After many Goodwill attempts, had to order a few uniform jacket/cardigans for my sweatshirt-loving 6th grader to wear in class this fall. The one she liked offered embroidery for $8 extra.

A consistent source of anger throughout elementary school was random teachers calling her by the name of a similarly melonated girl in her grade. I was with her once when it happened. Having a mom who teaches on the same campus wasn't even enough to give her her own identity.

I jokingly told her about the show Laverne and Shirley and suggested we make her a big K to wear. So when the embroidery opportunity presented itself, I asked if she was interested and she jumped on it.

As a white teacher, I can more easily identify and differentiate white faces. When I confuse names of minority students, it communicates that they are interchangeable and it's not worth my time to know something that's central to their identity.