Would It Be Annoying If I Asked the Teacher To...

Does the teacher even know she has a Chinese name?
I would just ask, very politely. She may not even now.

My daughter has a Spanish name for Spanish class, except the teacher is the swim coach so knows my daughter out of class better, and can't remember to use the Spanish name. SHe's in HS though.

I don't think so at all. I would just explain to the teacher about the other name and hopefully she wont have a problem with it.

Does the teacher know that she already has a chinese name? If not, that is probably why she gave her one. I would definitely tell the teacher of her given name and request she use that in class.

Before you do this, ask your daughter what she would like to do. She may enjoy having a special name at school like ALL of her classmates..

Changing the names in a foreign language school or class is usually part of the curriculum.. the children do not get confused..

Never underestimate or assume what your child will want to do in these situations.. Always follow her lead by asking her before you go above her head in these situations.

I think the teacher would LOVE to call your daughter by her real Chinese name. I'm sure she didn't know about it, but would be quite happy to honor your (very reasonable & beautiful) request.

If your daughter is in a Chinese Immersion program, I am willing to bet you will not be the first parent to bring this question up to her. Why not talk to her about it and see what she says? I'd imagine she has some experience in this area, right?

:)

I would ask. I bet the teacher would think that was special and be happy to use it.

I think the teacher has no way of knowing which children are adopted, let alone if they are Chinese born versus a second generation Asian American who was given a western name at birth, for instance. I wouldn't take it too personally she didn't think to ask if she had a real name. She probably felt that would be an insult too if she was uncertain of which Asian heritage your daughter or any other student is. So a blanket name is what she got.

With that said, there is nothing wrong with explaining your feelings to the teacher and asking that your daughter's real name be used. Hopefully, being a teacher in a program that is teaching children to respect and enjoy the beauty of another culture would be open to using your child's real name. She may invite your daughter to talk about her homeland if she remembers it. This could turn out to be an even more fulfilling experience for your daughter, so why not?

The teacher probably didn't know. I can't imagine any teacher not wanting her to use her real Chinese name.

I had a Chinese professor for one of my IT classes. She taught us our names in Chinese and we had to make our name plate with both American and Chinese. She asked all the Chinese students would they prefer to use their American or Chinese name. I think it is normal to use either, like I said I really don't know she knows she has one that is used.

I would either politely discusss with the teacher or send a quick email. Just tell her "Suzy told us her new Chinese name is XXX. Since she already has a Chinese name, would it be possible that she use that in class so as to be consistent?"

Makes perfect sense to me. When I was in Spanish class, they gave us all the Spanish version of our American names. In my case, L. doesn't translate well so they used my middle name...of course, the teacher kept confusing me with another girl in a different class so she and I were called two names.

I would definitely talk with the teacher. She probably did not know of her real Chinese name. Calling is the logical thing to do. It would not be offensive and you'd not be one of those parents making special requests.

I want to clarify that is it very OK to be one of those parents. Learning is a team effort between the teacher and parents. Never hesitate to talk with the teacher.

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It is just for class. Not her real name.
Many language schools, do this.
My kids learn Japanese, Mandarin and Hawaiian at school. They have 'names' in CLASS, for the language.

Just ask the Teacher. If it seems redundant to you and lacks reason.
Ask in a nice way.
But, then your daughter will be the only one, presuming she is the only Chinese child in class, with her own name?

Since she has a name in the language being spoken/taught, and knows the translation and all that, I think it'd be neat to incorporate it. I certainly wouldn't have a problem with that as the teacher! (I didn't teach elementary, but I did teach preschool and would love interesting little things from home to go with what I'm teaching......an involved parent is not a bad thing, especially if they're assisting with what I was trying to teach). I was also a youth minister, who involved the parents in our lessons and what we were working on.

No. If your daughter already has a Chinese name, tell the teacher you would like her to call her by her actual Chinese name instead of a made up name by her teacher. I can understand if your daughter didn't have one. Tell the teacher to use your daughter's actual Chinese name.

Id think its a reasonable request, and the teacher may think its wonderful to know she has a real name from her orphanage, but Id also ask your daughter. She may want to go along with all the other kids and get a pretend name and have fun with it.

I would totally ask; how fun would that be to incorporate into teaching/learning!!

My daughter is in the Spanish Immersion program... now I've got to ask her if they chose names as well ;)

I bet the teacher not only says 'yes', but welcomes it :)

Just ask, she may not even realize your daughter has a name already. It certainly isn't a huge favor at all and you shouldn't feel like you are putting the teacher out. My little bro is adopted from Korea, I so wish he had an opportunity like this!

I would clue the teacher in. Since your child has a Chinese heritage, it might be nice of her to know that and utilize a name that is already meaningful. I don't think it's annoying at all. Your child might still want to use the "class name" (I was Angelique in French Class) but I think letting the teacher know is not an annoying parent thing. In fact, it might be helpful to share the experiences you had in China before your daughter came home with you as part of the class.

Ask. I agree with you totally and used to teach K with a Spanish emphasis. The ONE time I had an actual hispanic girl, her M. wanted to use the grandma's name which I gladly did.

I think it's fine to make this request. The teacher probably has no idea that your daughter already has a Chinese name. I think you should let the teacher know and I think that the teacher should use this name :)

Definitely tell the teacher to call your daughter by her Chinese name!!! The teacher won't mind AT ALL!!

i am a teacher and i think it's a reasonable request. it will also reinforce part of her identity in a more profound way. let us know what happens.

I think it would make sense to use her 'real' Chinese name. I'd ask. The teacher may not know she already has one :)

I would tell the teacher. Maybe they didn't know she already had one. Its not buggin her with a silly issue, the name she has means something to you and her and should be used

Of course! The teacher is probably completely unaware that your daughter even knows her "real" Chinese name, right?

I don't think it is bad bad request to make.

Not annoying. DO IT! Granted, she's 5. When you drop her off or pick her up, go with her to the teacher and let her tell the teacher "Hi Teacher. Do you know my name is Jane but in class you call me ABC? Well my mommy and daddy said that when I was born in China, my Real Chinese name was Pleasant Breeze. Do you think we can call me Pleasant Breeze instead of ABC? I like PBreeze better. That or Jane. " Noone will say no to a little kid, esp if she has such a story, such a history. You are right that it is kind of silly, but in the brain of a 5 yr old, her name is ABC at school and that's what kids call her. Too bad the teacher didn't ask you about that before she assigned your daughter a name for class. That would have been very simple for her to do if indeed she knew that your daughter was adopted from China and quite possibly has/had a Chinese name.

I think you would be wrong not to let the teacher know what her chinese name is. It is part of her and her heritage and think it would be great for her to use it. I hope the teacher has enough vision to see the benifits of this.

I think it would be okay to mention it to her.

I would ask. Actually, I would insist. Your child has a Chinese name, most children probably do not. She should use it, and not a made-up name. It should be a simple matter of informing the teacher. Any normal, good teacher would go with it without a sweat. Remember, the teacher can't read minds. Just politely tell her. Just because a parent interacts with the teacher over issues doesn't make the parent "one of those" parents. :) She's your child, not the teacher's.

I definitely think you can do it. Just make sure you approach it correctly - with an open mind and a light tone. I can't see any reason why she wouldn't agree to it.

I'd ask in a very sweet, nonthreatening, helpful sort of way. You're the mom and this is an unusual situation - not just a classroom game. Your daughter's identity is involved.

I wouldn't think it would be annoying at all. I'd probably feel the same way as you as wanting to do it.

Absolutely not offensive - it is her name. Why give her a made up name when she already has one. My daughter is XiaoChun (little springtime) and we call her by her Chinese all the time, even though she also has an American name.

In the teacher's shoes, I would not be at all bothered and would not consider it silly but a good chance to incorporate reality into the classroom. What a neat teaching opportunity it presents! If you present it exactly like you did here, I don't see why any teacher would have a problem with it.

I would bring it to the teacher's attention - is it possible that she really didn't know that she already had a real Chinese name? I can't imagine the teacher would be annoyed by this, given your daughter's background - I would just let her know in case she didn't know already.

Can't hurt to mention it. I can't imagine a teacher not using a real Chinese name if she knew there was one.

Just communicate with the teacher in a very non confrontational way.

It's my guess the teacher didn't know she had her own Chinese name.
Just talk to her about it.

That would absolutely not be an annoying request, I think it would be a very appropriate request. I also hope you kept her name as part of her legal name...maybe as a middle name? If not, it'd be worth it to consider adding it...you stress the importance of this, so truly make that step if you haven't already kept it in some way that will be lasting.

But yes, I would say exactly what you said to us, to the teacher. I am so sure she'd agree with you.

That is a totally reasonable request.

I notice you said you gave her another name? Many of my Chinese friends went by their American names as opposed to their given Chinese names. With that being said, is it possible the teacher did not know your child already has a Chinese name? Perhaps she didn't want to 'assume'...in any event, she will probably be thrilled to know your child's special name! =o)