When I started this long-term assignment, I noticed his name. Brain.
Students' actual names are not used on this blog, except in rare instances. Today is one of those exceptions. This post isn't about the student, just his name. And it's a fairly common name, so he won't be identified by this post.
Brain? Not Brian?
I mean, I've seen some weird names. I took down the sidebar "Student Name of the Week" last year, but I might reinstate it at some point. (There's still a tab at the top where you can see previous entries.) But for some reason, this one seemed wrong.
I didn't call on him. When he typed his name into the chat, he typed in Brian.
Some of the teachers have them type their name into the chat as a form of attendance. I don't particularly use it, but I don't want them to get out of the habit for those teachers that require it, so I don't discourage it.
According to the official school stuff, his name is Brain. But mistakes can happen, and it's a simple transposition of two letters. (Those of you who have friends named Brian, be careful. It's really easy to accidentally type in Brain, and spellcheck won't catch it as it is a word.)
So, I set this aside in my head, and I did my job.
Thursday. End of third period. The class was logging off.
Sometimes students stick around for a bit to ask a question of me one-on-one. Sometimes they just lag. One boy was about to ask me something when he saw Brain's name on screen.
"Why does Brian's avatar say 'brain'?"
And that's when I knew for certain that it was a typo.
The boy tried to call out to Brian, but he had already logged off.
"I'll text him and ask."
At this point, I don't know who has access to fix it. I assume that Brian noticed the issue before this, so it might be something he can't get fixed. But if he hasn't, at least his friend will let him know.
Although, it took his friend long enough to notice.
Well at least the kid's name isn't really Brain. You just never know these days! I had a brother and sister I registered at the high school where I worked for many years that I'll never forget. The brother's legal first name was Love Me Diego and his sister's first name was Old Witch lol. I'm totally serious!
ReplyDeleteBrain is a great name XD
ReplyDeleteThere are some really unfortunate names around. I'm not sure why parents feel the need to make their kid's name unique - the kid spends a life time having to explain pronunciation and spelling!
ReplyDeleteBrain...what a great avatar.
ReplyDeleteAlas, it's not actually his name, so I'm sure he's annoyed by it.
DeleteMaybe he thinks he is smart enough to be called Brain.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it. He types in Brian. I doubt he has any control over it.
DeleteThat misspelling stood out to me like the proverbial sore thumb. I guess my inner editor never sleeps. It's a struggle not to comment on bloggers' typos.
Delete:P
Be well!
It sticks out for me too, Darla.
DeleteTypos often happen and the poor kid screwed up his name. I would be tempted to call his friend Pinky.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't screw it up. It was input wrong by the school or the district.
DeleteThen there was the bad speller who signed out a basketball at summer camp. "You name is 'Duck'?" I asked. "Duke!!" he snapped, as if it was somehow my mistake.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, it could have been spelled "Duck" but pronounced "Duke". I've had instances where the spelling did not match the sounds that actually made up the name.
DeleteI hope he will be able to fix it... But the brain (the actual one) doesn't really read all the letters in a word, so maybe this kid and you were the only ones to notice!
ReplyDeleteThere are strange names. Usually, one wouldn't wonder if it's a typo, like this one!
ReplyDeleteIn India, there is a surname Hegde. I have seen it misspelt as Hedge.