I stopped learning my students’ names because they all leave

Dear Delyara, I teach in a school where staff turnover is high and families move frequently because housing is unstable. This year, I noticed I have stopped learning new students quickly. I call them “buddy,” “sweetheart,” or look at the seating chart longer than necessary. I used to pride myself on names. A child deserves to hear their own name from the adult teaching them. Yesterday, a boy who joined three weeks ago said, “You still don’t know who I am.” He was right. His name is Mateo. I knew facts about him—reads below grade level, loves dinosaurs, mother works nights—and still had not made his name stick. I went home ashamed. Burnout has not made me hate children. It has made attachment feel expensive because by June some will move, some staff will quit, another crisis will arrive, and I will start again. That is no excuse. Children do not owe me permanence before I learn who they are. Tomorrow, I am going to say Mateo’s name when he walks in. Tonight, I hate that I need to remind myself to do something that once came naturally.