Name Calling in the Classroom
Written by: Samira Haleemzai
When children go to school for the first time, they don’t know each other but after a few days, they would get acquainted with them by their names and some of them become close friends. Sometimes some of these friends call each other by bad names and it might cause some problems.
AEPO’s writer/producer has talked to some students about this issue.
Mursal, a resident of Kunar province says: “My weight is a little bit more than normal range and some of my classmates call me fat and it badly affects me. I cry and don’t want to talk to them.”
Sahar, another resident of Kunar province says: “My classmates imitate my walking and they say that I walk like an old woman and they call me old woman and it annoys as much as I could not concentrate on my school lessons.”
A psychologist, Professor Munir Nisar says: “When someone badly names her/his classmate, she/he causes to darken the intimate atmosphere of the classroom. The one who suffers from her/his bad name, she/he might lose her/his self-confidence and tries to find a way to hurt her/his friends and if they do not prevent name-calling in the classroom, she/he might also call others in bad names.”
What do students think about the causes of name-calling in the classroom?
Zenab, a tenth-grade student of one the schools in Laghman province says: “Many girls name their classmates for making fun but they do not know that how much this action badly affects the girls’ psychiatry.”
Muska, an eleventh-grade student of Paktia province says: “When we have more than one student by the same name in our class, to differentiate one from another, we change their names in class.”
How could students solve this issue?
Ghazal, a sixth-grade student, a resident of Takhar province, says: “My all classmates are strong and tall but I am smaller than them, they call me pygmy and I do not care about it, they continue to call me in bad name, and if I show reaction, they would not call me by that name anymore.”
A sixth-grade student says: “In our class, three girls have the same name. When we want to differentiate them, we add her father’s name at the end of her name or call one with her family or nickname.”
Professor Munir says: “Those students who are faced with such problems, they should friendly ask their classmates not to call them in a bad names. The second solution is not to show any reaction about bad naming and if these two options do not work, the students can share the issue with the school administration.”