Each year, educators–including teachers; school counselors; administrators—and anyone else working in a school—will interact with and–in varying degrees—be responsible for teaching; serving; and protecting dozens, hundreds, or thousands of students each and every day. What is more, each of these students has an individual name; story; skillset; and mix of differing talents, abilities, resources, dreams and desires, and, potentially, challenges in their daily lives.

Speaking as a school counselor, most folks in this role usually have anywhere from two or three hundred (on the low-end) all the way up to seven hundred (or more!) students on their caseload—and that’s definitely a lot of names to learn! On top of that—unlike classroom teachers—school counselors do not typically get to see most of their students every day. In some instances, even, school counselors may only see some of their students only a handful of times in a school year. Which is why I want to argue that it’s even more important to learn (and use) the names of your students as quickly as possible. With that in mind, let’s look at five great reasons for learning students’ names.

1. Show Respect (and Honor):

Every individual name has a story–if not significance–behind it. Maybe it’s culturally or ethnically-significant; or maybe a name is in honor of a loved one or person of significance—but whatever it is, all names have stories behind them (even if it’s just that the one’s bestowing the name thought it sounded nice or fitting to the individual being named). Because a name is something that individualizes each of us, it is worth celebrating that unique distinction with all-due honor and respect for each person by using their given (or preferred) name in the presence of each individual student.

2. Build a Connection:

When someone calls you by your name—in the absence of not using your name or calling you by a generic name—don’t you feel more heard; valued; appreciated; and understood? Just like with bestowing honor and respect, when you call a student by their name, they also feel heard; valued; appreciated; validated—and known. That is powerful; that is important–and it’s one of the very best ways to build a connection with each individual student. Again, for some of us educators, we may not get to see each of our students every day (or even every week), so if you are an educator who knows your students’ names, it goes without saying that this is a game-changing way of having many of your students feel that you know them better and that you care more about them. Take advantage of this powerful tool and opportunity.

3.  Show That You Care (and That Each Student Is Worthy of Your Time and Effort):

In life, we all value and appreciate effort, don’t we? Students are the same. Even if you have only seen or interacted with a student a small handful of times, simply by learning (and using) their name, they almost always feel like they are more known by you. Effort shows that we care; that we are thoughtful; that we will make that extra push to individualize each student (and to see them as their own unique person). Students can see that (and appreciate that). These young people will know that you do not see them as just another child or adolescent—or student number—but you see them (and appreciate them) as a unique individual unlike any other person in the entire world–talk about influence!

4. Names Encourage Students to Reach Out Sooner:

Because you are learning (and using) student names as quickly and as much as you can, don’t be surprised if you build quicker connections with students (and also that many of those same students will probably reach out more sooner for your help; guidance; and encouragement). A student that feels known and respected by trusted educators will always be more eager to reach out to people like yourself because they feel like they are understood; appreciated; valued; and known–individually. What is more, I believe that every single student—in every single school—deserves to have at least one trusted adult in their school that they can go to in their times of need. Why not be one of those trusted adults to a student that is having a hard time connecting with other peers or staff members? You may really be able to make a huge difference—one life at a time!

5. Use Names Generously:

Finally, I like to use names generously for several reasons. One: It is great practice (the more I use a student’s name in their presence, the more that it becomes muscle-memory—same for things like communicating via email, for instance). Two: When conversing with a student, it helps keeps that connection built throughout the conversation or interaction–if I am addressing them by their preferred name throughout our time conversing and working together. Three: Similar to the first reason, if it is a student name that I am not familiar with, or are having a little bit of difficulty pronouncing, it’s extra practice for me, and shows students that I am making that extra effort to try to correctly pronounce their name (instead of just not saying their name at all in our conversations; again, think honor and respect).

Bonus:

Having difficulty recalling a student’s name? Try my insider hack: If you are meeting with a student but don’t recall their name, in that moment, ask them what their current (or previous) class was—along with the teacher’s name. Then pull up the class roster on the SIS program that your school uses; scan the class roster list for the student’s name, and, ninety-five out of one hundred times, you’ll be able to figure out which student it is. Guess wrong? No problem, it’s a way to acknowledge humility to students and to practice some more! Might a couple or few students catch on to this ingenious hack? Sure. But most won’t even know that you didn’t know (or recall) their name in the moment—they may just believe that it only took you a minute or two to remember!