Author: Pernille Schmidt Ripp

Since 2010, I have lived my teaching life outloud, writing, speaking, and sharing the great, the okay, and the sometimes not so great. Starting as a 4th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin, then heading to the middle school for many years, in 2022 I moved back home to Denmark to try teaching primary grades. Because why not? But I also started the Global Read Aloud in 2010, a global literacy project that has connected millions of children across the world. I also write books trying to help others co-create sustainable student-centered learning spaces, and I share my life on Instagram, in both English and Danish.
contest

Appreciate a Teacher – Win a Gift Card Thanks to Adobe

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
I know teacher appreciation week is in full swing in many places, and I am sure feeling the appreciation here at school.  So the great people of Adobe thought they would pass on some appreciation as well to you and your favorite teachers.  It is actually quite simple; for the chance to win a $25 iTunes gift card, followers must tag @AdobeStudents and write a wall post about their favorite teacher/mentor and why on the Adobe Student Facebook page .  Write a story, post a quote, share a video/picture/give a shout out.  You can even win a $50 gift card if you create something with Photoshop or Illustrator and post that.


SoO get appreciating and maybe some good karma will come your way as well.
being a teacher, classroom expectations, summer, teaching

Summer Is Not Here Yet – Tips To Stay Motivated and Energized

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
See that kid walking in; the one who smiles every day and then just kind of retracts into their own world.  yeah that child, well, it is not too late to make a connection.  In fact, now, as the end of the years nears is the perfect time to try again.  I know you are busy, I know summer looms large, but still, how about another try?

With less than 5 weeks to go, some are in summer mode, both teachers and students, and others continue to push on.  At the end of every day with my students I say, “There goes another day in 5th grade but boy we have a lot to do.”  In our room there is a sense of urgency; a need for efficiency, hard work and a little bit of pressure because the learning just does not have time to wait.  Students are busy with larger end of the year projects and I work more as consultant than direct instructor.  Sure side conversations slip in but overall there is a sense of mission.    A sense of using the year to the fullest degree, of finishing with a bang rather than a fizzle.

So what can we do to keep ourselves motivated?

  • Reach out and speak to someone new.  We tend to retract during this time, feeling that our schedules are overpacked and there is so much to do but there is something about reaching out and making a new connection.  Whether it is with a student, a colleague, or a parent even, now is the time to continue to build relationships.  It provides spark and energy and new ideas, what else could you want in May.
  • Get heavily invested.  I am very invested in these end of the year projects and I am in new territory with all of them. Students are acting as teachers in one with an assessment piece even tied in by them.  Another lets us use Adobe Elements which I have never attempted, you get the drift.  Instead of resting and trying something safe, I continue to push it and it keeps me revitalized, which directly translates to the energy level of the classroom.
  • Now is the time for conversation.  Although my mind is fully in this year, knowing I have a maternity leave coming up, I want to make sure I set my sub up with the best options, so my students and I speak a lot about what works and what doesn’t.  How would they tweak the classroom, how would they alter projects and so forth.  I, in turn, listen and take notes, changing as I go.
  • Trust them more.  I see some teachers pull in the reins and really try to control students more as the end of year nears.  And yes, energy levels are up across the board and yet, I give mine more leeway.  I trust them more to make the right decisions, to represent, and to push themselves.  They have grown so much over the year, now is the time to acknowledge that.
  • Crank the music.  And don’t take yourself so seriously.  Yes, you may be frazzled with so much to do, we all are, but is it fair to give that to the students?  I try to laugh more, smile more, and dance more as the year comes to a close.  We al need the body breaks and you an get a lot of classroom cleaning done with a great 80’s song blaring.
  • Stay with the kids.  And with that I mean, in your mind and in your heart.  I always have an awful time letting go of “my” kids even though I know they are ready, but it is something I pride myself on.  These kids know I am fully focused on them and on their academics.  They know that I want to hear their stories and I want to support them.  Even though our official year is almost over does not mean our relationship is.  So I continue to work on all of my relationships with them to ensure that they know that they belong, that they are accepted, and that room 310 will always be their home, no matter how old they get.

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being a teacher, classroom expectations, punishment, rewards

How Do I Punish My Students? Umm, I Try Not To

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Recently a comment on my post “If We Would Just Stop Talking, We Might Learn Something” has made me think quite a bit.  Short and simple, it asked, “Do you have your non-punishment strategies written down?  Could you please share it?”  And I went hmmm, non-punishment strategies sounds much more fancy than what I have.  The truth is, I don’t have any strategies; I simply do not punish kids.  In fact, even the word punish is such a heavily loaded word that I cringe at the sound of it.  It brings to mind canning or  publicly embarrassing children, simply not my thing.  So instead I handle situations as they arise, mostly with common sense.  Let me explain by taking some every day situations in a classroom…

  • A student keeps blurting out.  Sense of humor works for me here most of the time and I tend to look at it through a positive lens; wow, that kid can’t wait to share the answer because they are having so much fun!  Strategies used to curb or direct it has been to give them dry-erase boards to write down their answers and then flash them to me or have them tell it to a partner.  If the blurting is more like an epidemic I place a blank post-it on their desk and have them make a tally every time they blurt out.  This is used for self-awareness not as a way to reward or punish and I have seen it help kids realize the extent of their blurting who were otherwise unaware.
  • Homework is not handed in.  Even in a classroom where I try to stay homework-free, some students do not use their time as effectively as others and may have a page or two to do at the end of the day, mostly math.  So the first thing we speak about is time management; what could they be doing differently in class to curtail taking work home?  Then we also discuss taking responsibility for not having their work; if a child tells me in the morning that they did not do their homework and have a strategy for getting it done such as bringing it tomorrow or spending some time during recess, then I am fine with that plan.  The point to the conversation is; I don’t want to be the one that has to come up with the plan or have to find out that they didn’t do their work.  They need to come to me, take responsibility for it and then fix it.  Just like we do as adults.
  • And yet, the homework continues to not get done.  This does not happen a lot in my room because we just don’t have the homework.  And yet it does happen once in a blue moon. Besides a conversation with the student where we discuss things they have tried to fix it, we often do a quick phone call home to discuss strategy with parents.  This is not a punishing phone call but instead a “heads-up” we need to give a little more support here both at school and from home because the work is disappearing.  Often I find the root of this to be disorganization rather than laziness, so my number one point is; ask what happened!
  • Students goof off and generally not paying attention.  This is a huge flashing sign to me that what I am doing is not engaging and that the kids need a break.  So unless I for some extreme reason cannot stop what I am doing, I do just that; stop and switch gears.  Whether it just entails giving them a body break or asking them how they would like to learn about this concept something needs to change.  I have also had them do partner share, journaling, or whatever pops into my head to make sure they stay engaged.  Sometimes a lesson is continued but in a different format, sometimes we scrap it for the day.  
  • Students are staring into space, reading a book or doing other work.  For anyone who has ever been absorbed in a great book, we know how hard it is to stop reading, so I always smile a little when I see a student reading under the table.  And yet, students do need to be doing whatever it is we are doing at the moment.  Often a quick tap on the shoulder or even just silence and waiting for them to join the rest of us works.  It is not a big deal, nor do I make it into one.  

Yes, I have had students throw chairs and tables in my room, yes I have had students hit each other, and yes, I have had to send students to the office because they needed a cool down moment.  And still, even during those more extreme situations, I always try to keep in mind that there is a cause to this behavior and it is my job to figure it out.  So I do not punish my students.  I do not take away their privileges to coerce them to behave.  I do not threaten, I do not dangle things in front of their nose.  Instead I start out the year by inviting them to create the rules of the classroom and then asking them to responsibility for it.  We help each other out, we steer each other as we do, and we take the time to talk.

So although I may claim to not have any strategies, the one I might have is to listen with not just my ear,s but also my eyes.  Listen to what their behavior tells me, listen to what they tell me, and then listen to my own reflection on how to create better situations.  And that’s how I don’t punish my students.

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being me, students

It’s Time to Appreciate the Teacher

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Next week marks a curious phenomena in America; Teacher Appreciation Week.  The one week where we are are supposed to sit back and bask in all of the adulation and admiration that the word appreciation entails.  And yet, I can’t help but think, why the need for a holiday?  Shouldn’t we be appreciating teachers all of the time?  And while many will simply say, “…But of course,” think about how teachers have been portrayed as of late in the media and in general conversations.  Our every move is scrutinized, our student test scores are used as measures to assess us, we are told we are overpaid, and should consider ourselves lucky to even have a job.  Gulp.  Not much appreciation there.

And yet, when I turn to look at my classroom, I see the appreciation.  The kind gestures from parents who support all of the ideas we have.  The students who so eagerly jump into projects and just in general are unafraid to try something new.  Administration that gives us enough leeway to try something new, knowing that it will probably benefit our kids, and husbands that are willing to listen to every single inane idea I have and flesh out the meat from them.  Yes, I am appreciated.

So while the extra attention next week certainly will be appreciated, I don’t know if it is even necessary.  I feel appreciated every single day by those kids that come into our room and hand over their hopes their fears, and dreams.  By those kids that entrust me with their secrets, with their inner most thoughts, and that even share some of them on our blog.  By those kids that believe in what we have built, in what we have yet to accomplish, and in what they can be, who have let me be a part of their journey.  Those kids appreciate me and they show it every day, perhaps it is time we have a student appreciation week?

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kidblog, student blogging, writing

What’s A Student Blogging Challenge?

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
After publishing a list of ideas for student blogging challenges, I was asked to describe them in more detail, so here goes.

What Are They?
The concept is very simple; every week, usually on Friday I post a new challenge for my students to blog about.  This can be related to the academics in our classroom or thoughts on various education topics.  I use this challenge for feedback, for ideas, and for them to become more involved in our classroom. 

Timeline?
The students almost always have 9 days to finish the challenge; Friday to the following Sunday, so challenge postings do overlap active challenges. While this is considered homework or extra work, students are given opportunities to finish them in class and do not have to find the time at home if they do not want to.

What Is the Topic?
I try to keep the challenges short and to the point, such as, “Should education be fun?” and then wait for students to think and respond.  We discuss perimeters for the posts at the beginning of the year and the students know to put their best foot forward, i.e. check spelling, capitalization as well as formatting.

Grading?
I never grade their posts, since I do not grade in general, but use their writing to assess their growth as writers and also to figure out goals for them and give them feedback.  Comments from me are sometimes private or public depending on the feedback given.  Students love to read each others posts and we often end up discussing the week’s challenge in class because it made the students’ think.  I also tweet out their posts and use the hashtag #comments4kids to get other classes to comment.

Students’ Reaction
Students love the blogging challenges (mostly) and it keeps me on my toes as far as pushing their thinking.  Students also get a chance to offer ideas for blogging challenges which I often use, thus providing another way for them to take ownership of our blogging.

What Else?
Well, these are not the only things my students blog about but it is a main component.  They often take to our blogs to create new challenges for others, to share stories, or vacations.  They write to express themselves and they challenge me.  I love how they take forum of blogging and make it their own, creating those global connections that we all strive to make.