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.
welcome, Why

Welcome to This New Adventure

Pernille Schmidt Ripp


Numerous times I have been contacted through my other blog, Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension, to share lesson plans that I have blogged about.  Well, ask and you shall receive!  I am excited to unveil this blog, which will feature lesson plans, videos, student feedback and all great things 4th grade.

I hope that this will be a place for others to share as well, and not just for 4th grade, but for many grade levels.  We work so hard on our lessons that it seems a shame to not share them with others, I know I get inspired by many people, so hopefully I can repay them through this.

Join me as I start on another adventure.

inspiration, writing

I Once Met Angela Johnson

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I once met Angela Johnson
That poet author, who takes you there, makes you live, makes you feel.
I touched that hand that wrote those words and she turned to me and said, “And what do you want to be when you grow up?”
So I felt like a kid, wishing, dreaming and thinking about all of the possibilities.
And I said, “I want to be like you, a sayer of words, a magical creature, who makes you feel, makes you think, makes you live.”
And she turned to me and smiled and said, “You must find your voice to be you, not to be me.”

S I searched within me.
Dug down into the layers, not knowing what it was was looking for but knowing it was somewhere.
Because Angela Johnson told me so.
And one day, there it was, found beneath the layers.
A tiny voice with no direction, but this urgency that meant I could not hold it back.
And I so I tried to become the slayer of words, to make the people feel, to take you there.
Until I realized that I was not Angela Johnson, I was me.
I had found my voice voice but not my thoughts.
So the search continues because
I once met Angela Johnson.

being a teacher, believe, inspiration, promises, students

My New Year’s Promises

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I promise to be the teacher I say I am.  I promise to laugh louder, scowl less, and wonder more.  To dream, to dance, and to sing as loud as I can.

I promise to inspire you, to be a role model whenever it is humanly possible, and to switch out my swear words.

I promise to read, reflect, and ponder.  I promise to be strong yet kind, unwavering yet changing, and always always questioning.  I promise that I will balance the work, the life, and the love.  I promise to be present, right here, now, listening.  

I promise to ask questions, not judge, and save up compliments.  I promise to not make so many promises that they become another weight to carry.  I promise to be me, warts and all, and to accept you, glorious faults and flaws.

I promise to push myself, to reach for new heights and to believe, believe, believe.

But most importantly, I promise to be the mother my daughter should have, the teacher my students deserve, and the wife that my husband makes me want to be.  What do you promise?

being a teacher, inspiration, kids, students

The Ones that Wrote Themselves

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

Maybe you didn’t see these or maybe you did, but these are the posts that wrote themselves.  The tear jerkers, the upsets, the ones that I had to write.

There could be many more but these are the ones I am grateful for writing.

  1. Stand Up if You are Average – Why we should never label students.
  2. Dear Beautiful Baby – An ode to the child that was not meant to be.
  3. Dear Arnold – When that student comes into our life.
  4. Rulebreaker – Why I chose no grades, no homework.
  5. We are Not Role Models – How I am not Superman, and nor do I want to be.
being a teacher, education reform, new teacher

New Teacher Reform Symposium

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I am humbled and honored to be among the amazing presenters scheduled for the upcoming New Teacher Reform Symposium.  And whilst the name may fool you, this is a don’t miss event for all teachers, not just new ones.  This amazing free worldwide e.conference takes place on your computer Saturday, January 8th and Sunday the 9th depending on your location with 2 keynotes and 18 presenters.  You can see the schedule of events and the speaker list here.   There are even door prizes for participants, and I know my district lets me use it for professional development, so you may even be able to get that.


I will be speaking on creating a student-centered classroom, which has been my mission this year as a newish teacher.  So as any new teacher should do, I ask you, what advice should I make sure I pass on?  Here is your chance to be heard.


Join me and educators around the world as we learn from each other through this incredible opportunity.  As a participant in the last reform symposium, I can guarantee this is not an opportunity you want to miss!