You see, most of those students were my old kids from last year. My school does not have a split class philosophy but tends to bring it out in an emergency situation. Last year was deemed such an emergency and I therefore volunteered to take this strange experiment on bringing 8 of my old students with me. And although I was terrified for the year to start, I was also strangely elated. I said I wanted a challenge and I got one. But now that challenge is being taken away and we face our goodbyes much too soon. While we usually have a year worth of memories to look back upon, this time we are only afforded 6 weeks. So how do you say goodbye when you have only just begun?
I have to keep teaching. As much as I want to revert to end of year celebrations and events; I cannot. These students will have to keep going as if nothing happened, but the truth is they already know we have changed. As one student said today, “But Mrs. Ripp, nobody asked us” and that’s exactly it; they were not asked because we think we know best. And although classroom size does definitely make a huge difference in student academic success, sometimes we as adults need to relax a little bit and realize that although size matters; connection matters more.
Those 27 students of mine that kind of knew each other from before and then maybe not really, have become a class. And not out of sheer luck or because they are that nice (they are that nice, by the way) but because we have worked hard on it. We have discussed what type of community we wanted to be, we created our Animoto on our hopes and wishes for the year that now have been viewed more than 900 times. We dreamed about the Global Read Aloud project and how we would be the home base for it. All of these things pushed us tighter together. We were different from the rest of the school, we knew it, and we celebrated it.
And now it is almost over. I cried when the principal told me the decision even though I knew that the kids would get a better experience in social studies and science when their teacher only had to teach one grade level at a time. I could have made it work, and more importantly, I would have made it work because we would have done it together. And now I must pick up the pieces, those sad faces, and try to sell my classroom one more time to a new group of kids that will fill out our roster. To a new group of parents that wished for smaller class sizes but not necessarily that their kids would be moved. I must sell it to myself; once again build up the excitement, the anticipation, the urgency to teach and teach well. To reach these students and to connect, knowing that those original 14 may be a little more wary this time connecting to others.
So what can we learn from these events? The way of the future is bigger class sizes but fundamentally we must not change our determination to connect with our students. We must not be afraid to let each other in even if the future in uncertain. I make the time every day to reach out to every one, and already I had somehow managed to help them create a home in our room. I know I will cry on our last day together, I am by nature a softie, and yet I will pass them on to their new teacher with one simple message: believe in them, because they are truly the changers of the future, the movers of the world. Do not be afraid to believe.
Pernille Ripp 
They decided this AFTER the school year had already begun? How incredibly insensitive… not only to you, but for the children! The relationship between a child and a teacher can make or break that student's academic success. We know that. I'm sure your kids were crushed, but luckily, it sounds like you're all still in the same building. They'll be glad that they can touch base with you daily.My sympathies to you and your students. It will be nice when the almighty dollar stops getting in the way of educating our children. Seriously… they couldn't have figured this all out BEFORE the school year started?!?!?
I have followed your blog a bit over the last few weeks, as I was intrigued to discover how you would manage a split classroom in the rigid US education system. What a shame that you are going to be unable to demonstrate that it really isn't a problem. Here in New Zealand, split classrooms are very common and offer students and teachers the chance to learn and teach at each student's level. We group children according to ability or interest – not age or grade level.I will continue to read your blog to see how you and the children manage the change coming up very soon. All the best.
Sad for you. One of the sayings in your animoto really made me think about how wonderfully you were handling the 4/5 split. It seemed that the students did feel like a unit and were encouraging each other to "fly" to the next grade.
Mrs. Ripp,I can feel your sadness and the sadness of the students. The GOOD NeWS – you have already touch their lives and I'm sure made a difference in many ways.Thinking warm thoughts for you and the 5th graders with a new teacher. Keep us posted.
So sad that they decided AFTER the school year!! I wish we would get smart and mandate SAGE funding from K-8 instead of K-3. Cut the waste at the top in education and keep the teachers teaching inside the classrooms where they belong with small class sizes and with teachers who are like you, that go out of their way to make that connection!My heart breaks for you and your students and I am sure you are not the only one that will be shedding tears – I am thinking a few parents are upset that they just lost you as their child's teacher!
since I have kids for 3 years I would really be upset with the end of the relationship and bonding we have in our class. We move on, but how sad, how different it would all be. good luck, hang in there.
Hello everyone and thank you so much for your support in this transition time for me. This week has certainly been a very emotional one but it is once again to see how resilient my students are. Though they know that we will be split up in the next coming weeks they are focusing on the here and now and particularly the Global Read Aloud. I agree that the decision should have been made before the school year started but I fear this is the type of decisions that will become more commonplace as school just try to survive the hard budget times. I am not angry anymore just grateful that I at least got to witness this amazing collaboration between 4th and 5th graders. These kids will move mountains when given the chance and I am proud to have called them mine for how ever short a time.