One of my most considerable angst for a new class is correctly pronouncing my students’ names. While my rural upbringing did not provide many opportunities to practice pronunciation (my school district was Milan, pronounced MY-lin), I do make a concerted effort to pronounce students’ names. I ask them to work with me and help me learn, just like I will work with them to learn in my class. This short opinion piece, It’s Pronounced Yoh-VAH-Na, argues why it is important to make this effort.