Father Corrects Teacher’s Pronunciation of Daughter’s Name; School Accuses Him of ‘Questioning Authority’. Is This Ok?

A netizen recently asked, Am I a jerk for correcting my daughter’s teacher about her name? Read on to know what happened and drop your views below!

Backstory: 

OP’s 7-year-old daughter’s been doing virtual school in their living room recently. He heard her teacher address a girl named Kelly a few times, which stuck out to him because his daughter’s class is only about 15 kids and he knows them all by this point in the year. 

A couple of times more and OP realized she was calling his daughter Kelly. OP’s daughter’s name is Keeley, pronounced Kee-Lee. 

After The School Got Over

So after school was over, OP asked her if that had been happening all year in this teacher’s class and she said it had and it really annoyed her.

OP Asked Why

OP asked her why she hadn’t corrected the teacher if it annoyed her so much and she said she had repeatedly at the beginning of the year but the teacher kept calling her Kelly, so eventually she gave up on reminding her. 

What Did OP Do Next?

OP sent the teacher a quick email explaining the misunderstanding but got no response. This teacher teaches a special subject (think music, gym, art, or language), not just one grade level, so OP’s daughter will be in her classes for the next several years, so they couldn’t just wait it out.

What OP Thinks

And OP thinks how moments, like these are handled now will set the stage for how his kid deals with similar situations on her own in the working world.  So, OP encouraged his daughter to come to class early or stay late and tell her again, thinking maybe she hadn’t heard or understood her last time, so a quiet one on one would be better.

Their Last Try

OP’s daughter got to the class early and she told her very politely that her name was “Keeley like really, instead of Kelly like jelly” and that people often get it confused so she just wanted to clarify.

So, class starts and sure enough she gets called Kelly again almost immediately. So there’s only so much self-advocation a seven-year-old can be expected to do. 

What Did OP Do

OP just walked over and said “Hi, this is *Keeley’s* Dad. Her name is not Kelly. It’s Keeley. Hard E. Sorry for any confusion.” 

A Few Hours Later 

A few hours later, OP had an email in his inbox “inviting” him and his wife to a parent-teacher conference with the Vice Principal. 

OP says, “The long and short of the meeting ended up being the school feels that while the teacher probably should’ve learned her name, the real problem is she feels I challenged her authority by correcting her in class and that the names were “similar enough” for it to “not have warranted such drastic action”.” 

That surprised OP. He couldn’t believe a meeting was necessary, let alone that it cast blame on them. 

OP says, “I can’t tell if I’m being that annoying “my kid matters most” parent that my grandmother, the schoolteacher, always complained about or if the teacher should just learn her damn name because that’s a basic part of her job. Am I a jerk?” 

What!? She Feels You Challenged Her Authority?

“Not the jerk. Challenge her authority over YOUR child’s name. She can back right off.” Said one. 

“I bet that’s why the teacher kept calling OP’s daughter Kelly. She thought OP’s daughter was challenging her authority by correcting her in class on the pronunciation lol.” Another added. 

Good For You For Correcting Her

“Not the jerk at all! Good for you for correcting her! Seems like she just couldn’t be bothered to learn the correct way to say her name! And what a pretty name too!”

The Meeting Was Unnecessary 

“I think that meeting was unnecessary and probably was escalated by the teacher. She could have spoken to you directly without the principal. As an educator who teaches kids English from foreign countries, I make it a point to learn their given names even if they informally adopt an English name. 

I teach kids your daughter’s age and it makes them feel valued when I call them by name. Keeley is not a difficult name. And if they say it’s close enough to Kelly then they can definitely learn it quickly.”

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This article was originally published on Mrs Daaku Studio.