Remembering old students' names

briteach · **Remembering old students' names** 10-29-2009, 10:51 AM

I feel awful. This is my 4th year of teaching, so I'm fairly a newbie. I have loved all my classes and love all my kids so much. But, my project today is going through my old pictures. I love organizing pictures, etc, and am getting into the Picasa program where you can tag faces in photos. Well, all these old student faces are popping up for me to tag...and I DON"T REMEMBER THEIR NAMES! I'm TERRIBLE!!! I remember a lot of first names, but last names....I feel so bad! I switched schools two years ago, so I don't see them anymore at all. Don't think I'm terrible. I feel terrible. Alright, time for me to trudge through old paperwork and see if I can come up with some names!

senior42 · 10-29-2009, 03:13 PM

school annual and group picture solves this for me. After 28 years I can't remember names at all!

Ellie's Mom · **Remembering Names** 10-30-2009, 07:09 PM

I taught in one particular school for nine years and had accumulated a lot of pictures. Twenty years later ( in a different school) I was going through old albums and sorted the pictures by family. The old school was having their parish picnic so I went and gave the pictures to family members. I remembered their names, each and every one. It's a blessing and a curse. The curse comes in when one eludes me and I can't rest until I think of it. Today, two of the parents helping with Halloween were former students. I have their children sitting in the same seats the parents sat in. But ask me to tell you a phone number, no clue. I have to look at the number in the book 3 times before I can get it dialed.

sky22 · **names** 10-30-2009, 07:15 PM

I'm the same as Ellie's Mom. I remember names even after 30 years, but numbers just do not stick. Someone can tell me a number quote or I can read it, and all I'll remember is that it had a 5 in it- whether it was 500, 5000, or 50,000 I have to really work to remember, checking and rechecking.

Ellie's Mom · **Kindred Soul** 10-30-2009, 07:18 PM

I'm glad I'm not the only one, Sky.

UKMOM · **I need a litttle help...** 10-30-2009, 08:19 PM

The "name game" happened to me just today. I was going through the drive-through at KFC after work today. When I got to the window the "girl" said, "I see you're still teaching". I still had my lanyard on. I looked at her and then her name tag. If the first name had not been there to help me, I would have never guessed. She said, it's been awhile, 1982. The last name just came easily. I don't know how...

Ellie's Mom · **Trick or Treater** 10-31-2009, 07:46 PM

Just tonight I opened my door to some trick-or-treaters. The mom stayed down on the sidewalk. I gave the cute little munchkins their candy and then heard a squeal. Neither child had made the sound so I looked at the mom. Sure enough, one of my former students who had moved to my city. And, yes, I remembered her name.