Do your students know that you know their names?

Photo credit: designscollage.com

I recently listened to a scintillating presentation from Dr. Russ Quaglia, of the Qualia Institute. In his work on student aspirations, Qualia and his people survey students and educators around the world about perceptions of one another, among other important interpersonal items.

During a lecture, Quaglia announced that 50 percent of respondents nationwide say that their teachers don't know their names. Would you ever have guessed this to be true? Even if you see 150 students daily, you certainly know all of their names a couple of weeks into the school year, don't you?

"How often do you call every student by name?" Quaglia inquired, allowing the question's impact to settle for several seconds, before continuing. If a week passes, Quaglia continued, and you don't say a student's name, wouldn't she wonder if you know it?

I try to say every student's name daily, but I'm sure there are days that I fail to do so. Would all of my 112 students answer that question the way I want?

What about yours?