“My Name Holds My Identity”: Honoring Student Names in the Classroom
Open Access
Author:
Losco, Sarah
Area of Honors:
Secondary Education
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Michelle Renee Knotts, Thesis Supervisor Michelle Renee Knotts, Thesis Honors Advisor Charlotte L Land, Faculty Reader
Keywords:
names secondary education education ELA English Language Arts English Language Learners
Abstract:
Everyone bears at least one name, and that name is tied tightly to our sense of personhood and identity. Though perhaps a seldom studied subject, names are intimate and important. Through the process of teacher inquiry, observations in my practice led me to ask questions about the way that we as teachers honor student names in our classrooms and how students feel about their names as a part of their identity. In this inquiry, I implemented curricular interventions that blended the topic of names into the existing curriculum in English Language Learner and Creative Writing contexts, and I also interviewed two teachers to receive insight into their opinions and practices regarding learning and using student names.
