Teaching: the Small Stuff that Matters #5: Names

I must confess: I'm pretty terrible at remembering names and it's probably my greatest weakness as a teacher.  However, it really is possible to compensate for this (somewhat).  The solution is that I require my students to have name-tags on their desk.  Basically, just an A4 paper folded into a standing triangle.  I tell the students they can use their English name, or Korean name; it's up to them.  I introduce the idea by telling a joke about how I'm getting old and my memory isn't what it used to be.  I like the name-tag idea for 2 reasons:

1. It's far friendlier to use a name, then to say, "Hey! You!" if you want to ask someone a question or something.

2. It actually helps you remember the names because you have many chances to put names/faces together (every class basically).

Perhaps it's time that I check out something like this.  Summer reading? How To REMEMBER PEOPLE'S NAMES

And of course, come check out  my presentation on Saturday!