Name Magnet

"Do you carry that with you all the time?"

A few years ago, I realized that just about all the classrooms in my district had dry erase boards, and most of the dry erase boards were magnetic.  That's when I came up with the idea of a name magnet.

It's a simple thing.  I got magnetic backed paper from the office supply store.  On my computer in word processing software, I formatted a document in landscape, and I typed my name.  I made it large. I also made it pretty--I used color and fun fonts.  As an afterthought, I added a pronunciation key underneath.

A sheet of paper was way too huge for the task, but half a sheet was the perfect size.  In all, I made four name magnets that day.  I rotate them, depending upon my mood.

It seemed like a good idea.  I have to put my name on the board daily...  (Well, I don't have to.  I sometimes forget, and yet the students still call me by name.  But not every class knows me, and some students like to refer to the name on the board, so I usually put it up.)

I didn't realize that the name magnet would turn into such a conversation piece.  I get all sorts of interesting questions about it.  Many students decide that they want to make one for themselves.  Sometimes I get the random student who wants to touch it and verify that it is indeed a magnet.

And then there are the students who are amazed that I would carry such a thing with me to school every day.

I don't understand the question.  These are not large or heavy things.  My bottle of water weighs more.  I carry a bag with me to school anyway, and the magnets don't take up that much room.

My answer to the question is yes, I do carry it with me every day.  Then I shrug.  And I walk away.

I quickly move on to more important matters, like the assignment for the day.