When I moved this blog to WordPress some posts did not survive, so in an effort to move some of my favorite posts with me, I will be republishing them here. This one first appeared in March, 2011.
I am sick of the word “manage” as in “classroom management” or even better how do you “manage” your students?
Well, I don’t manage them. I teach them, guide them, and learn along with them. I do not come to school intent on herding cattle but rather helping young minds develop their knowledge, as well as their desires to become more knowledgeable. I do not manage my classroom, but instead I collaborate with students to set up perimeters for us to function at our best, be our best, and want to stay that way. I do not manage their desires to learn or become better citizens; I nourish it, sometimes light it, but always, always maintain it.
I do not manage to get through my day, I flourish through it, loving the trials, the ups and downs, the wondrous moments that come with teaching. I do not manage my life or my curriculum, I live it, love it, and will continue to push myself as a teacher, a human being.
I am not a manager, I am a teacher, and I would like to stay that way.
I am a passionate teacher in Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now from Powerful Learning Press. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” can be pre-ordered from Corwin Press now. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
Pernille Ripp 