Last weekend, I was delighted to share some ideas with a global audience on how to give the classroom back to students for #RSCON4. Now the recording of my presentation is live and accessible for free and you don’t have to sit and wonder what in the world my slides mean.
My session description was: Are you ready to make a change in your classroom or school but not quite sure how to start or how to change? In this presentation practical ideas of how to give the classroom back to your students will be shared. From the set up of your classroom, to the first days of school, to limiting grades and homework, giving students a voice to the world, as well as changing how you see yourself as an educator, this is the presentation that will help you.
When I first started teaching, I couldn’t wait to be done with my first year. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my first year, but I couldn’t wait to have the experience under my belt. To think that a whole year of knowledge and expertise would be part of my toolkit for planning great lessons. A whole year of just having tried it and knowing that the second year at least I would have something to rely on other than college. One more year closer to being a veteran. You see, those veterans seemed like they had it all under control, like every lesson was well-planned and smooth. Like their classroom management worked like a dream, like there was nothing that could faze them. Yes, I couldn’t wait to be one of those people.
Now on my 6th year of teaching, I have a few things to confess. I am by now close to being considered a veteran, I think, I don’t quite know when that happens. And I am here to tell you, I still don’t know it all.
I am here to confess that there are days I have no idea of how to fix a lesson or reach a child.
There are days when a lesson blows up spectacularly in my face, even though it was well-planned and well-intentioned.
There are moments in which I want to cry because I am so frustrated with something that happened. There are moments when I cannot wait for the lesson to come to an end because the students and I just need a break from it.
There are moments when I cannot think of the right thing to say or think of the perfect thing to do for a certain child that needs me.
There are days when I carry piles of work home with me, not knowing how I am going to get through it all. In fact this year that has been almost every single day.
There are lessons where even with my experience I cannot seem to get the kids excited about what we are about to cover or learn.
There are days where my words and actions fail me and something I say or do gets completely misconstrued.
There are moments in which I raise my voice rather than explain something calmly.
There are moments where I know I can do better, know I can do more, know that there is a better way to do this.
And yet, being an almost veteran has helped me in one huge way; I know that these are just moments or days. I know that they will pass and that the next moment or day will be so much better. That there is an up whenever there is a down. That there is a way to get better, even if just means admitting that I was not on my best that very day.
So all you new teachers, or even all you veterans, yes having experience makes teaching so much easier but don’t be fooled. We all have those days, we all have those moments, even if we don’t show it, even if we don’t write about it. So remember that the next moment will be better. The next day will be better. Even if you are the only one that believes it.
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” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
I stopped being in a hurry when I realized that all I did was yell at my own children because of my own poor planning. The realization of how I created that stress hit me like a brick. I stopped being in a hurry yesterday in my classroom, when I realized that there is only so quick 27 students can truly get ready and that every day we rushed out of the room not taking a good moment to say thank you.
There are many things we battle as educators, many things that are beyond our control. And yes, time is one of those. We are given a finite amount of time to teach those children all those things that someone decided they should know. And we feel the pressure to hurry, the get through it all, to cross it off our list so we can hurry through the next thing.
Yesterday i stopped yelling at the end end of the day. Instead I quietly called them up to mailboxes and then I watched them work together. I stopped telling them what to do and waited for them to figure it out. Sure I ended social studies 4 minutes before I normally do, but we still got through it, they still had the time they needed, and at the end of the day we walked out as the first group in our building with smiles on our faces. Sure we didn’t quite get to our Friday huddle but we got to say goodbye without me yelling.
I think it is time we just made it work. I think it is time I chose silence rather than orders. I think it is time I stop being in a hurry.
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” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
As I sit in the stillness of my house I cannot help but reflect on the students I have and all the little things I have noticed in the past few weeks. So while I should have been planning my reading lesson, I instead took some time to write each of them a post-it that all started with, “I have noticed…”
On Monday, as they grab their morning work, I hope they will each get a little glimmer of how proud I am of them, how much I do notice how hard they are trying, and how thankful I am to be their teacher.
Sometimes the smallest moments have the biggest impact.
PS: If you wonder how the students reacted to the post-its, this may answer your question: As I walked into my classroom late this morning after a hospital appointment, this note was stuck to my computer…
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” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
Giving the classroom back to students has been my main mission for the past three years. This year I got to write a how-to book with ideas for how others can change the way they teach in small and big ways and bring the passion back into our classrooms. While my book has not come out yet, I am so excited to finally get to present some of my ideas (old and new) to the incredible people who attend the 2013 Reform Symposium. So on Saturday, October 12th at 5PM CST join me and others worldwide as I try to help you and remind myself of what I strive for every day; giving the classroom back to my students.
What is the Reform Symposium?
In two weeks, thousands of educators from various different countries are expected to attend a free 3 day virtual conference, The Reform Symposium, #RSCON4. RSCON will be held October 11th to 13th in conjunction with Connected Educator Month. The entire conference will be held online using the Blackboard Collaborate webinar platform. Participants can attend this online conference from the comfort of their homes or anywhere that has Internet access. This amazing conference provides educators new or currently active on social networks the opportunity to connect with educators and professionals in the field of education worldwide.
Useful links (click on any item for more information):
Opening plenary- Sugata Mitra, 2013 Ted prize winner and instigator of the Hole-in-the-Wall experiment, will speak about The Future of Learning.
When my students screw up, when my children upset me, when my husband fails to say the right thing, I tend to give them a break. Depending on the problem or the screw up we usually talk through it if need be and then we move on. Laying to rest whatever emotions were stirred up, moving on and moving forward.
But when I screw up, when I say something others can take as hurtful, when I write something that starts negative emotions in others, I tend to beat myself up. I think many of us do as adults. We criticize ourselves, we play it over and over, and we never give up on our own flaws. We are often the first ones to point them out as if someone in society keeps a tally of just how many times we have pointed out that we are not perfect, that we are not an inspiration, that we are not awesome. Just to make sure we know our place.
It is time we forgive ourselves, it is time to give ourselves a break. We don’t have to go around heralding our own amazement, but perhaps just stop the constant self berating that we as teachers are so good at. When someone compliments us, say thank you. When someone tells us that we make a difference, agree. When someone points out the positive, smile and carry it with you. Lightning will not strike from a an empty sky if we take a little pride in ourselves, I promise.
We are so good at giving each other a break, why not extend the favor to ourselves?
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” will be released this fall from PLPress. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.
Pernille Ripp 