As instructors, we’re striving to establish inclusive classrooms where students feel like they belong and are able to safely bring their whole selves to learning. 

We can facilitate this by using students’ correct pronouns and learning to pronounce their names the right way.

We can help establish that we value these identifiers the first day of class. When you introduce yourself, include your pronouns and a quick pronunciation guide for your name. For example, “I’m Liz Hajek, kind of like “hey, jack”, and my pronouns are she, her, hers.” (If you don’t have reason to introduce yourself regularly and it feels weird to you, just practice a bit! It will start to feel natural.)

In Canvas, we can update our profiles to include pronouns: https://pennstate.service-now.com/sp?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0016421&sys_kb_id=f55bc7371bf72c9013b599ba234bcbf2&spa=1

For more information on pronouns, visit the resources at the PSU Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity:

• https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/csgd/transgender-and-non-binary-penn-state
• https://studentaffairs.psu.edu/csgd/explore-lgbtq-resources/identity-based/pronouns

Our PSU colleague Dr. Laura Guertin has a nice summary of why pronunciation is important for establishing inclusion and belonging in the classroom: https://blogs.agu.org/geoedtrek/2019/08/25/pronounce-names/

You can look for pronunciation guides online (resources like this guide for pronouncing Chinese names can be very helpful: https://oluxiwen.github.io/pronouncing-chinese-names-guide/), but it’s probably most helpful to find ways of directly connecting with people about how they pronounce their name and work with them to learn it. Here are a few resources to check out for more information:

UMASS Name Pronunciation Recommendations: https://www.umass.edu/studentsuccess/educator/namepronunciation