I used to think student vacations meant lots of projects for them to do, but then again, I used to think a lot of things. This year with the advent of limited homework and more in-school learning, I stopped that practice. First I felt guilty; after all, wasn’t I supposed to assign lots of work for students to be engaged in when they were not in school? if I didn’t assign work, would they remember what it means to be in school, to work hard, to learn? And yet, I knew that it had to be done. Students were asked to read, maybe blog if they felt like it, which some did, and otherwise just be with their family.
The result; happy students who came back eager to learn and share all of their experiences.
As one of my students struggles through the sudden loss of her beloved grandfather, I am strengthened in my resolve to not encroach. To not impose too much on the outside life, to let my students breathe, reflect, and in this case, mourn, without the pressure of school hanging over them. For me, it is time I embrace a radical notion; an education may be important but it is NOT the most important thing. Life is the most important, and the chance to live it fully, remember it, and grow as a person will always beat the things we do at school. We are important pieces, but we are not the biggest piece of a person, and nor should we be.
The result; happy students who came back eager to learn and share all of their experiences.
As one of my students struggles through the sudden loss of her beloved grandfather, I am strengthened in my resolve to not encroach. To not impose too much on the outside life, to let my students breathe, reflect, and in this case, mourn, without the pressure of school hanging over them. For me, it is time I embrace a radical notion; an education may be important but it is NOT the most important thing. Life is the most important, and the chance to live it fully, remember it, and grow as a person will always beat the things we do at school. We are important pieces, but we are not the biggest piece of a person, and nor should we be.
Pernille Ripp 
Gorgeous and brilliant post. Thank you so much for a powerful reminder of how our students are not beings who exist only in the classroom. I've had several students who have lost family members this year. I am so glad that they have felt secure enough to allow our class to share in their grief and the good memories.Thank you for your post.
A wonderful post that reflects the compassion you have as an educator for your students. We don't teach children in a bubble and it is so important for us to welcome, support and cherish the connections our kids have outside the classroom.Thank you for the post.
Wow! So heartfelt and compassionate, you have established a bond with your students that is far greater than teacher-student. There is also a lesson here in that you are teaching them to consider the needs of others before the needs of oneself.I hope you will not mind me sharing this.
I love this post. In my world everybody gets so focused on getting ready for the test and covering the curriculum they forget that we're working with PEOPLE. Little, wonderful, amazing people.Pernille, I have to ask. Have you met any resistance to the philosophical changes that you've introduced in your classroom? I would love to hear how you've handled them and the support that you receive from your administrators and parents. (And if you've posted about this and I missed it, I will go back and reread – just had to ask.)Thank you for continuing to write posts that make me realize some of the things I'm thinking about are possible in a classroom.
Amen, sista! We need to remember this about our students. They have so much going on. In some cases much more than we could ever imagine. If, however we teach them the SKILLS of learning from the experiences life throws at us, then…WOW we are really doing our job!We are not the most important thing, but imagine if we could touch all our students' lives by showing them how to reflect, make mistakes, show compassion and keep on truckin'. That would rock…Thanks for another great post!
Thank you for sharing my sentiment on this. Often we know these things but end up needing a reminder, I know I do. I agree that to be the best teachers, to be the most successful we must be able to establish a bigger connection with our students than the one we just establish in our classroom. That's how we reach them.