Some of my students are reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri for their choice text. I love this book, and I recommend it to all. Anyway, because the kid in the book has a problem with his name, the group was talking about the names they would choose for their own future children.

“Hey, Ms. W.,” said one, “does, like, having students influence your choice of names? Like, if you had a kid in class, does that make you not want to pick that name?”

“Well,” I said, deciding to be honest, “I guess if it’s been a particularly difficult student, I might not pick the name.”

“Are there any names you definitely wouldn’t choose?” someone asked.

“Any names that rhyme with swear words are out,” I said definitively, thinking of Dan’s enthusiasm for the name Tucker. As a former middle school teacher, there’s no freaking way I could abide that.

Landon, a cheerful soph with an optimistic outlook, said, “So, if ‘Landon’ were on your list of choices, would having me in your life make you more likely to choose the name or less likely?”

“Definitely more likely,” I said, nodding, which was really the only right answer.