As I think back over my years of teaching, I really regret not keeping a journal to chronicle the funny things that happened to me as a teacher – either with students, administration or parents because there were SO many stories that I have forgotten most of them.
However, this one in particular, sticks with me and often pops up as a memory.
I was teaching a grade 8 class and, for some reason, we were talking about women hyphenating their name(s) when they got married rather than just taking their husband’s name and dropping their maiden name.
There were two boys actively interested in the conversation – ** Darcy Cox and Stephen Benger. One of them asked me to give an example to clarify what I was talking about.
The following is the explanation that I gave to the class:
“Well Stephen, if your sister, Sally, married Darcy, her name would be….
SALLY BENGER COX.
Do you need a moment? Read it again out loud!
Let me tell you, the grade 8 boys did NOT need a minute. They started laughing right away! How random that I chose those 2 boys and put their names in that order to be hyphenated.
It obviously left an impression on Stephen as well because in his valedictory address at the end of the year and in a card that he gave me, he mentioned how he would never forget Sally Benger Cox!
Lesson? This is simply a good old case of THINK BEFORE YOU TALK!
** Normally I would not use a student’s name in a story but in this case, the names are important and I am not relaying something that the student did but rather a mistake that I made! If these boys (now men) ever come across this blog, I am sure they won’t mind.
Life with Clark and Coco 