Be the change – Page 43

Be the change, being a teacher, new year

Does Your Vision Show?

April 19, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I have a vision for my classroom every year. One based on experience, but also on hope. One that speaks to the bigger goals, those outside the curriculum, those outside the standards. We focus on courage, passion, and dreaming. On embracing our mistakes. On bringing the world in. On becoming better people. On focusing on each child as if they are the only child there.

Thursday morning I officially accepted a 7th grade English position in the Oregon School district here in Wisconsin. I accepted nervously, what do I know about 7th graders? And yet, every time I interacted with people from this district I thought of how well my own vision for the classroom fit into the district’s vision for all students. When I spoke to teachers they spoke of the focus on each child. When I spoke to parents, they spoke of the creative opportunities given all kids. Wen I spoke to administration, the passion shone through. Sure, it fits with their mission statement, but they are also embodying it in everything they do and everything they say.

We get so wrapped up in our mission statements that we sometimes forget about the passion, the curiosity. We carefully select words that we hope represent what we want to say and yet often the people representing the district; teachers, parents, students are not mirroring the message. They aren’t living it because other things have taken their time and focus.

So look at your own classroom, your school, your district. Are you proof of the passion? Are you proof of the vision? If not, why not? What is holding you back? In the end I gave a resounding yes to their job offer because I didn’t have to ask what their goals were, what they were passionate about, they had already shown me. Are you?

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, 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 Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” can be pre-bought now from Powerful Learning Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

Be the change, being me, reflection

Plant a Seed of Change

April 17, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I use to try to change things in education with a sledgehammer. Throw out new ideas and then repeatedly hit people over the head with them again and again, until they finally acquiesced or agreed with me. If people objected, I took it personally, after all, they were rejecting my awesome new thing, which meant they were rejecting me. I cringe at how I approached change.

Now I know that to change education, I have to plant seeds of change. I have to show why this change is a great thing, not just state it is. I have to be a support, an integrator of change, someone who will help and not just judge. Someone who will guide and not just lead.

I now know that change does not have to be painful. Change does not have to be dramatic, nor all or nothing. Change does not have to be major to make a difference. Instead change can be small. Change can be easy. Change can be inclusive, rather than dismissive. An even the smallest change can be step in the right direction. We may not think that people are changing fast enough, but if they are changing at all , there is hope.

So when I am asked how do I get my teammates aboard these new ideas? How do I get my principal to understand the need? How do I get parents to approve? I tell people to start small. To plant a seed of change. To show what change can look like but validate what is also being done. No one wants to genuinely change if they are repeatedly told that what they are doing is wrong. True change has to come from within, from a desire to do something different. The idea can come from someone else, but the drive to do so has to be from within.

So before you give up on changing education, keep fighting. But don’t bring the sledgehammer. Don’t take it personal. Bring nuance, bring compassion, bring ideas and support. Be willing to listen as much as you want to talk. Change is a constant companion, whether we agree with it or not, but it does not have to be destructive. It can be just a small thought that starts a revolution.

Be the change, principals, reflection

Dear Administrators, Have You Taken the Pulse of Your Building Lately?

April 12, 2014April 13, 2014 Pernille Ripp

“Yeah……I did it. I goofed. I pulled a Dufus move. No, it’s not the first time (that number wouldn’t fit in this post) but it was a mistake I should have known not to make. Granted, it was made out of zeal and innocence, but mostly it was made because I focused on my goals and not the goals of my teachers.”

So writes Tom Whitford, a principal here in Wisconsin I greatly admire, in his post “Learning With Your Mistakes” a must read post if you haven’t already. Tom’s words have stuck with me. It is not often that we teachers get to look into the mind of an administrator when they make a mistake. It is not often that a private screw up becomes public knowledge because let’s face it, whether we are teachers or principals, there is some sort of expectation of perfection. That we always know what we are doing, that everything we do is a good thing.

For years, I have blogged about the mistakes I have made and how it wasn’t until I started asking my students what they wanted to learn, how they wanted to learn, and whether I was doing a good job or not that my teaching truly changed. Sure, being told that you are boring, or that something you feel passionate about is not liked by others, is hard. But every time a child has told me their honest opinion, I have thanked them, what courage it must take for a 10 year old to tell an adult that there are better ways to teach something.

So in the spirit of Tom’s post, I wonder how many administrators keep a finger on the pulse of their building? How many principals ask their teachers how they are doing, and not just at the end of the year, but monthly or more often? How many principals create opportunities for their teachers to give them advice or to help them change something. Sure, we can think that we teachers will tell our principals if something is not working, but let’s be real. Many teachers are afraid of administration and what may happen if they do, even if they are friendly with them. Some don’t think their words will ever make a difference, while others don’t want to take more time away from a principal’s already busy day. Whatever the reason, and there can be many, I think we need to encourage more open dialogue in our schools.

I am not proposing a free for all, but rather the chance to start a conversation. That teachers be asked, “How are we doing, what should we change, or how can I be a better leader?” much like we should be asking our students. Sure, the answers may be tough to hear but taken in the right spirit, like Tom did in his school, everyone will benefit.

When we are not afraid to start hard conversations, we can grow, whether in our classrooms or in our schools. When we can create environments where teachers trust that they can speak to their administrators even about tough subjects, then we can grow. We work so hard to create communities of open dialogue in our classrooms, why not extend it to the rest of the school? We are all human, no one is perfect, and it is time we start talking about it more. Not just at the end of the year or the beginning, but throughout, as we all create the type of school we would want our own children to be in.

Be the change, new year, reflection

The One Thing Challenge – Join Me

April 10, 2014April 11, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I start every year with a massive to try list, I think most of us do, so slowly as the year unfolds I whittle it down, thing by thing, idea by idea. Try a new reading angle, come up with a new math challenge, how about a better project approach, or incorporating more genius hour. I knew I wanted my students to be teachers this year, I knew I wanted them to be pushed. And I have and they are, and you would think I would be satisfied.

Sure it’s April. Sure, summer seems like it will be here in a flash. And yet, there is still time to try something new. There is still time to challenge ourselves. So I propose the one thing challenge. Pick one thing you are not satisfied with this year, whether it is a stagnant spelling program, a reading approach that could use a little passion, or not having gotten your students connected to the world. Perhaps you hate the way your classroom looks or the lack of umph in social studies. Perhaps, like me, you want to reinvigorate writing somehow but haven’t quite figured out how. Whatever it is, pick just one thing to change, one thing to make better before the end of the year is here. Leave your one thing in the comments, and if you blog about it, please leave a link.

I know it seems like the year will be over so soon, but it is never too late to challenge yourself or your students. So pick one thing, try to change it, and tell me all about it. I can’t wait to hear what you want to change!

Be the change, being me, reflection

Why You Should Share the Good and the Bad

April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 Pernille Ripp

When I started blogging I didn’t know I was going to put it all out there. Granted my husband could have probably predicted it, after all, he lives with my honesty every day. And yet, quickly into my blogging journey I realized I couldn’t hold back. That I felt the need to start a dialogue about not just the amazing great things that I couldn’t believe were happening, but also the crazy bad things where I was embarrassed or had to go home, take a deep breath, and go to bed.

Too often when we blog we don’t share the ugly. We don’t share the mistakes we make, the lessons that blow up in our face, or the doubts we carry as educators. I get it. I also worry every time I post something that shines a negative light on my own performance as a teacher. I wonder if someone is keeping track of my failures. Keeping track of how something didn’t work out. Yet, I keep pushing “post” and I keep sharing. Why? Because I ‘m human. I make mistakes. I am growing. And I am learning.

As teachers we are not expected to be perfect, we are expected to be learners alongside our students. We are expected to be responsible, to create incredible learning opportunities for the children we are lucky to teach. Yet we cannot account for everything. We cannot plan for the many things that can work against us. And we have to admit that.

Rafranz Davis wrote a powerful post discussing how when we present only the good we create Stepford classrooms that others will never feel they can live up to. We create a false impression of what education looks like every day, every moment, in our rooms. That doesn’t help much. I would be exhausted if I only blogged about the great and then was worried someone might walk by and catch the bad.

I blog to grow and I blog honestly because it keeps me accountable. I blog about the bad to start discussions, to help others realize that many of us make mistakes, many of us have lessons that fail, many of us don’t have all of the answers. That doesn’t mean I don’t blog about the great, how can I not write about the incredible things my students do? But it means that I don’t pretend the bad doesn’t happen. I don’t hide it, nor do I want to. To grow fully as teachers, we must embrace our past mistakes. We must study them and learn from them. Why not start a dialogue and do it publicly, perhaps just some of the time, so that others can grow with us?

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, Reading, reflection, students

Why It Matters to Be Passionate About Reading

April 5, 2014 Pernille Ripp

“…I used to hate reading, it wasn’t cool, you know? But then when I heard you were my teacher, I was kinda excited because in your room it was ok to like reading.”

He speaks these words to me as if they are no big deal. To him they probably aren’t, just another conversation with his teacher. But in my heart and mind, these words mean everything. These words are why I am so passionate about books and about kids loving books.

I chose to finally unleash my passionate reader last year, thinking it might make a difference in my classroom. Little did I know just how much of a difference it would make. We are a reading classroom now. Not that we weren’t before, but not like this. Not this excited, not this engaged, not this immersed. Reading is cool in my room, something that matters to 5th graders. Reading is what we do.

When I pull out a new picture book, the kids cheer. They laugh, they comment, they re-read. When I bring in a pile of books, I have to step out of the way while my students grab the one they have to read now and others scramble to make signup sheets so they can read it next. All it took was for me to be passionate. All it took was for me to share that passion. (And of course, incredible books).

We wonder whether passion matters in education and in reading in particular. Do teachers really need to be readers themselves to teach reading? I am here to tell you it makes the biggest difference. Children who have long given up on school can find solace in books. Books build connections. Books build memories. When we are passionate readers ourselves we are actively sharing our lives, our connections, our feelings, with the kids that we hand books to. When we go all out in our love of reading, we show kids that it is okay to be a reader. That it is not something to be ashamed of. Not something to hide. But rather something that should be embraced and shouted from the rooftops.

So when students come to me and tell me reading sucks, or reading is uncool, I am not afraid. Nor am I upset. They just haven’t found the right book, they just haven’t laughed at the right read aloud. They haven’t experienced the magic of reading a picture book as a big kid. They just haven’t had that moment where everything disappears and all that matters is the book. And that’s ok, hopefully, this year will be the year. Hopefully this year they will find their passion. Because I am not giving up on them.

PS: Have you heard about the Global Read Aloud? The books for 2014 were just chosen and I promise this year will be amazing. Connect your students to the world through a shared read aloud, after all it only takes one book to connect the world.

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