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 a teacher, being me, blogging

Blogging Gave Me an Audience and Then Some

Pernille Ripp
I never was a writer until I began to blog.  Perhaps I was a poet or at least I liked to call myself one as I dredged through hour upon hour of teenage self loathing in my journal.  I never was a writer though, just someone who liked to write but didn’t know where to do it or what to even write about.  Then one day I blogged.  My husband told me to, said it would be good for me and I trusted him so I thought why not?  Little did he know how big of an effect blogging would have on our lives and on our family.

To blog is to bare ones soul, to have a conversation with the world; a conversation where anyone can become  a critic and anyone can become an inspiration.  I quickly realized you have to have thick skin to blog honestly.  And yet, blogging has allowed me to create friendships and work relationships with people globally.  Blogging has allowed me to send seeds of inspiration into the world and I have been lucky enough to be told that I have inspired others.  We choose how we represent ourselves to the world, and I represent myself through blogging.  I am not always right.  I am not always coherent.  I am not always positive even though I strive to be.  But I am always honest.  I want my blog to be a true reflection of the world I live in, the classroom I get to call home, and the incredible children that get to be part of my family.  So through my blog I invite others in to our world.  I invite others to see how a classroom can function with respect, love and honest communication.  I invite others to be the change, to be positive, and to give those children a voice.  I am no longer shouting to an empty room; blogging has given me an audience.  I am no longer alone, there are others out there like me.  What a relief.

This blog is in response to the Rockstar Meme on How Blogging Changed My World – thank you for the inspiration.

I now invite these 5 people to share their journey and their story as I feel it is an important one:
Josh Stumpenhorst 
Matthew Ray
Chris Wejr
Greta Sandler
Katie Hellerman

being a teacher, Student-centered

I Can Change the World

Pernille Ripp
Yes, it’s true, we are small but we are not insignificant.  I may not be able to change the world, but I can change my classroom.  I can change my philosophy, I can change myself. 

So when I look around my room and I see those faces, I know they deserve the very best of me.  I know they deserve a room where there is no punishment, where there are no inane rewards in place.  They deserve to live life outside of school free from pointless homework and they deserve to know their progress and their goals. 

So through my change I change their school experience.  I change their minds that learning is static, boring, or pointless.  I change their perspective that teachers are out to get them.  I change myself so that I can help them go on their path.  Though we may think we cannot change the world, we can through our students.  The change starts within ourselves.

Uncategorized

I Am Not Sorry

Pernille Ripp

As an educator, it seems I spend a lot of time apologizing. I apologize for trying new things. I apologize for speaking my mind. I apologize for seeming too busy to help, too frazzled to form sentences sometimes.  I apologize for doings things differently, or for going out on a limb. I apologize for being a union member, or for fighting for my kids. Just the last couple of weeks I have even been apologizing for being a finalist in the Great American Teach Off because some people may be upset at the recognition. All that time spent worrying and wondering if someone is upset with me, always ready with an I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.

So I am going to stop apologizing and just try that for a while because the truth is I am not always sorry.

I am not sorry for trying new things to spark the imagination of my children.

I am not sorry for listening to them and changing our learning to keep them engaged, involved and excited.

I am not sorry for standing up for my kids and getting them the help they need.

I am not sorry for trying to be innovative and for spreading the ideas.

I am not sorry for my passion and my deep belief that together we can be the change.

I am not sorry for my mother believing in me enough to submit me for a contest where someone realized that having a student-centered classroom, with no punishment, no rewards, limited homework and student driven grades is an innovative thing.

So this educator is standing up for herself and for my kids. There are many things to be sorry, but changing one’s educational philosophy to something better is not one of them.  While I remain passionate, I also retain my humility.  I am not the only change agent.  I am not the only passion cultivator.  But I am ones of the ones saying I am sorry for changing things anymore.   Join me.

being a teacher, change, education reform, Student

But Wait, I ‘m Only One Person

Pernille Ripp
As I am continually awed by the incredible educators I get to teach with not only in my school, but also in the world, I am renewed in my already strong belief that we are the change.

We are the change for all of those children whose lives have been determined by assumptions, circumstance, and test scores outside of their control.

We are the change for all of those teachers who don’t think they have a voice.  You do.  So although you may just be one person, there are so many things you can do to change the system.  To bring the focus back on the kids, on improving teaching conditions, and keeping our students passionate and curious.  So

Stand up for yourself.

Speak up – one voice joins the chorus and together we are louder.

Blog, write to the paper, get it out and spread the word.  Change will come if we continue to fight for it.

Join together – enough of the us versus them debate.  Enough with tearing other teachers down.  Show me a perfect teacher and I will show you 10 people that disagree.  We are not perfect nor should we ever think we are; embrace each other, and stand together, this is for the kids.

Tell them they matter.

Realize that you matter.

Try your ideas and then be proud if they work.  Be proud if they fail, at least you tried something.

Believe in them, believe in you, and believe in your team.

Be the change.  Be the change.  Be the change.

You may be just one but think of how far one person’s words can go, the ripples they can start, the waves they can become.

being me, Passion

5 Easy Things to Do to Cultivate Passion

Pernille Ripp
I have been called many things, some wonderful some not so much , but passionate is one of the things I am most proud of.  And it is true, I am a passionate person.  I love my job, I love my kids, and the people that I surround myself with.  I passionately believe in student voice and active learning.  And yet passion in itself is not enough to change the world, we somehow need to pass it on.  So every day, I do these things to help my students stay passionate.

  1. We speak.  Without a relationship, they will never trust me enough to unleash their passion, so we take the time to cultivate one.
  2. I get excited and loud and really, really into it.  If I do not show my own passion, how can it spread?
  3. We disagree.  Knowing how to discuss is important for defending, articulating, and discovering ones passion, so we leave room for intense debates and pondering.  They must have time to think.
  4. They blog, they journal, they speak and they share.  This is where I see the seeds start to grow. 
  5. They discover new worlds with their hands, their eyes, and their brains.  Some students are passionate already, others are not so sure, but how will they ever find out what they are passionate about if we do not give them time to explore, break, build, and create?

What do you do share the passion?  To ignite it or to keep from distinguishing it?  Our classrooms should be passion cultivation areas; how do we get there?

To see how our room runs, and perhaps vote for us in the Great American Teach Off, please go to this website.  We have the chance to win $10,000 for our school which is sure to create some passionate debates.