While being admitted to Grade One class, parents were told by the Class teacher that the child would be addressed henceforth by her second name instead of her commonly used name.
The parents were shocked and the hapless child protested vehemently but no avail.
The reason for this decision was based on having another child with the same name already in the class registry.
Now the child is registered under her second name which has never been used in any open conversations hitherto, except for documentation purposes only.
The parents are from not so affluent backgrounds and with limited education, hence despite their misgivings had to accept the Class teacher’s decision finally.
No doubt, the child would get used being called another name over the years and without any adverse psychological issues later due to this trauma.
There are a few questions still plague me, after hearing the incident from them recently and the purpose of posting this is to seek answers than ridicule or look down on anyone.
These are the questions and I am sure someone with enough knowledge and expertise will enlighten me and many other like minded readers.
- Has the Class teacher got the authority to change someone’s commonly used name for such a flimsy reason?
- What if the child in question had no second name?
- What sort of psychological issues child would have to encounter and overcome getting used to a totally new identity?
- What sort of action parents can take to correct the situation than giving into the Class teacher’s whims?
