When I think about what was going on in their lives at that time it makes sense why they would suggest such a non-Latino name. My cousins were six, eight, and ten when I was born. During the time in elementary school there was no bilingual program or support them as they were learning English-it was “sink or swim”. They spent their time trying to blend in which was not likely based on physical characteristics, but they were able to adapt their personal traits. They only spoke English at school and at home they spoke Spanish, but as the years went on it was hesitant, choppy, and not very well developed. Their parents went as far as adapting their original intend names to make them fit in – Esmeralda was Emily, Samuel was Sam, and Leonardo was Leo. It makes sense that those relatives wanted to help their new cousin out by encouraging my parents to give me name that would allow me blend in and be ready to face the adversities they were currently facing by the time I entered school in five years.
As a pre-service teacher, I had the opportunity to work with wonderful teachers that supported bilingual students and English Learners. They pushed them to excel and held high expectations for all of their students. One of these mentor teachers was the age as one of my cousins and something revealing happened during the first week of school. She asked students all of their names and asked them if they had nicknames or some other name they like to be called. When a student shared that his name was Francisco she shared that she knew what the class would call him – Frankie! Why not some of the common nicknames or shortened versions of this name such as Cisco, Paco, or Franco? It was interesting that she chose a more anglo sounding name. The child was confused and became a bit upset until he declared – my family calls me Pancho! It made her a bit uncomfortable and a bit confused as to why he would rather have that name. She tried to convince him one time, but then stopped when she say it was making him sad. Well, he was called Francisco for the rest of the year. I think like my cousins she meant well and didn’t realize she was making the majority language sounding name feel superior to the minority langue name. However, a few years later he was enrolled in my own classroom. I asked students what they wanted to be called and when I came to Francisco I let him share his preference. He was Pancho the rest of the year! I don’t think he remembered me from a few years before, but he did gave me a huge smile and was satisfied that his name was enough. As educators we must keep in mind that our students have an identity outside of school and we should not ignore it. We should encourage them to use the funds of knowledge they come to us with and help develop & grow without trying to change the essence of who they are. We must also remember that our colleagues might have faced different experiences at school that had a large unconscious impact on their behavior. Fortunately, by the time I went to school I was provided some Spanish support as I acquired English in K-2 and was part of a bilingual program in 3-5. I was fortunate not to feel less than as an ELL felt predominantly championed by my teachers and campuses that I attended. My parents observed what happened with family members and made an extra effort encouraged me to work on my Spanish at home and put practices into place to help me maintain my language and culture. #IKnowMyFullName #ElementaryELs #ELLChat
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A mnemonic is a learning technique that helps students remember information. They can help students make a connection that will allow them to recall information more quickly. In the elementary classrooms I usually see mnemonics as an acronym or phrase to help students remember vocabulary. The following is a common example a mnemonic for students to remember the the name of the planets in order from the shortest distance to the longest distance from the sun. The following are common mnemonics used for division in the mathematics classroom as a way to help students remember how to divide using the standard algorithm.
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