I didn’t have a notebook and needed one for the conference I was attending. I grabbed an old notepad and ripped out some page so as to make my own smaller pages. And here was a list of classmates. I can tell by the presence of the name Abby, that this is from one of my Middle School Math Certificate classes. I used to make a list of names on the first day, and then quiz myself before every class. That way, when I needed to point out that Ida had a good point, I could just say, “Ida has a good point,” rather than, “I agree with her.” [waves vaguely in the direction of Ida]
People marveled over how I learned everyone’s name, but it wasn’t hard. They mostly sat in the same order each week. And learning names quickly is an important skill for a teacher to have.
This is smart! I have a pretty good head for names, an adaptation I acquired when I worked at the church, because congregants would get huffy if you forgot, but I usually need to get told a name at least twice to remember.