Author: Pernille Ripp

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.

being me, reflection

Choose Kind Even When You Want Change

September 25, 2013October 2, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I used to think I could change the world by force, by sheer persistence, and drilling my idea over and over. I used to blog that way too. If I just kept saying that my approach was correct others would finally be persuaded and realize the wrong in their ways and see the light of mine. 2 years ago a friend of mine kindly told me to stop being so harsh in the way I presented change. While at the time I wanted to scoff at the notion, me harsh? I am practically a teddy bear compared to some, I realized the right in his words. We do not change the world through sheer force, although persistence helps, we choose it by starting a conversation and choosing kind above anything else.

The last post I wrote, an open letter to an event I went to, came from that perspective. There were things that bothered me because it felt like a failure of execution, not vision, and I knew I had to write about it before the thoughts would leave me alone. My post was not meant to spark a negative debate about awards. My post was not meant to spark a mudslinging of fault, of tearing down of either side or people involved, and yet that happened. While I do not regret writing the post because it certainly started a debate, I do regret people tearing each other down.

Change comes from us when we are willing. Change comes when we feel safe in the direction we want to change. We may change under pressure or expectations but they will rarely be wholehearted or viewed in a permanent positive light. We must speak out for changes we want to see, but we must not make it personal.

When I push my students to grow and change I do it with kindness and persistence. I ask them to prove everybody wrong, I ask them to prove themselves wrong. I ask them to grow and to learn from this journey. So it is only fair I ask it of everyone else as well. Before we enter debates, choose kind. Choose open mindedness, choose the higher road. Choose to see both sides even if your heart lies on one of them. ask for a debate and proceed knowing that there are people with pride involved, people who have invested in what you want to change. People like ourselves who are only doing things because they believe in the good of them, not because they want to hurt others. It is time we, as adults, choose kind like our students and give others the respect they deserve. Even if we think they have the wrongest opinion of them all.

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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 Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

being me, reflection

Dear Bammy Awards, Where Did It Go Wrong?

September 22, 2013October 2, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Dear Bammy Awards,

For the last 16 hours or so I have been trying to find the words to describe what last night’s event did for me as a teacher, not as an honoree. And while this letter may come off as too blunt, there are things we need to talk about.

When I first heard about you last year, I was curious and mildly excited that someone was finally trying to put a positive spotlight on educators. When I was invited to attend as one of the 100 Connected Educators, I was honored, even though I knew my two babies at home would prevent me from coming. I thought what you had was a great idea, even if there were bumps in the road to figure out.

This year when I heard that I was a nominee, up for elementary teacher of the year, I was humbled, confused, and also torn between whether this was something to be proud of our ashamed of. As an educator that does not reward or award students special recognition, I had to come to terms with my own recognition. Yet, I stood by you through the criticism, the endless discussions of your intent, and also the defending of my decision to go to your event.

Last night was supposed to be the pinnacle of positivity for me. An event where we as educators and educator fans would come together to celebrate everything that is great about the incredible work that is done by so many people. Not just teachers, not just administrators, but many groups in education. I bought the dress, the plane ticket, took off of work to celebrate the job I love so much and I brought the most important person in my life, my husband, to show him the power of a group of positive people all in one room. When the lights went down, we were excited and eager to see how the evening would unfold.

Sure, the bashing of Finland was misplaced, not a big deal, but at the same time in poor taste. I celebrate all of my students’ success, no matter how others did. I celebrate when my colleagues do incredible things, when people achieve their dreams even if they did better than I did. Even if they achieved something I cannot. Why you would ever want to “beat” another nation that educates better than we do is beyond me. Education is about connecting and sharing, not about keeping our secrets so that others cannot steal them. We should recognize what Finland has done and then focus on ourselves and the things we need to work on. Yet, I forgave you for poor jokes and kept my excitement going.

And then came the comedian. I am at a loss of words to describe the mortification I experienced sitting in the room. Yes, there are many things that are funny in education, I certainly laugh a lot throughout my day. But to take someone who describes parents as problems and says that we only think children are nice when we are new teachers, and then give them a platform as if we endorse that nonsense is beyond me. To have someone vilify parents and children and then expect us to laugh at it was misplaced, misunderstood, and downright appalling. I not only had colleagues from my district watching the event live, but my family and the families of my students. When she left the stage I felt I needed to apologize to all of them, to explain that I never wish for any of my students to get sick, to explain that I don’t expect gifts and that if they ever do give me a bottle of lotion, an apple mug or a Starbucks giftcard that I am surprised and humbled by their generosity. One of my biggest gifts in education are all of my students and their families and yet that comedian tried to degrade that. That performance did nothing to promote positive school-home relationships, what a missed opportunity.

And then there were the actual awards. On your website it says, “You won’t see educators celebrating or celebrated like this anywhere else.” Which is true because where was the celebration for most of the people on the front lines? I agree it takes a village to raise a child and to educate that child successfully. I agree that the 31 categories are nice because they show a cross slice of how many different facets there are to a successful education community. Yet, to asterisks every single teacher category, plus many others, and state that those awards will not be presented live, without prior notice to any of the people nominated, defeated a large part of your purpose. Teachers are the ones that work with the students and are on the frontlines of education. Yes, we need great leaders and great school boards and great superintendents to help us with our vision, and yes it was wonderful that you made sure to hand out all of those awards, but as often as teachers get ignored in the mainstream media, I had hoped that this time it would be different, yet sadly it wasn’t. You made us into an asterisk and then blasted through a slideshow so quickly that you could not even read the nominee names, let alone clap for them. You perpetuated what most mainstream media does; shine the light on the leaders, the organizations behind, and then forget all about the people who are the ones there pouring their hearts into the work. You gave time to a fake Obama, to several special recognition awards, to long introductions, and even to hand out edtech awards, but you didn’t give time to any other teachers than the librarians (who deserve all of the positivity they get!). How can this be a show that is supposed to highlight the greatness in education without teachers in it?

So dear Bammy Awards, at this point I wonder where you are going to go from here? I wonder what your path will be next year because while your vision is one of true beauty, your execution left me perplexed, saddened, and embarrassed. I didn’t come to win but I came to share the vision of education that so many of us share, one of positivity, connections, and pushing forward through obstacles. I came to plant seeds of change and to celebrate all that we have done. I came to clap loudly for the people who did win and laugh with those who didn’t. At this point, I don’t think I will come back again, and even that makes me sad, because I believed in you and your mission. I defended you and your mission. I trusted you and your mission. And all I got in return for my trust was an experience that left me needing to apologize.

Sincerely,

Pernille

Be the change, classroom management, student voice, Student-centered

Why Don’t You Challenge Them Instead?

September 17, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I raise my hand, 5 fingers in the air and I wait. I wait for them to notice, I wait for them to focus, I wait for them to settle in and be ready to listen. I tell them, “Every night I go home and tell Brandon just how kind you are, how fun you are, how creative you are. Every morning, my team mates and I talk about how we love our groups, how we love the energy, how we love the dynamics and how proud we are of you. So today my heart sank a little bit…”

I now have 27 sets of eyes on me.

“I was told that this grade level is the rudest in the lunch line and the messiest in the lunchroom…”

The kids hold their breath waiting for me to yell. Waiting for me to punish. Waiting for me to tell them they know better and how dare they.

“My heart sank because I don’t think that’s who you are…”

Confused looks.

“So rather than try to figure out who did what. Rather than try to figure out who is being rude or how messy you are, I am going to ask you to prove these people wrong. I am going to ask you to leave this school as the 5th grade to beat, as the kids to be like, as the kids that everybody is sad to see go. Can we do that?

Head nods.

“Can you prove them wrong?”

Shouts of yes.

“Thank you…”

Sometimes when we think we need to punish or to rein in even tighter, we should challenge our kids instead. Challenge them to make us proud, challenge them to be better, challenge them to prove others wrong. These kids didn’t need more yelling, they needed someone to tell them they are good kids that can do better. I am proud of these kids and they need to know that even when they mess up, I still have their back. Even when others say that they are “those kids” again I see more than that. I see them for the kids they can be, the kids they are most of the time, not the kids they used to be.

Be the change, Reading

Why Reading Sucks and It’s Ok to Talk About It

September 14, 2013September 16, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I try to help my students be passionate readers. To be the type of reader that sneaks reading in whenever they can, that bring books with them wherever they go, to be the kind of reader that cannot wait to read the next book they have on their list. I try to be a role model for this but to do this I have realized that we must discuss why reading sucks.

I ask my students their thoughts on reading as part of one of our very first mini lessons. While many of them share such wonderful things about their love of reading, there is usually one brave enough that finally just says that reading is just not their thing. This year was no different when a child told me that “Reading sucks” and then waited for my reaction. I am not sure what the child expected, but instead of dismissing their notion as crazy, I created a poster asking them to list why reading sucks. As one child blurted out, “I don’t think a teacher has ever asked me that.”

And it’s true, I tend to not ask this question, but since it presented itself, I figured it had to be dealt with head on. The kids were cautious at first, perhaps they felt I was trying to trick them, and then they quickly raised their hands and we created the poster shown here.

Those are valid reasons why reading may not be the best thing for a child. Some children hate sitting still, others find it boring, time consuming, hate that they are forced to read certain books or at a certain time, perhaps they feel pressured, perhaps they feel they are a bad reader. What it all adds up to is a miserable reading experience. And that is what we have to fight.

In the end I thanked the kids for their honesty, I then asked them for their solutions, and at first they didn’t quite have one. Then one child raised their hand and said, “Can we pick our own books?” “Yes.” “Do we have to read a certain amount of minutes and log it?” “No,” “I said, I expect you to read every night and you only log it in here.” “Do we have to finish every book we start?” “No.” With each question and answer, relief seemed to spread throughout the room. Perhaps reading would not suck as much as it had in the past, perhaps they would not hate it this year. Perhaps….and that is all I need. The seed that reading may not suck after all.

So if we don’t ask the question and face this reading demon, then we can’t have the conversations that we need to have with these specific kids. Yes, most students will tell us that reading is amazing whether they believe it or not. I hail the kids that have the strength to tell me how they really feel. How else will I ever change their minds?

I am a passionate 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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 Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Be the change

What Are You Teaching the World? A Video to Show Your Students Tomorrow

September 12, 2013September 16, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I have a penchant for Kid President and have loved many of his videos, but this one is one of his best. Dedicated to teachers and students everywhere I cannot wait to show it to my students tomorrow

blogging, student blogging, Student-centered

Paper Blogs: A Lesson in Commenting on Student Blogs

September 12, 2013October 2, 2013 Pernille Ripp

We have been hard at work on our paper blog as we prepare to unveil the actual blog experience this Friday. One of the essential things I do (and tweak) every year is the using paper blogs to get my 5th graders to think about how to comment, and more specifically how to start a conversation with their comments. While the idea is not mine, I borrowed it from McTeach, it has developed over the years into something I love doing and find essential as we prepare to blog and converse with the world.

The whole idea is very simple.

Creating the blogs:

Show students samples of previous years’ paper blogs to give them a visual of what to expect. I accidentally kept one class set a year so I have a great variety of blogs that I lay out on tables so they can see and read them. Otherwise, I take pictures of them year and after year and have those ready as well if needed.
There are a few rules here: It should showcase something the students are passionate about, it should include their name, and every paper blog should have a border. I also ask students to write their “post” in pencil first so that I may check their spelling. We want to emphasize spelling in their blog posts from the start.
Students are encouraged to be creative with their title, their layout, and what they write. We discuss what would make a great introductory post and how they can let their readers know what their blogs will be about. I have students choose all sorts of things they are passionate about: The Badgers, various sports, books, ribs, their family, dogs etc.
I tend to give them several class periods to work on these since it is a nice break in the hectic schedule of beginning of school and it allows me to see what pace students work at.

When blogs are done:

When most of the blogs are done, we get to the main point of the lesson: Commenting – this is why I do all of this.
Students are each given a pad of post-its and lay their paper blog out on their table. Then armed with post-its they walk around and read each others’ blogs. On a post-it they are asked to leave a comment and sign their name. This is in order to teach them that comments should never be anonymous, they need to stand behind their words.
We have discussed what makes a great comment in previous lessons so I only ask them to remind me.
I give the students 15 to 20 minutes to walk around and comment.

After the walk-around

Once time is up students return to their blogs. If they have comments with questions on them, they answer the question and pass the post-it back to the person who wrote it. This symbolizes the conversation that could take place.
I then ask for a student volunteer who helps me act out the conversations we will have based on post-its I have grabbed from the blogs.
I want the students to understand the difference between a “dead end” comment and a “highway” comment. Dead end ones end the conversations and may include the standard “I like your post” comments. Highway comments include comments that ask questions, share experiences, and link back to their own blog (here by leaving a name). Because we act these out, the students quickly get what makes for a better comment
We wrap up the whole experience by creating another reminder poster of what makes a great comment and students either bring their blogs home or I showcase them in the hallway.