Be the change – Page 38

The night before I met my first group of students, I was at school in a panic. Not because I was about to actually be a teacher. Not because I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. All true, however, my panic was from the feeling that my classroom didn’t look cute. It didn’t look lived in. It didn’t look inviting. So at 9 PM, the night before school started, I was in the hallway ripping down my welcome bulletin board, furiously folding party hats to create a new 3-d one that would live up to what I thought everybody was expecting. By 11 PM I went home, exhausted (did I mention I was pregnant with my first child) and still feeling completely inadequate. My room would never live up to all the other cute rooms I saw around my school. And I felt like I was doomed to fail as a teacher from the beginning.

It turns out my experience was not unique, nor dated. 7 years later, I get contacted a lot asking what to do with these feelings of inadequacy. What to do when we feel our room does not live up to what the supposed expectation of elementary classrooms is. But it is not the pressure from seeing our colleagues rooms anymore that drives us into panic. It is Pinterest, the internet, blogs that shows decorated classrooms that I will never be able to replicate. And so these new teachers ask for validation, ask whether their rooms are enough. They fear posting pictures of their room because they don’t feel they are ready. They wonder if they can be effective teachers without a “pretty” room. Our fear of inadequacy spurred on by an internet movement of cute.

I advocate for giving the room back to students. This does not work well with having a completed room on the first day of school. My walls are not very decorated. There are no chevron stripes (I do love chevron though), no fancy displays, no motivational posters. The walls are bare, the chairs and tables in pods, the room is functional but probably not super inviting. I do the inviting on the first day by placing myself in the hallway, big smile on my face, and then I ask students to become a part of the room. To move the tables. To create displays. To set the rules, to tell me what works and what doesn’t. And so then it becomes our room, but I cannot achieve that before the first day of school.

Why is this so important to me? Because for too long we have invited students into our rooms. We have let them visit. And yes, I know that our rooms are our home away from home. That we need to feel comfortable in them as well. That our personality should show through. But I feel like it sometimes goes too far, That we overdecorate, we overdo, and it leaves no rooms for students to be a part of it. They continue on as visitors in our beautiful rooms and their engagement shows it.

Now, this is not to say that having a nice looking room is a bad thing. I think there is a balance between decorating your classroom and focusing too much on it. I see some pictures and I cringe because although they look beautiful, there is no room to make a mess. There is no room to be creative because all decisions have already been made. And as the mother of a boy, I wonder how welcome he would feel in a room full of polka dots and pinks?

So I am here to say to all you new teachers, or old ones like me that need to hear it too; your classroom does not have to be Pinterest worthy to be effective. It does not have to have everything figured out, everything in its permanent place. It does not have to have all of those things we see in other classrooms, because we are not other people. We do not have the same stuff they do, we do not have the same personalities. Make your classroom work for you, allow yourself to not get hung up on how cute it is, how inviting it is. Focus on creating a community that invites all children to be stakeholders. Don’t feel you need to spend so much money decorating, find a balance, allow yourself to stop. If we really want to build a community with our students, nothing says “I trust you” in the beginning than giving the room back to them. And you can’t do that if every decorating decision has already been made. You cannot say “this is your room too” if you are clearly in charge of everything.

I am a passionate teacher in Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4, 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 from Powerful Learning Press. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” can be pre-ordered from Corwin Press now. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Be the change, being a teacher, new year, reflection, Student-centered, students

Just Fine is Not Enough

July 30, 2014 Pernille Ripp

Today, my baby twins turn two.Hard to think they were ever small enough to fit in my body when they stand in front of me demanding another waffle, another kiss, another story. And yet, two years is a long time, a lot has changed. Not only have they changed, but we have changed. The world has changed in ways we could never imagine. Sometimes on purpose, other times out of necessity. Change, as they say, is a constant.

I think of how we change in the classroom and how we often change based on what we need. We are after all the ones who wield most of the power. We are the ones who plan the lessons. Who chart the course. Who have to act in charge, even if we don’t feel it. We change when things don’t work for us, when things don’t fit into our framework of what our classrooms should look like. We change when the little voice inside tells us we need to. And sometimes we change because the kids ask us to. Then we get happy, we stay, we think our change is enough and the years start to tick by, and we forget that we ever needed the change because what we are doing seems to work just fine.

“Just fine…”something I hear so often when I ask people to whether they can change. We hold up our files of success, our pictures of kids engaged, we find the proof we need that things are working and kids are learning, that our change that happened so long ago was enough for now. Yet those kids are not the same, I see that in my own four kids. The twins are nothing like Theadora when she was two, the world has changed a lot since then. And when Augustine turns two, the world will have changed again, and so will the kids in it.

So be proud of your change, but check it too. You may have found it works “just fine” but is it time to change again? To fine-tune? To adapt? To throw it all out? Is it time to listen to the kids that are coming to you now, not those that you taught a few years ago. The ones who are excited to have you be their teacher this year. Is there change that needs to be done for them? I know there is for me.

Be the change, being a teacher, new year, Student-centered, students

3 Easy Things to Try That Will Make a Big Difference

July 26, 2014 Pernille Ripp

The reviews have been rolling my way, quietly, yet loudly making my heart sing.

“I loved #PassionateLearners book by @pernilleripp so much bought copies for our whole staff! Great read for where we are at & wanting to go!”

” I am enjoying your book. You climbed into my head and my thoughts. Thank you for sharing your story.”

“”I never marry an idea, I date it.” Pernille Ripp in Passionate Learners. Great quote from an awesome book!

These people, these strangers, are reading my first book “Passionate Learners…” and they actually like it. What an amazing feeling that is. This book about my own transformation is inspiring others to change the way they teach, helping them give the classroom back to their students too. What an honor to be a part of someone else’s journey of change.

So I am often asked, where do I start? What can I easily do right now to change the way my classroom flows? Here are my top three most frequently given answers (I think).

Ask your students what they want. This simple, yet teacher-changing way of changing the way we teach is also one of the easiest things to do. It is what we do with their answers that may make it hard. So ask your students what they would like their year to be like? What they would like their rules to be? How an assignment should be done. What a great teacher does. And anything else you can think of. I started asking my students all of these questions and more, and then I started changing the way I teach. Why not give them a voice?

Let students work wherever they want. I hate sitting still, I hate being forced to sit in a desk. My students can work wherver they want as long as it works for them and the people surrounding them.

Offer Choice. The very first thing I will do with all of my 7th graders is to ask them to pick the picture book I read aloud to them. Then they will be asked to respond to it in some way. While not full choice, as in, “What do you want to do right now?” it gives them an idea of what our year will be like. That we will share a lot of reading and writing but that their choices in reading and writing matter. That they are here to uncover or shape their inner reader/writer and that their voice matters.

These three simple things can make an incredible difference in any environment. Think of the message it sends from the very beginning; your opinion matters, as do your ideas, and you know yourself best. That is the message I hope to start with and that is the message I hope my students understand.

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, new year

A Letter to Those Who are New, Myself Included…

July 19, 2014December 29, 2014 Pernille Ripp

It’s that time of year where many thoughts in North America turn toward our new year ahead. A year filled with so much possibility that we can hardly contain our energy. Or a year filled with so many obstacles that we are not sure where to even start. Now is the time for advice it seems, more posts will probably come forth with nuggets. But this post is not just for those that are new, it is for myself too. I am teaching a new grade (hello 7th grade!) in a new fabulous district (hello Oregon!) with amazing new people (hello team!). So this letter is a reminder to me…

Dear Pernille,

Be fearless. I know you are having nightmares, the one where the kids wont quiet down and you end up standing on top of a table screaming at them just to take attendance. But that’s not how it’s going to be. It may feel that way at times, but you will never, ever have to stand on top of a table screaming at children. At least not for bad reasons. So let it go and realize that although the next year will be filled with scary, it will also be filled with new. A new chance for you to spread your passion for reading and writing. A new chance for you to build connections, to be a part of a team, to work for a common vision. How often do we get to say that we get to start over again and really mean it?

So have goals. Be brave. It is okay to present new ideas that you might not have thought out completely, but that you know in your stomach will probably work. It is okay to try something and then have it fail. It is okay to not have every answer. It is okay to show the students that you are nervous like them, that this is a new adventure for you too. It is okay to get excited about the latest picture book. It is okay to let your inner dork shine. And who are we kidding, I don’t think you could hide that nerdiness anyway.

Be true to you. You have a vision for how your classroom should feel so make it work, but not just for you, but for all of those kids who come to you with their curiosity, their fears, their dreams. They should feel safe in your room, much like you hope to feel safe with them. Don’t ever think your words don’t matter. They matter more than you will ever know, and you will never be able to reach them all but the trick is with teaching that you don’t know who you are reaching at what time. So don’t give up on any of them, keep trying for all of them. Even when you are sure they could not possibly push you any harder.

Don’t lose yourself in the job. Yes, teaching is this all consuming amazing experience that we can live and breathe. But you have children of your own that need you too. You have kids at home that need their days listened to, their curiosity protected, that need time with just you. Not you and your computer. So give yourself fully when you are at school, but then leave it behind when you drive home, open up to the children at home, they need you too.

Say yes to as much as you can. Say yes to that that scares you We only grow when we push ourselves. But don’t say yes so much that you cannot find the time to breathe. There may be more opportunities than ever coming your way and so many things you would like to do. But just don’t. Teaching is enough. Being a parent is enough. You have nothing to prove to the world, that is not your job.

Don’t be ashamed of being you. You may not always have the best advice. You may not always be an expert. You may not always know what you are doing, but you still have worth. Your ideas still matter. You still matter. Your excitement can spread. Your newness may be an advantage at times. Your energy and curiosity will help you. So don’t stand in your own way.

This year will be an adventure, you already know that, but this year is just another year. Even on your worst days, it will only be a day. The tide will always turn. There will always be more good than bad. More success than failure. And you can only do your best, you can only bring everything you’ve got, you can only do so much. There will be much outside of your control, but how you feel about it is in your hands, don’t forget that. Smile, laugh, think, reflect, reach out, be you, be kind, be honest, wonder, and try. Yes, this next year will be scary at first, but anything amazing always. I have a feeling it will be just fine.

Love,

Pernille

Be the change, blogging, new year, Student-centered

Ideas for Integrating a Student Blog into Your Curriculum

July 15, 2014 Pernille Ripp

When I moved this blog to WordPress some posts did not survive, so in an effort to move some of my favorite posts with me, I will be republishing them here. This one first appeared in October, 2012.

One thing I have loved about blogging and what it does for my students is how easily it has been to integrate it into our curriculum. I knew when we started that I didn’t want an extra layer of “stuff to do” because we already have too much “stuff to do.” So if I were to have my students blog, it had to be as authentic and as meaningful as possible, without it becoming another homework burden. With that in mind, here are some beginning ideas for integrating blogging into your classroom.

Those daily journal responses we have to do as part of writers and readers workshop, those go on our blog instead for those who choose it. Some students prefer to type, others relish the pencil and paper, I love that they have a choice.
Writing about our reading. I love when students write about the books that they read or give recommendations. When we blog about that it opens up a dialogue, rather than a static finished product. Here students can become experts on their books and connect with others that loved it (or hated it) just as much as they did.
Science detectives. I love adding video cameras and digital cameras to our lessons. They offer students a different way to document their learning and they always provide me with a much deeper insight of what students now versus a worksheet. So why not post it on our blog for others to see and learn with us. This is a great a way for parents to see what is happening, as well as for the kids to be questioned by other classes or scientists. This adds a whole other dimension to our experiments.
Editorials or just plain old opinions. I love when students use their blogs to form, discuss or expand on their ideas. Our blogs are used to comment on the happenings in the classroom. I ask the students to become reflective learners and process their role as a student. It never ceases to amaze me what I learn from students when they open up on their blog.
Deepening social studies. I believe in project based learning and social studies lends itself incredibly well to this. So I encourage students to expand their thinking about their project through their blogs, as well as to post finished products if “postable.”
Group writing. I love it when students write blog posts together, whether it be for a story or to share a common experience. Blogging as a team or group shows off their ability to conform to a common voice while adding individual flair.
Reporting on events. When we go anywhere or take a virtual field trip I ask students to share their experiences, show of their expertise, and give me their honest opinion. Field trips don’t end after you get back, they should be digested and discussed and blogging is a great medium for that.
Furthering their mathematical thinking. I used to have students do exit slips on which they explained something we learned in their own words and while I still use them once in a while, I love using our blog instead. I have students create a problem that fits into what we discussed and then solve it for, or explain their thinking behind the problem. We can then invite others into our math class and students get to share their knowledge.
Let me know how I am doing. While not part of our curriculum, this is a huge factor in the success of our classroom. Students have to have a mouthpiece in education and by voicing their opinions on our blogs we are able to engage other educators and students in the debate. Change starts with us, so we should be providing students with an outlet for their opinions.
Finally, and most importantly, it has started a global conversation in our classroom and brought the world in. Student blogging is one the easiest ways to trylu help students shape their global citizenry.

These ideas are beginnings, there are so many things you can do with student blogs, you just have to jump in and look for the natural fits in your curriculum. Students don’t need more work, they need more authenticity in their educational experience. Blogs can help us do that.

Be the change, blogging, new year, Student-centered

6 + 1 Steps to Better Student Blogging

July 15, 2014 Pernille Ripp

image from icanread

When I moved this blog to WordPress some posts did not survive, so in an effort to move some of my favorite posts with me, I will be republishing them here. This post appeared in September, 2012.

When I started blogging with my students, I had no idea what I was doing. I knew I wanted them to write, I knew I wanted them to connect, and I knew I wanted them to reflect openly on many issues and not just blog their writing assignments. Sometimes their blogs blew me away and other times I wanted to encourage them to hit delete rather than publish. Over the years as I have seen our blogging reach a wider audience, we have fine-tuned what it means to blog and it is something that I continue to work on with every batch of new students. So how can you take your blogging from just writing to actual global collaboration and reflection, well, these tips may help.

Be a blogger yourself! I show this blog to my students and we discuss what I do to keep an ongoing dialogue going. We discuss what my writing looks like and who I am writing for. The students notice the care I take with my posts and also that I (usually) comment back. Because I am dedicated to my own blog, I know how much work it is and also how fulfilling it is. Why would you ever ask students to bare their souls if you haven’t bared your own?
Make it authentic. Yes, I have students write about curriculum once in a while, but rarely is just a typed up version of something they already wrote. So if you want them to blog about an in-class topic such as science, how about making them keep a science inquiry diary where they discuss and reflect on their discoveries and answer questions from others?
Discuss the difference. We tend to assume that students know the difference between blogging and writing but they usually don’t. So make a chart, a list, a poster, something and use the students’ own language to discuss the similarities and differences. Post it and bring it up again, particularly if you see students’ writing not developing the way it should.
Create expectations. Again, ask the students; what should a great blog post look like? Then hold them to it. I have certain requirements the students have to follow and they also add their own to them, after all, this is being published to the world. While I would not have my students write a rough draft and then type that up, I believe we can hold them to a certain standard when it comes to their blogging. It should be punctuated correctly, spelled mostly correctly, and it should be a blog post, not just a couple of lines.
Make the time for it. And keep it! I have an urge to blog most days and I do wait until inspiration strikes, however, that takes training in a sense. I love to blog and I love the conversations that follow blog posts, but this is something I have grown accustomed to. I didn’t start out that way and neither do most of my students. So dedicate class time to blog, discuss their blogs, and celebrate the comments the students get. Make it a big deal because it is! When we grow complacent about our student blogs, they lose their deeper meaning and students can take the global connections aspect for granted. The blog then becomes just another forced writing assignment. So make them a big deal and keep them that way.
Prepare, Discuss, and Reflect. Before you start blogging, do all of the necessary preparation. Then while you blog discuss how it is going, fine-tune the expectations, and maintain a blogging presence in the classroom. Reflect once in a while; how is the blogging going? Should we take a break? Have students run the discussion, it is there hearts and minds on the line, not yours.
Ask if they want to. This extra step may sound crazy, after all, we are the teachers. but some kids don’t want the whole world to see their writing even if their parents are okay with it. So ask students how they feel about starting this journey and respect if students don’t want their work published. I sometimes had students wirte a blog post just to me and then told me not to publish it, this always led to great discussions about the post and their feelings.

If you need more help, please visit my blogging resource page. I even have a letter for parents on blogs that you can make your own. But in the end, if you do student blogging right, it may just turn into one of the most rewarding experiences for the students and for you. And even if you don’t do it right, it is never too late to fix it. Happy blogging!