Category: Be the change

aha moment, Be the change, students

Don’t React in Anger – Shelly’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp

This week’s Aha Moment is shared by one of my favorite inspirational teachers; Shelly Sanchez Terrell is an English teacher living in Germany who began teaching inner city kids and homeless children in Texas. She is also the co-organizer and co-creator of the educational projects, Edchat and The Reform Symposium Conference. Find more of her challenges on her education blog, Teacher Reboot Camp or in her free e-book, The 30 Goals Challenge. Find her on Twitter, @ShellTerrell.

Teaching in Rough Schools


Teaching in Texas I chose to teach the kids who many have labeled as trouble makers and stupid. Too often in my teaching career, I heard teachers, counselors, and administrators tell me, “Glad I don’t have to teach that kid,” “he/she is trouble,” “he/she won’t amount to anything,” and much worse. I worked as a high school English as a Second Language teacher and did creative writing and poetry programs for many inner city schools, homeless shelters, alternative schools, and juvenile detention centers. I will admit some of these schools were rough and if the teacher did not have a great relationship with the students it could be hell. I knew some teachers who had their tires slashed on a weekly basis and others who had purses, cell phones, and more stolen.

I don’t tell you this to scare you, but to prepare you. At a point in any educator’s career I believe the educator will have an encounter with a student that could escalate to violence. How an educator chooses to handle the situation makes a lasting impact on the future of that student. Ironically, this happened to me at one of the most prestigious schools I taught at and I learned a lot about the situation.

Let me premise this by saying I grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of the largest cities in the US. I knew what it was like to have difficult home situations. When I was in the first grade I would often come home from school with black eyes because I would pick fights with the boys and play rough sports. At the time I lived with a relative who was an alcoholic and the violence had a heavy impact on my behavior inspite of the fact I made straight A’s in elementary. My situation was quite tame to what my friends encountered and what later the kids I taught experienced. This is where my empathy for teaching students comes from and why I am so passionate about reaching them. Some day the kids I reach will become adults who can either contribute to their society or be locked in prisons, etc. How I choose to treat them can influence either situation. I take teaching very seriously.

He Threw A Chair At Me


We all get stressed and burdened by our schools. I remember one particularly stressful time when I slept 3 hours a day due to some extra work given to me by the school. Sound familiar? I let the stress impact my mood and this impacted the atmosphere of my classes. Xavier (Not his real name) was fooling around with another student as usual. Xavier had a boisterous personality so I was used to his behavior but that day I didn’t handle it well. I angrily told him to behave, that he was being disrespectful. Saying this in the tone I did in front of all the students made Xavier explode. He threw his desk over and threw a chair towards me. I don’t think he meant to hit me because really he would have hit me. The chair landed at my feet and with a red face I told him to go into the hallway. I played a movie for the rest of the class while I calmed down. I was red faced and angry at being disrespected.

I could have sent Xavier to the principal’s office immediately. He would have been expelled and possibly sent to alternative school. Throwing a chair at a teacher is a serious offense. However, I have worked at alternative schools and found that many of the prison like facilities and the strict discipline usually doesn’t reform the student. Instead, I believe that alternative schools get students used to jail cells. After calming down, I was able to reflect on the situation and realized what I did wrong. I started the events that lead to the escalation of Xavier’s explosion with my mood and also by getting angry with him. Anger is no way to deal with students prone to violent behavior and I was aware of Xavier’s behavior. I chose not to tell my principal and instead went outside and said something along the following lines, “I’m sorry for my behavior. I was stressed and I took it out on you and I apologize. I care about you and know you didn’t mean to react that way. I’m not saying what you did is right at all. You should never throw anything at an adult. What’s going on?”

Xavier then began to tell me about the situation with his father and the pressures he was receiving to either do well in this school or be sent to another one. His father was getting fed up with him. Here I was another adult getting fed up with Xavier as well. After I listened, I recommended Xavier talk with his father and told him I would talk with his dad and put in a good word about the work he was doing. Xavier had been doing well in some projects and I had not let his father know. From this point on, Xavier and I didn’t have anymore incidents. Later, I recieved a thank you e-mail from Xavier who was doing very well at a university. He could have very well sent me an e-mail from prison.

When dealing with student outbursts, what do you choose to do? Do you immediately send them to the principal’s office or do you try to find out what is bothering the student? I hope you try the last alternative, because this is what building relationships take. I believe that when we treat students like adults and talk with them they begin to respect us as adults. We can use these “teachable moments” to show them how to properly react. I think we are taught as educators to jump the gun on punishing students when the ones with the worst behavior problems are suffering with the most intolerable living situations.

Challenge:

Try not to send your students immediately to the principal or write them up. Instead, find a way to turn the situation into a teachable moment. Then blog about the outcome as an example for others.


Be the change, new year, reflection, students

Dear New Mrs. Ripp Student

Pernille Ripp
Tomorrow is our first day together and even though we teachers benefit from our vacation almost as much as you do, we also spend a lot of time preparing and waiting anxiously for you to come back to us.  This year was no different for me, except if at all possible, I was even more excited to have you come back.  You see, we are a combination classroom.  A bunch of 4th and 5th graders thrown together, it is now us against the world no matter our age or our grade; we belong.  And while others may look at us differently or ask you a lot of questions, know that I like that we are different.  I like that we have different ages in our room.  I like that we cannot be classified as just a regular classroom.  I like that I have to think about what I teach and not just say one grade level.  I really like that we have kids with a lot of different abilities and talents that will learn form each other. 


Just like you, I have to learn too and so this summer that is what I did.  I learned that Thea loves it when you read the same book over and over, especially the one about Fergus the dog.  I learned that my husband really likes it when I just sit and read next to him or when I recommend books for him.  I learned that my 95 year old grandfather in Denmark thinks that my daughter is just about the best thing that has ever happened to this family (I agree).  I learned that my little brother will be shipped to Afghanistan in January and that I worry about him now already.  I learned that a dog’s heavy breathing will indeed keep you up at night, especially when that dog is 100 pounds and tries to snuggle with you next to your bed.  I learned that books are not always good just because a  lot of people have read them.  Did you know it is okay to not finish a book – crazy, right?  I learned that thousands of educators are on Twitter just waiting for you to ask them a question.  I learned that blogging and writing about your thoughts can be a great way to inspire and learn from others.  I learned that Chinese food doesn’t have to taste bad.  I also learned that Madison is one of the best cities for little kids; oh the adventures we have had.   I learned that no elementary student should be given an F because as long as they are learning they are not failing.  I learned that technology can both give you time and steal it away.  I learned that no matter how many times you do an orientation day you will always have jitters, nerves and never feel prepared enough.  I also learned that the excitement for the first day of school only builds, never diminishes.  I learned that i have many more things to learn.

So whether you have had me before or have no idea who this crazy teacher is; welcome, I am so excited you are here.  I hope we will learn together.
aha moment, Be the change, students

Show Them You Are Human – George’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
George is a Principal at a K-12 program in Stony Plain, Alberta. On his blog he says, “I learned quickly that as an administrator, you are only as good as the people that are around you.” George perpetually reaches out to new educators, as well as new followers on Twitters and has proven to be a real leader in bringing principals and others together.  He blogs on several sites including his own blog The Principal of Change and the Connected Principals blog.  Follow George on Twitter at @gcouros, you will not regret adding this fantastic initiator to your PLN.

It is easily one of the most vivid moments that I have had as an educator. It is also a moment that I reflect on continuously when looking at my own practice, and helping to guide the practice of others.  It was my first “truck” you.

Okay,  so “truck” was not the term that was said at me, and I am sure that you can figure out what it was.  I had been teaching for 6 years and not one student had ever sworn at me.  I remember other educators telling me when a student swore at them, and it was like a fairy tale to me.  No student would ever do that.  How dare a child swear at a teacher!  I remember having some teachers that I did not like at all, but I would have never sworn at them.  Then it happened to me.

During lunch one day, I worked at my desk that was just tucked outside of the office.  During this time, I would work on course work as I was doing my Master’s degree.  Let’s just say that it was a very BUSY time for me and my life.  Although the door was locked, there was a window where you could see anyone that was in my room.  Sitting in the dark and trying to focus on my work, I wanted to be as unnoticeable as possible.  Feeling as if I should not be uninterrupted in my office, I remember a student knocking on the window as he printed something off in my office.  Being so stressed at this time and wanting to finish my work, I remember nodding my head and shaking “no” to the student.  He knocked again.  Again, I said “no”.  Then it happened.  Through the glass window, Patrick (not his real name), a grade 9 student, mouthed those words to me; “TRUCK YOU!”.

I looked up, and if he did not have my attention before, he had it now. I jumped from my chair, and being a rather large man, Patrick RAN AS FAST AS HE COULD.  Looking back, I was so stressed at this moment, that I am glad Patrick ran.  I was SO mad, hurt and embarrassed.  I was also angry. Very, very angry.

First of all, before I go on with this story, my behaviour towards the student was wrong.  Patrick was treated basically like a second class citizen.  If my principal would have come to the door, I would have popped up and opened it for her.  I would have also opened it for any staff member.  At that time in my life though, I would have not done the same for a student.  This is wrong.  You do not have to spend every moment at school around people.  We all need breaks.  You should always be caring and respectful though.  Always.  Although no one ever deserves to be sworn at, I treated that student wrong.  This was part of my “A-Ha” moment.

As I was furiously looking for Patrick around the school, I remember thinking of all the things that I would do to ensure Patrick’s day would be ruined.  I continued to envision how I would take Patrick to the office, demand his suspension (five day minimum of course) if not his expulsion!  I was so upset.  At this time though, Patrick was gone.  He had fled the school grounds.  He knew I was mad and he was scared.

Eventually I cooled down and realized how hurt I was by the whole incident.  How could a kid have done this to me? No one should be treated this way.  My anger soon turned to hurt.  I did not cry, but it was close.

Patrick came back to school.  Although I did not consciously decide to take a different approach, I did not take Patrick to the office.  I remember seeing Patrick and asking him calmly to speak to him in a side room.  He knew he had done something wrong and saw that I was calm.  When I did talk to him in the office, I started talking as a real person.  I told him that my parents were actually coming to visit the school in the next few days and now I was so embarrassed that a student in our school would say something like this to me.  How could I bring my parents into this environment?  I did not know if I could trust him to show respect in front of my own family.  I told him I was hurt.  I told him I was shocked.  I told him that I would not be able to sleep at night because this happened.  

Patrick saw I was hurt, and being a 14 year old boy, he fully understood the impact it had done to me.  He apologized and started balling at that moment.  I never did march him down to the office because I did not have to.  I felt he had learned from what he had done and that he was going to move on and be better.  I was right.

For the rest of the year, Patrick was THE NICEST kid to me at the entire school.  He went out of his way to say kind things to me and always made sure that he was nothing but respectful.  Not only was he great to me, but I really loved to learn that kid and we would even joke about the “truck you” moment.

My “aha” moment came not immediately after, but through my constant interactions with Patrick.  I thought “what if” I would have taken him to the office.  He probably would have been suspended, but he would have been the “bad” kid according to me, and I would have been the “jerk” teacher to him.  He would have never realized that I was actually a real person, but just “some teacher” who was rude and disrespectful to him (which I was).  I talk about this with staff when discussing bring students down to the office.  How many times have we taken kids to someone else to “deal” with and then lost out on the opportunity to connect and work with them through something.  Separating yourself from kids because they have done something wrong shows them that they do not need you at all.  There are definitely cases where students need to go to the office, but as the people “on the spot”, we should try to learn with these students together.  I do my best to get to know kids, but I will never know them as well as their homeroom teacher.

I also learned that it is much easier to teach a student about right and wrong when you do it from a humanistic perspective.  Being the “authority” often turns people away from you.  Showing that you are a person with feelings though, makes it a lot harder for a person to continue to be disrespectful.

From this moment, I know that I focus on treating everyone how I would want to be treated, especially students.  They need to feel loved and cared for and know they are the reason we are there.  I also learned that working with a student through their mistakes is not a pain, but an opportunity to teach something way more meaningful than what is in our curriculum.  I guarantee Patrick will remember that incident just as vividly as I have, and do his best to respect those around him.  Yes, some of these incidents are tough to deal with, but if you are expecting your job just to be easy moments, you are in the wrong profession.  Do not treat these moments as hassles, but into opportunities to connect and learn with your students.  Most importantly, be yourself.  Showing yourself as a human will not only shed a different understanding on you by your students, it will also make your job more rewarding.  Enjoy the kids you work with and appreciate that every moment you are in school, you are learning.  

I learned more about good education practice from those two words that day, than I had in several years of university.  Who would have thought those two words would have had such an impact.  My two words back? Thank you.
Be the change, new year, reflection

What I Wish I had Known My First Year

Pernille Ripp
Another school year is about to start and I am bursting at the seam with new ideas for better learning in my room.  I look back on the two short years I have taught and think of how far I have come already, imagining what I will look back upon in 20 years.  I see success and I see failures and it leads me to think of what I would have done differently had I known what I know now.

  • I would have questioned grades sooner rather than working so hard on averages only to change my mind come report card time.
  • I would have learn to reach out faster to co-workers and particularly veteran teachers that could have steered me in the right direction many times.
  • I would have given up the notion that I must know what I am doing at all times.
  • I would have given up on the teacher lectures and let the students talk more.
  • I would have embraced the noise more rather than futively signaling for quiet – who learns in total silence anyway?
  • I would have pulled down the awesome board and declared all of my students to be awesome each and every day.
  • I would have realized that it is ok to feel overwhelmed and it is ok to not take a huge pile of work home with me once in a while.
  • I would have realized that great learning doesn’t always come from all worksheets or even written work.
  • I would have let students work on enrichment if they had mastered a concept, why beat them over the head with it?
  • I would have given myself a holiday from being perfect.
I would NOT have changed:
  • The incredible passion I feel for my job every day
  • The deep love of my students and their whole being
  • The way I connect with students through sharing our lives together
  • The ability to try new ideas and also know when they suck
  • The reflecting over my failures (but I would have let go of the useless beating up of myself over them)
  • The amazing feeling of responsibility and awe I have over being placed in charge of kids
  • The belief that i can change the world through these kids
  • The love, the love, the love
Happy first days to everyone
Be the change, rewards

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones and Rewards Will Always Hurt You – Confessions of a Former Rewards Addict

Pernille Ripp
This post is, was, and will be inspired by this post written by George Couros “The Impact of Awards“

I admit it.  Gold stars, super duper stickers, sticks, names on the board; I have done it all.  And when one reward system failed, another one took over.  Never one to sit and reflect that perhaps it was the system that was faulty and not just that the students grew tired of it.  After all, that carrot at the end of the stck was essential to my teaching success.  Those stickers meant I cared.  That Awesome board where A+ work was proudly displayed gave students something to strive for.  That certificate if you got an A on your math test meant that you were smart and that other students should look up to you.  Right?  Wrong again.

Oh, I thought I was clever.  I thought I knew how to motivate students and after all, what could a little reward do that would possibly hurt the child?  Well, after reading Alfie Kohn’s book “Punished by Rewards,” I realize just how wrong I have been.  Those papers on the awesome board did nothing to improve unity in my room.  Instead they acted as the great divide, highlighting the students that could from those that could not.  Those stickers I doled out for anything above 90%; not a cheerful way to celebrate achievement, but rather a glaring marker showing which students did the best in the room.  Those great “you did it” award certificates stapled to their math tests, not great posters of pride but instantaneous feedback on where a students falls within the grade hierarchy.  And yes, the students knew exactly where they fell within the classroom.

So this year I am throwing it all out.  Well, most of it anyway, I do like those stickers and will use them for good rather than evil.  And I am petrified.  After all, this is how I was taught to teach.  If a student does something good they should be rewarded and nothing says “Great job! I can tell you worked so hard” better than a smiley face sticker.  Wrong again.  A smiley face sticker says; “If you work hard, you will get a smiley face sticker.”  And when in life does that ever happen?  This year, I plan on talking to my students even more.  Telling them what was great, asking them what they thought was great and then peeling apart things that didn’t quite get there and figure out what went wrong.  We shall learn from our supposed mistakes, those will be our rewards.

So while I am excited for this new no-reward agenda, I do shudder a little bit at the implication it has.  No longer will I be the cool teacher with the Awesome board, the one you get to have pizza with if your stick doesn’t get moved, the one that doles out classroom parties as if they were clean socks.  Instead, I will be the one that shouts the praise the loudest to every kid.  The one that talks to all my students and highlights all the things they did right.  The one that creates more work for herself because talking rather than just placing a sticker takes more time, more effort, more thought.  And I can’t wait.  Will you join me?

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher

Don’t Be a Worthless Ball of Goo – Jeremy’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
This week’s Aha moment is shared by Jeremy Macdonald, a 5th grade teacher in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Besides opening minds of 5th graders he is also in charge of professional development at his school in regards to technology integration and can be found on twitter under @MrMacnology.  He has a fabulous wife and 3 wonderfully crazy kids.  A fellow grade slayer, deep thinker, and just one of the boys, his blog always inspires me to do better, strive for more, and just overall think about why I do what I do.


I’ve never looked back since that day.  I remember the rush that I felt.  There was no doubt in my mind.  It was my epiphany; my “Aha!” moment.  I finally knew what I was going to do for (essentially) the rest of my life…

(Camera fades out, flashback a la Wayne’s World.)

Since I was eight I wanted to be an F.B.I. agent.  My dad did it.  My uncle did it.  Several of my dad’s cousins did it.  I had a family heritage to uphold.  Shortly after graduating high school, I was getting ready to enroll for my first semester of college.  I was going to study psychology.  I wanted to “understand” the perps I would soon be investigating and apprehending.  I dreamt of closets full of dark suits and guns.  I was ready for shootouts and car chases.  I clicked the final “Submit” button and I was enrolled.  A few introductory psych classes along with a few other generals.

Jumping ahead a few months, I found myself sitting in front of that same computer screen, but this time in my dorm room.  I had about seven minutes before my first class started, but my room was at least a fifteen minute walk away.  What was I doing?  Why was my hand ready to click “Clear All” below my class schedule?  I really didn’t know WHAT I wanted to do.  Had I deceived myself with countless hours of the X-Files and Unsolved Mysteries?  I believe I had.  So I clicked.

Here I was, no classes, tuition paid, books bought, on the first day of school, and I was clueless.  Not exactly the best feeling.  Something led me to my university’s school of Fine Arts and Communications.  After a few minutes (and I mean this literally) of consideration, I was now a Communications Major, with a focus in Advertising and copy writing.  I was always day dreaming, doodling, and coming up with silly stories while growing up.  I thought that Advertising would be a great way for me to use this creativity for the greater good…(especially since I wouldn’t have to shoot anybody now.)

(Cue soft piano music and chimes)

(Camera fades out, and through a light fog, camera fades back in.)

So here I am after a two-year hiatus after my freshman year, newly married, and looking to explore a bit of Business and Finance before I commit to Advertising.  I loved being able to create, write, and laugh at most everything I did, but I was also a numbers guy and money had always interested me.  I enrolled in some basic business classes like Econ 110 and Accounting 101, in addition to my continued pursuit of Advertising.

It was the middle of the semester and Norm Nemrow was giving his famous “Sixth Lecture.”  He had nine required lectures during the semester–the rest of the learning was done on the computer and in the lab.  The “Sixth” was the one every Accounting major remembered.  It had nothing to do with accounting, actually.  It was a life-lessons lecture.  Norm talked to us about making life decisions based on our passions and what made us happy and not based on money or the endless pursuit of it.  Now this came from a man that was easily worth nine figures before he was 40!  Easy for him to say, right?  But in reality it was, and he meant every bit of it.

Norm, too, had an “Aha” moment.  He realized one day during retirement (remember, this was before he was even 40 years old) that he was a “worthless ball of goo”–his words, honest.  He had done nothing with his life since retiring and felt that he had more of a purpose to fulfill.  Long story short, he started teaching at the university.  For free.  And it was during that fabled “Sixth Lecture” that I learned all this, but it was what he was about to say that struck a chord.

“If I could go back and start over, I would have started right here, in the classroom.  I should have started as a teacher.”

(Cue light bulb.  Student “A”–that’s me–gazes towards ceiling with thoughtful expression)

Big words from a man that could fund a stimulus bill all on his own.  I knew he meant it though, and that’s when I said, “Aha!”  I literally had to keep myself from standing up and leaving.  I was ready to change majors and step into a classroom of my own.  Why had it taken so long for me to see this?  Psychology?  Advertising?  Business?  Who was I kidding?  What better place for a hyperactive daydreamer with a love for pencil fights than an elementary classroom?  I was a shoe-in.

(Cue sentimental piano/violin music a la the end of an After-school Special)

So here I am.  Over seven years since that day and I’ve never looked back; never second guessed; never regretted that decision.  It’s strange how life leads you down the most obscure paths before you “find your way.”

I will soon be starting my fifth year in the classroom and I think I’m more excited now than I have ever been.  Much of this anticipation is due to the marvelous PLN that I’ve been able to build over the last several months.  From Twitter to Blogs to #rscon10, I have been able to experience growth as an educator, and a learner, than I have at any other point in my career.  I am grateful for friends and colleagues like Pernille who drive me to think differently about learning and encourage me to keep doing what I’m doing.

(Fade to black)