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.
assumptions, community, lessons learned

Well, Mrs. Ripp….

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I have been working a lot with my students about trust and how we must trust each other in the classroom. We do this through meetings when we get a chance or small conversations through the day. Today, as we sat in a circle, we once again discussed how we need to trust each other when it comes to learning. The students know this lesson and can recite it but I always wonder; do they understand it? Well, ask and you shall receive…

Students agree that they would never mock another child for getting a math answer wrong and neither would they roll their eyes if someone wasn’t able to perform at a certain level. When asked why they wouldn’t, they told me that they knew better than that and that they do not want to hurt each other. I then asked whether they would mock someone at recess – silence. Shy glances, shifty looks and finally a couple of students started to speak in vague terms about other students and how they misbehave on the playground.

After some discussion, students admitted that they too can lose their temper with each other and don’t act the same way at recess as they do in the classroom. I, of course, finally asked them why? The answer: “Mrs. Ripp, you are not out at recess.” When I wondered how that mattered, they answered “Well, we always behave around you because we are afraid of you…”

Apparently, I have some thinking to do.

being a teacher, believe, connect, education reform, embrace, hero, inspiration, kids, love

We are Superheroes

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

We are superheroes. Or at least in the eyes of some students, we are. We can do magic such as melt styrofoam cups, solve complicated algorithms in our head instantaneously, and know exactly what is happening behind us when our backs are turned. We are all-knowing, knowing who needs a hand, a soothing word, a joke. We come to the rescue of students that are lost, disheartened, upset over a fight with another child. And we love endlessly, always ready to share , hug (if allowed), laugh, and even cry. We are superheroes.

And yet, sometimes we forget that, and a raised voice stains our image. A sharpness of tone shows that we might be a little bit evil. A lost temper may prove it once and for all. And the students watch, and talk, and remember. And yet, they continue to believe because we build it back up. We continue our quest to make them superhuman, to make them believe in themselves. To pass on our powers as healers of the world, changers, movers, learners, teachers. We do it all and we do it out of love, respect, necessity. We let our students become our mission because someone has to show them that there is faith that they too will become superheroes one day, that they too will believe in others, that they too will change a life. So believe in yourself so that others may believe in you as well. The difference is being made, just look into the eyes of your students and you will see it. They believe in you, now believe in them.

acheivement, alfie kohn, assumptions, being a teacher, believe, change, choices, communication, difference, elementary, get out of the way, grades, homework, learning, parents, promise, trust

How Homework Destroys

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

It finally happened; a parent decided to disagree with my new take on homework. They do not feel that I am providing enough and thus am doing a disservice to the students by lulling them into a fake sense of security in their skills. My response at first was indignation; how dare so and so question my fantastic educational shift in philosophy. Why are they not enlightened or believers as well? And then it dawned on me; I have not shown them the way.

I spend a lot of time speaking to students about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and what the goal is for their learning but not enough explaining that to the parents. And while I hope that parents have faith in me, I cannot take it for granted. I am, after all, messing with a system that has been set in place for many years and that these same parents are products of. So, of course, my system may come as a shock at first, and without the proper explanation it will continue to be so. After all, parents have been trained to think that for every grade level you figure out homework load by multiplying the grade level with 10 minutes. So by 4th grade, students should at the very least be doing 40 minutes of homework a night. And yet, my students don’t. They do most of their work in class, even staying in for recess so that I may help them, and I never willingly send home a piece of homework that I know they will struggle for hours with.

Homework should be practice, a showing of skills. It should not be a two hour time consumer where both mom, dad and the encyclopedia gets involved. I explain this to my students and the sense of relief is visible in them. They know that I will challenge them in class but at home they may pursue life instead. So if you work hard at school then the reward is rest, family time, and a pursuit of happiness. And it works. My students are still learning everything they should for the year, albeit in a more hands-on manner. I am shying away from worksheets and instead having conversations about learning. Our favorite tool is our dry-eraseboards that allows me a quick check in for understanding. And the students are noticing the difference. No longer dreading the afternoon because I will continue to haunt their day. No longer dreading school because it means so many extra hours of works. No longer dreading learning because they are realizing that learning is something you do at school and that it doesn’t come form worksheets.

When I recently welcomed 9 new students into my room, one “old” student told me that she was looking forward to seeing how the newbies would react since I “teach a little crazy.” And perhaps that is true. I am loud, obnoxiously so at times, and I have high standards. I push kids to learn, I push kids to understand, and then I back off. I let them think about it, let the learning resonate within them, and then I challenge them to dredge it out again the following day.

By no means, am I the perfect teacher. I have many years of learning to come, but I do know that I am on to something here and I stand at a fork in the road signaling a massive shift in my whole educational philosophy. I believe these students are learning, I believe I am preparing them as well as any other teacher, and most importantly I believe I am letting them be kids at the same time. My students know that if something is homework it is for the benefit of their learning and is important to do, not just another piece of paper that their teacher didn’t get to in class. They know that I only assign it if it is truly valuable, and not just something for me to use for grades. They know that we will meet and discuss their learning, always knowing what is missing, what is accomplished, what the direction should be. They know that if I assign something to them it is because they have the skills needed to do it. Do yours?

aha moment, being a teacher, students

5 Days of Aha – Royan’s Aha Moment

Pernille Schmidt Ripp


This week’s aha moment is shared by Royan Lee, a fantastic teacher whose blog I stumbled upon this summer.  Many times, I end up referring back to his posts or sending it to others because of his writing and the work he does with his students.  He is a must read and must follow as well as being a grade 7 literacy teacher in Ontario, Canada. His professional passions include contemporary literacy, social media, and technology integration in the classroom. You can find him on twitter at @royanlee or on his blog at spicylearning.wordpress.com.

5 Aha Days Learning from Kids
I am perhaps the luckiest teacher in the world. The thing that makes me so blessed is that I teach a group of 108 eleven and twelve-year-olds who I learn from on a daily basis. And I don’t mean this in the indirect way, as in, I am learning from my baby by changing their diaper that we all come full circle, or I am learning from my dog that we’re all a bunch of animals that need to be loved.

I mean that I literally receive instruction from these kids. They are remarkable. Sometimes I listen to their responses to an open-ended discussion question in class and get floored. Or I read one of their blog posts and tears well up in my eyes. Aha moments? I’ve had a few with them.

It was sometime during this past week where I felt that everything went *click* in my four classes. It was like the first month and a half with collaborative discussion, multiple understandings of ‘text’, iPads, blogging, and social networking were all a novelty and then, bam, everyone suddenly realized what the point of it all was. It was as though my mantra of Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Communication suddenly became normalized rather than unique. Preaching to practice. Lesson to living, breathing.
This tipping point dawned on me over the span of the week.

On Monday I read a post on one of my student’s blogs that levelled me. Then I witnessed the passion spread like wildfire. Seven other students read her post and wrote homage-worthy versions of their own.
On Tuesday I had a student approach me after class: “Um, Mr. Lee, I have, like, this idea? You know how we’re, like, working on procedure writing in English and healthy living in Health? We should, like, do a procedural writing thing on how to live healthy!” Guess what their new assignment is?

On Wednesday I mentioned to the students how astounded I was to witness their creative use of spelling, punctuation, and grammar on Buzz. I still wasn’t completely sure whether I was alright with them subverting the English language in this manner. Well, wasn’t I surprised when they so eloquently persuaded me that they wrote this way on Buzz because it was a completely different context for writing. One student’s words were: “It’s a place to talk like we really talk. As long as we know not to spell like that in a different situation, like on our blogs, or writing a letter to the principal, it’s OK.”

On Thursday I had a student ask if he could make a movie on his Mac in lieu of his procedural piece of writing on healthy living. “And don’t worry, I’m still gonna meet the success criteria.” After hearing this, another student pipe in to ask if they could use Google Docs to pen a collaborative novel.

On Friday I was given what I now realize was a gift of a question from another student.
“Mr. Lee, can I use my iPod to video our class sometimes?”
I didn’t really know how to answer at first. I figured she wanted to make a movie about our class. I just asked her why.
“I don’t know. I just wanna be able to watch it at home because it helps me learn.”
If you expect kids to lead, they often start leading. That’s what I notice. That’s my Aha moment.


believe, choices, community, connect, education, educators, honesty, hopes, inspiration, invest, leader, learning, life choices, Mentor, promise, reform, Superman, teaching, trust

I am the Reform

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I am the reform when I trust other teachers.

I am the reform when I stand united, and not divided.

I am the reform when I discuss, assess, and learn with my students.

I am the reform when I trust in others.

I am the reform when I ask for observation, feedback, and growth opportunities.

I am the reform when I discuss, even with people with whom I disagree.

I am the reform when I reflect, reject and reinvent.

I am the reform when I ask for help.

I am the reform when I learn more.

I am the reform when I am not afraid.

I am the reform when I listen and I speak.

I am the reform when I believe.

Are you the reform?

education reform, observations, principal, teachers

A Teacher Can Dream

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

This blog is in response to Tom Whitby’s rally for blogging about education reform.  While this may not be an answer to the major problems, it does serve a purpose in discussing a cornerstore of the misconstrued”tenure for life” debate – observations by principals and how teachers would change those if they could. 

It is time for the observation schedule to start at my school and I know I am on the list, after all, this is only my 3rd year teaching and I am therefore still on probation and under observation.  The first year I was observed twice, last year once, and this year also only once.  While something beneficial always comes out of my observations, here is what I wish they really looked like.

  • I wish there were more.  I am not an excellent teacher, I have many years to grow from, so any feedback is important to me.  However, when that official feedback is only given once a year after a 30 minute observation, major things may go unnoticed or not be discussed at all.  What a missed learning opprtunity.
  • I wish some were surprise observations.  I sweat over my observation, I ponder and torture myself as I prepare only to realize that I am in essence putting on a dog and pony show.  My students act totally different than they normally do, not because I ask them to, but because the principal is sitting in my classroom and that is uncommon.  So therefore my lesson looks, feels and is different.  It is not in order to deceive but an adaptation to the situation.  If observations were more frequent and less formal a true snapshot of my teaching would be gathered much more easily and I could be observed in a genuine manner rather than in a staged one.
  • I wish there were other observers.  Most principals have a view of education that has been set by their own educational experiences as a teacher.  Feedback, therefore, is often derived from this knowledge set.  If others come in to observe you, differing ideas or viewpoints will be brought to light. How amazing would it be if a different principal came in to see you or someone not in administration?  Think of the various feedback that could be given.
  • I wish principals still taught.  In Canada, some principals such as @MrWejr are required to teach a class while working as assistant principals.  I think this is an incredibly powerful idea.  If a principal still teaches, their observations on your teaching will be much more relevant because they are not relying on experiences in their past, but rather in their present.  They become more relatable and also more current in their work and can thus provide up-to-date feedback and encouragement.
  • I wish the conversation continued.  Often a post-observation conference is scheduled, held and then nothing else is discussed until the next year.  In my fantasy, goals are written and discussed throughout the year.  And not loose goals either but actual tangible, observable goals decided in a partnership with the observer.  That way I know specifically what to work on, how to achieve it while being provided a chance to discuss progress and setbacks with someone.  The learning therefore continues after the observation is officially completed.
While these are my major wishes, I wonder what observations would look like if teachers were able to shape them instead of being told how they should look.  Imagine the conversation and reflection that would be gained from such a task.  So fellow educators, what do you wish for, what is your fantasy and more importantly, how do we make it a reality?