Mom stands up to high school teacher who wouldn't call her daughter by her proper name

In the world of everyday parenting challenges, u/Sudden-Difference767 faced a unique dilemma with her 14-year-old daughter, Alexandra. Alexandra has always disliked any nickname or abbreviation of her name, a preference that began when she was around 10. She insists on being called "Alexandra" and gets upset if anyone calls her "Lexi," "Alex," or any other variation.

Things took an interesting turn when Alexandra began learning Spanish in middle school. Her Spanish teacher used the Spanish versions of students' names if they had them. When the teacher called her "Alejandra," Alexandra immediately corrected her, and the teacher respected her preference. This continued smoothly for three years, as she had the same teacher. However, high school brought new challenges.

In high school, Alexandra encountered a new Spanish teacher with a different approach. This teacher insisted on using the Spanish versions of students' names. When she called Alexandra "Alejandra," Alexandra corrected her, but unlike before, the teacher ignored her request.

She went home feeling pretty down about it and spilled the beans to her mom. Her mom is not someone who fires off emails to teachers. This situation, however, was different. She couldn't stand by and watch her daughter's name be disregarded in such a way. Moreover, the new teacher wasn't Hispanic, eliminating pronunciation issues from the equation. This teacher's argument was that if these kids ever found themselves in a Spanish-speaking country, they'd be called by their Spanish names. The mother wrote, "I found this excuse a little weak as the middle school Spanish teacher actually was Hispanic who had come here from a Spanish-speaking country and she respected Alexandra’s wishes."

The disagreement escalated into a standoff, with the mom questioning why it was so difficult for the teacher to respect her daughter’s wish to be called "Alexandra" instead of "Alejandra." Agreeing with her, u/MercuryRising92 added, "The teacher's reasoning was off. If I went to a foreign country and told them my name was Anthony and they started calling me Antonio, I tell them it was Anthony and that's what they'd call me."

After some back-and-forth, the teacher eventually gave in, agreeing to use Alexandra's preferred name. However, u/Incredible-Fella chimed in with a dose of skepticism, saying, "I might be a bit worried that the teacher would take revenge', or be unfair to my kid because of all this. That might be a reason to just suck it up. Hopefully, this isn't the case tho." This story gave us a glimpse into a modern-day parenting dilemma where identity and language education intersect. While opinions do vary, the consensus is that it's essential to respect individuals' choices when it comes to their names and identities.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on September 27, 2023. It has since been updated.