One of my kindergarten students (no, not THAT student) is always eager to point something out to me.
All the students have activity books, colored pencils, “big files” (big binder-like folders with plastic page protectors in them, for keeping pages that they’ve colored and whatnot), and various other items that they keep at school and have had since they began the year with us. When they graduated from scrawling things in colored pencil to learning how to write with real pencils, however, their mothers bought them pencilcases, pencils and erasers, and labeled everything using their English names.
Some time ago, I was walking around, making sure everyone had everything they needed to complete whatever their activity had been, and this student held her pencil up to me and said, “Teacher! No name!”
Sure enough, her pencil had no name.
A few days later, she showed me another pencil that was new. “Teacher! No name!”
From time to time she’ll get a new eraser or new pencils, and every time she’ll eagerly point out to me, “Teacher! No name!”
Almost all the other items of all the other students do have names, however, so it’s not really that big an issue, since I know the ones without a name must belong to her.
It’s interesting to me, though. I wonder if her mother doesn’t have time to write her name on everything, or if she just forgets or doesn’t think about it, or if my student actually likes not having her name on her school supplies so much that she requests it.
It seems almost to be a matter of pride for her to announce, “Teacher! No name!” about a new supply she’s brought.
Maybe someday she’ll be like the Nittany Lions, who pride themselves on their blank helmets.
Lately in my mind I’ve come to think of her as “No-Name Student,” because she tells me that so often, but I hope she knows that I will always know her name.
