And yes there are some really bizarre names out there. I once had a child whose whole first name was that of a well-known Hollywood actress. I asked about it at parents evening and her mum seemed slightly embarassed and said that her husband was a big fan! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tally Report post Posted September 15, 2009 There really isn't anything in this at all ... teachers judge children based on what they say and do, not by their names! The article in question was put up on our staffroom wall but as a joke - there's absolutely no way any teacher would be so inept as to make any lasting judgement of a child based on their name! But people do make judgements about people based on very little information, and then revise them as they get to know a person. It is something people do not like to admit to because it is seen as judgemental, but it is precisely this skill that enables people to make judgements about who to trust, and which autistic people lack (because they misinterpret body language, etc). Teachers' training, although thorough, does not make them immune to normal human responses as far as I am aware. However, I also think that most teachers are professional enough not to let these preconceptions affect their treatment of pupils. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AS_Teacher Report post Posted September 15, 2009 Of course Tally you are 100% correct there - what I meant was that after something like 5 to 10 seconds in a child's company, any judgements which might previously have been made based on their name would now be based on what they were saying or doing. There is something to be had for connotations based on labelling though - people like Braham Norwich have done some very interesting research into the different and frequently wide-ranging views of professionals (ie teachers, Ed Psychs, SALTs, OTs etc etc) of labels such as autism ... there is certainly some substance in that particular issue! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sally44 Report post Posted September 17, 2009 I did a psychology project on 'the attractiveness of individuals based on their name'. That got surprising results. The same pictures of the same 7 men were rated differently by the general public depending on the name I had given them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites