The Posts that Spoke the Loudest Part 1

One day left of this year.  This glorious, life changing year that included a new baby released from the NICU, a new house, a new job in a new district, and even 2 books being published.  4 and 14 have always been my lucky numbers but even I could not have foreseen all of the awesome that happened in this year.  So while I can see which posts got the most traffic, those aren’t necessarily the ones that spoke the loudest to me even if they did to others.  So per tradition, here are the ones that came the straightest from the heart and weren’t always easy to publish.  (In no particular order)

What Becomes of the Lonely Teachers?

…I know I forget to, I know I get too busy trying to catch up with the ones I already have established routines with.  I know I forget to include, to ask, to invite, but I try.  And it is in this trying that I find my own hope, that perhaps if I try and everyone else tries, that perhaps those teachers we let slip through the cracks will be caught by someone and for once they wont be the ones shutting their door, for once they wont be the ones that no one noticed that day.

How to Unleash the Uncreative Child

…When I look back on my childhood I see that I was probably not alone.  Many of my friends weren’t explosively creative either and while these days when we have uncreative children we tend to blame our school system, I think it was just the way we were.  We didn’t know how to be creative so we weren’t.

To the Kid Who Walked Through My Door Last Night

…But the truth is you didn’t come to me last night for math help.  You came to tell me about how you are trying your best but the teachers don’t see it.  How it is hard to stay awake some times.  How it is hard to not laugh when your best friend does that funny thing again.  How the teachers don’t get you even though 2 weeks ago you decided to really try your best but now you think your best will never be good enough for those teachers.  They already give you that look, they have already given up.

When Teachers Bully Teachers

…Today I choose to reclaim my past as I leave my old district and school and venture forward, it is time to take back the power that this situation had over me.  It is time to move on and away from the past.  It is time to tell the story of what can happen when teachers bully teachers.

A Letter to Those Who are New, Myself Included…

…Don’t be ashamed of being you.  You may not always have the best advice.  You may not always be an expert.  You may not always know what you are doing, but you still have worth.  Your ideas still matter.  You still matter.  Your excitement can spread.  Your newness may be an advantage at times.  Your energy and curiosity will help you.  So don’t stand in your own way.

And here are the most viewed posts, some do overlap which is nice.

• So What’s My Problem With Public Behavior Charts?
• When Teachers Bully Teachers
• Put Your Name on the Board – A Tale of Why I Gave Up Classroom Discipline Systems
• I Hope I am Not Your Favorite Teacher
• So I Gave Up Punishment and My Students Still Behaved

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA,  who has taught 4th, 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” is out now from Corwin Press.  Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.