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. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
I have started this blog post six different times. Each time, I stopped and erased everything I had written, worried that what I was writing would not accomplish all that I wanted it to accomplish. This time, I am just going to keep writing and hope that the kind hearts of anyone reading will be enough to help begin something big.
Four weeks ago, I braved a world that I did not understand and joined Twitter as an educator. I was instantly amazed, inspired, rejuvenated and captivated by what I found there. There is this thriving world of teachers who want to learn and share and connect. It is a place where people gather virtually in order to better themselves so that we can do better for our students. It. Is. Incredible.
I felt as if a whole new world opened up to me. Teaching can be a…
Four years ago, this is what I wrote on the 23rd of June, 2010
“Blogging can appear self-indulgent at times, yet inspirational at others. Being a teacher is not just a job, it can be an all consuming, never-ending thought process. Wherever I go; whatever I do, I am constantly thinking about whether this is something that can be used in my classroom – can I use this? It is different world view that one never gets quite used to, and sometimes it can be annoying to those close to you, and yet I would not change my life for anything.
To stay current and gain even more inspiration, I read blogs, I comment on them, I share the good ones. So now it is my turn to add my voice to the ever-growing world of bloggers. I hope I have something valuable to say.”
And with that I hit publish and started this blog
In the past four years, I have written from the heart, I have written whatever I was pondering. I have reflected honestly and outloud, hoping others would reflect along with me. I have practiced what I blogged. And I have changed. Oh boy, have I changed. I have cried when people have crossed the line from being critical to just plain mean, I have walked with my head held high whenever someone has said that my words has helped them. My blog has helped me get through hard situations both professionally and personally and have made so many connections.
I have put it all out there and I have gotten so much in return.
I never know when I will blog again. I never know when inspiration will strike. I always hope for another post but I never make any promises. I continue to write for myself, documenting my own journey, hoping to help others find the courage to change, hoping to help others give their students a voice. And so whenever anyone reads a post, whenever anyone comments, it never ceases to surprise me. After all, I am just being me, I am just blogging. I am nothing special.
I am not a hero. I am not amazing. I am not a rockstar.
I am simply a teacher who likes to think and happens to write down those thoughts. Hopefully there will be more posts to come. Happy 4 years to me and many more.
image borrowed from Kimberley Moran – see her great post on how to move past behavior charts linked at the bottom of the post
The day starts out fine, you had your breakfast, you had your tea, you feel prepared, happy even. You are off to school and ready to teach. At the morning staff meeting you get so excited over an idea you lean over to your colleague to whisper in their ear. After all, they really need to hear this. “Mrs. Ripp, please move your clip.” Shocked, you look around and feel every set of eyes on you. You stand up, walk to the front, move your clip from the top of the chart to yellow or whatever other step down there is. Quietly you sit down, gone is your motivation for the day, you know it can only get worse from here.
Ridiculous right? After all, how many times as adults are we asked to move our name, our clip, our stick, or even write our name on the board so others can see we are misbehaving? We don’t, and we wouldn’t if we were told to, after all, we demand respect, we demand common courtesy, we expect to be treated like, well, adults. So us, moving sticks, yeah right…
Search for “Classroom behavior charts” on Pinterest and prepare to be astounded. Sure, you will see the classic stop light charts, but now a new type of chart has emerged. The cute classroom behavior chart, filled with flowers, butterflies, and smiley faces. As if this innocent looking chart could never damage a child, as if something with polka-dots could ever be bad. And sure, must of them have more than three steps to move down, but the idea is still the same; a public behavior chart display will ensure students behave better. Why? Because they don’t want the humiliation that goes along with moving ones name. Nothing beats shaming a child into behaving.
The saddest thing for me is that I used to do it. I used to be the queen of moved sticks, checkmarks, and names on the board. I used to be the queen of public displays heralding accomplishments and shaming students. I stopped when I realized that all I did was create a classroom divided, a classroom that consisted of the students who were good and the students who were bad. I didn’t even have to tell my students out-loud who the “bad” kids were, they simply looked at our chart and then drew their own conclusions. And then as kids tend to do, they would tell their parents just who had misbehaved and been on red or yellow for the day. Word got around and parents would make comments whenever they visited our room of just how tough it must be to teach such and such. I couldn’t understand why they would say that until I realized it stared me in the face. My punishment/behavior system announced proudly to anyone who the bad kids were, so of course, parents knew it too. So I took it down and never looked back. No more public humiliation in my classroom ever again.
We may say that we do it for the good of the child. We may say that it helps us control our classrooms. We may say that public behavior charts have worked in our classrooms. I know I used to. And yet, have we thought of how the students feel about them? Have we thought about the stigma we create? Have we thought about the role we force students into and then are surprised when they continue to play it?
The fastest way to convince a child they are bad is to tell them in front of their peers. So if that is what we are trying to accomplish, then by all means, display the cute behavior charts. Frame them in smiley faces, hearts or whatever other pinterest idea you stumble upon. Start everyone in the middle so the divide becomes even more apparent when some children move up and others move down. Hang those banners of accomplishment, make sure not everyone is on there. Make sure everybody has been ranked and that everybody knows who is good and who is bad. Create a classroom where students actions are not questioned, nor discussed, but simply punished. And then tell them loudly and proudly to move their clip. After all, if the whole class doesn’t know someone is misbehaving then how will they ever change?
To see one teacher’s journey of how she moved past public behavior charts, please read this post by Kimberley Moran “Moving Past Behavior Charts”
PS: As Patrick’s comment wonders, what are the alternatives? I have blogged extensively about what to do instead, just click the links highlighted in the post or go to this page
I didn’t set out to learn from others, after all, as a new teacher, I was pretty sure I knew a lot. In fact, I thought because I was new, I knew more than many who had been out of school for years. I didn’t think I could learn that much from others because my own ideas were so wonderful, so original, so new. And then I learned my very first lesson: how I knew very little. And once I had realized that, I found out that some of my best lessons have come from others.
I learned that being a good listener will make people want to talk to you. While it can be fun to talk about the cool things one gets to do, or the incredible things one has learned, life is not about promoting your own words but instead about listening to others. Teach yourself to be a good listener, eye contact and all, you will reap the rewards in so many ways.
You can be part of the solution or part of the problem. While I sometimes find myself on both sides at the same time, I try to make myself work proactively to solve something. This is a conscious decision, because let’s be honest, it is much easier to gripe about something then it is to think of solutions.
It’s okay to wallow in self-pity, but only for a short time. Thanks to Angela Watson’s incredible book, “Awakened,” I realized that I didn’t give myself a time limit in my self-pitying. So I either was stuck in a rut for whole days or I tried to suppress it, thus never solving the actual problem. Now I embrace when I am down, then I get over it.
If you are in a bad mood, figure out why, and then get over it. I used to let a bad mood permeate everything I touched, rather than think about what key event had led to the bad mood. Now, I stop and recognize what has happened, try to solve it or realize it is what it is, take a deep breath and release it.
If you want a team, be a team player. While it is great to come in with all of your amazing ideas, as well as the notion that what you are doing is the best way to do it, this will not create a team. Learn when to share, learn when to compromise, and learn when to inspire.
This too shall pass. I remember when I had my first negative parent interaction and how it completely destroyed me. I kept thinking this was it, that I had now been deemed a terrible teacher and there was no way out. Then a few days later, I realized that my heart was not as heavy as it used to be, that I had gained a little bounce back in my step. The lesson still hurt, but it had turned from soul crushing to growth promoting. The same applies for when I am soaring high as a teacher, while this may sound pessimistic, I know that something will knock me down a little at some point. I am ok with that, because this is how life is.
Everybody has something to add. And by everybody, I mean everybody. Too often as teachers we only give expert status to those people we like, how about widening our scope and including other people in our building a voice as well. From the custodial staff to the students, they can all add something to the conversation.
If you are feeling insecure, chances are someone else is as well. I thought I was the only extroverted introvert in the world until I found others just like me. If you are not sure how to appraoch someone to start a conversation, they probably don’t know how to approach you either. So take the first initiative, connect with someone new, and invest your time in relationships.
If you want to be liked, be nice. I know this may sound silly, but this has been a big drive for me in everything I do. Smile, listen, give your time when you can, and be a nice human being. I would rather be known as a being nice than being an expert any day.
I started a classroom website 4 years ago with the intention of keeping parents informed. What I didn’t realize was that while I may have been doing just that, I was also telling the story of my classroom to the world. I was posting pictures of the students working, videos of things we did, information to those who cared. I didn’t realize others took note until I looked at the statistics one day and realized that it was not just parents who were tuning into our story. The world was seeing what was happening within our walls. And the world was paying attention.
Why does that matter? Because what I chose to display was, and is, a story of positivity. A story that showcases the incredible thinking my students do. A story that shows their investigations into failures, their curiosity driven learning, and their growth as leaders throughout the year. I chose what I put out into the world to represent our classroom and that is what people see when they search for us. Not the words of a district, or a parent (although they share our story too), or a journalist, but our own words, us telling our story.
How we share our classrooms, our schools, our districts matter. In fact, many people such as Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo talk about the brand of your school and asks, “Who is telling your story?” Are parents? Is the newspaper? Are kids? Are teachers? Are administrators? Because if you are not telling the story the way you want it to be told, then who will?
So I urge you to find a way to tell your story. To share your story the way you want the world to see it. As a district share the amazing events happening within on a Facebook page (yes, this is my new district!), Twitter, or whichever way that will work. As a principal, take pictures of your staff doing incredible things, tweet them out, highlight them, share them with staff, with parents, with anyone who will listen. As a teacher create a classroom website, a Facebook page, a blog, anything where you can share the stories of your students and then have your students share it with you. You shouldn’t let others tell your story, who knows if they will get it right?
I am not one to post much about new tech tools, after all, I don’t use a lot, which I know may be a surprise to many. I tend to find a few that I really, really like and then use them to death, telling everyone to use it and then helping everyone do it. I don’t review a lot of tech tools on here because that is not what this blog is about. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I wrote a post about anything new. But it is time to introduce the world to something new, that may just make your whole summer; Voxer.
What is Voxer? It’s a free walkie-talkie app. Now, you may think, like I did, why would I want a walkie talkie app on my phone? The first time I was told about it by my friend Leah Whitford, I didn’t get it. Then I forgot about it. Then the Bammys finalists announcement happened, and another friend urged me to join the conversation happening on Voxer. So I did, and I have loved it ever since.
First of all, Voxer adds another layer to my connections. I can now hear someone’s voice on my own time (the audio messages are archived for whenever you want to play them) and that matters to me. I can tell a lot simply by a tone or a quick comment. Much easier than texting, much more meaningful than a direct message on Twitter.
Second, Voxer lets you add as many people as you want to a conversation. I am a part of a few different groups that started out discussing one thing, but have since branched out into other topics. I have loved seeing where these conversations have headed and also the new people that have joined that I did not know before. (Don’t worry, you have to invite people to the conversation).
Third, I can reach out so easily now. I have reached out to several of my friends and fellow connected educators with everything from a quick hello to asking for a favor. I have also been sent messages from people I have never spoken to or met but that I have connected with through Twitter. You decide whether people can find you or not, I like that I am findable though so I can expand my connections.
Fourth, it is making my commute awesome. Because the audio and text messages are archived within the conversations chronologically, I can catch up whenever I want. All I have to do is hit play and listen.
And finally, for all of the other reasons that I left out and a much better explanation of how to use it, please see Joe Mazza’s post on Voxer and how he uses it. And a Google Doc where people have shared their Voxer names and info.
Pernille Ripp 