behavior – Pernille Ripp

Be the change, behavior, being a student, being a teacher, being me

Is School Really Safe for All?

January 19, 2019 Pernille Ripp

I have been thinking a lot about belonging. About how we assume that school is seen as a safe place by all who experience it. How we assume that we are all doing enough to help these kids, these children whose lives don’t often mirror our own, these kids who someone, somewhere have made feel as if they do not belong.

I have been thinking a lot about feeling seen. About how we assume that in our schools we do enough to let every child know that we see them. That we do enough to let the adults know that they belong too. That they matter. That they are an indispensable part of our community, a community that thrives on embracing all, on love, on acceptance.

We write fancy vision statements where we tell the world that this is a safe place, one filled with opportunities for all who enter to learn, to become something more. We ask our staff to live this vision, even as they feel unsafe themselves. We have assemblies and events celebrating our accomplishments. We hand out awards and accolades. Praise and positive notes. We remind each other not to count down to the break, to the weekend, to the end of the year because for some kids home is not a safe place.

And yet, we forget that for some school isn’t safe either.

For some school is everything they fear.

For some school is only a mirror of the society who also refuses to acknowledge them as full citizens. As full human beings who deserve to be embraced, loved, accepted.

We fail at times.

Sometimes purposefully when we refuse to acknowledge that those who do not fit into our moral view of what it means to be righteous are still deserving of love. Purposefully when we suspend entire groups of children more than others. Purposefully when we enact dress codes that are only a condemnation of those whose choices we don’t agree with. Purposefully when we offer no protections for those who need it. When we let children fail at extraordinary rates because of the circumstances they face. When we continue to say that “Boys will be boys…”When we fail to stop the adults in charge from targeting each other and creating toxic work environments. When we fail to see that in our own silence, that within our own fear of rocking the boat, we are actively telling some that this, this place, is not one where they should ever let their guard down.

And sometimes we don’t even see our own failure. How when we leave certain books out of our libraries we are telling children whose stories are mirrored in those pages that their lives do not belong in our schools. That their lives are too mature, immoral, or indecent. When we tell kids to cut their hair, to change their clothing, when we display pictures of our district but they fail to show all of the people who are a part of it. When we don’t translate our news so all can read it. When we only set up events during school hours and fail to see that not everyone can change their schedule. When our texts, our videos, our learning materials fail to showcase all types of lives. When we assume that everything is a learning experience and surely those are experiencing it just need to work a little harder to find success. That we have done all we can.

And then we wonder why not every child finds success. Why educators quit. We have so much work to do.

We can do more and it starts with acknowledging those we do not see. Those whose lives are not currently valued. And I don’t mean silently valued, I mean embraced through our language, our decorations, our instructional decisions. Embraced out loud as we continually realize that there is more work to do. Making space for their voices so we can use them as a compass for how we can grow. Reflecting on our own choices and actions so we can see how we too can do more. We can ask questions through surveys and conversations and then act when people tell us that it is not safe. That they do not belong, instead of dismissing it as a fluke, only the opinion of a few. As the mother of a child who was viciously bullied, who begged us not to send her to school because it was not safe, I will tell you this, being heard is where the change begins.

The other day I overheard a child tell others about what it meant to come to our school. She said, “When I came to this school and saw the rainbow stickers, I was shook, it finally felt like I belonged.” She felt like she belonged because of a sticker. How many others do not? We assume all kids feel seen and safe at our schools, but do they really? The only way to find out is to start asking questions. Who will ask the first one?

If you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page. If you like what you read here, consider reading my book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block. If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.

behavior, being a teacher, student choice, Student Engagement, Student-centered

I’ve Had Enough – No More Public Behavior Management Systems

June 28, 2016 Pernille Ripp

When I was a 5th grade teacher, my classroom was the very last one before the buses. Every day, all of the school’s students would pass by and inevitably some of those students and I would strike up a conversation. Day after day, a little kindergartener would tell me about his day, his shoes, his new fish, or whatever else popped into his mind. One day, he saw me and beamed,”Guess what, Mrs. Ripp!” “What?” I asked. “Peter was on yellow today!” He told this news as if it was the biggest gift, excitement spilling from his little body. Momentarily confused, because wasn’t this child’s name distinctly not Peter, it finally dawned on me; he was talking about another student. “Oh yeah?” I said. “Yes, Mrs. Ripp, it’s exciting, he hasn’t been on yellow all year…” It was November. My heart dropped.

Here was a kindergarten student who every single day so far of the year had been on red. Who every day had their behavior dissected in front of the rest of the class. Whose classroom identity was being distinctly shaped by poor decisions and whose biggest identifier was his behavior. I can only imagine what my kindergarten friend would tell his parent every day about Peter.

And that is the thing. As a parent, as another teacher, as someone who is outside of your classroom community, I should not be able to see which child is having a bad day. I should not be able to walk into your room and see the aftermath of something that did not happen in front of me. That is a personal matter between the child, the teacher, and that child’s parents. Why do we seem to forget that every time we hang a behavior chart, display our cups, or even use Class Dojo publicly?

Why do we make our classrooms that are supposed to function on trust and support and turn them into halls of public shame for some kids? Where is the outrage? Or do parents not even know?

I get that there are kids that need behavior system, I have some of those kids too, but those behavior systems should center on privacy. Should center on knowing the child. Should center on the fact that we are dealing with another human being, that yes, may make poor decisions upon poor decisions, but they are still somebody’s child. If we are looking for long-term change then that will never start with public shame, but it certainly ends there.

When we use public behavior management systems, we tell those children that school will never be a place where they will succeed. We put them under an unattainable microscope and then wonder why they rebel. We watch for the smallest infraction and then come down hard, making sure that they know who is in control, who holds the power, but did they really ever forget that? And sure, for some kids it will make a change, for some kids it will take one down clip, one stick moved, one lost point and they will never do that behavior again because they have been embarrassed sufficiently. Is that what we want to shape the behavior of our children? But if we already know by the start of a day, which children will probably be on red or yellow, which child will already have a bad day, then why do we need to make it public? Why make that a self-fulfilling prophecy? Instead, we should be wondering how our school seems to not be working, and what do we need to change?

Today I was asked what I would use instead of a classroom behavior system or Class Dojo? My answer; common sense and kindness. Patience, communication, and yes, even private plans. No child deserves to be publicly humiliated day upon day, they deserve better than this. We can do better.

PS: Here is a link to all of my posts talking about what you can do instead.

aha moment, Be the change, behavior, being me, classroom management, control, punishment, student voice

The Story of A Poster – How Hanging a Consequence Poster Changed the Way I Taught

April 16, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I remember the poster well, I had spent more than an hour on it, I had really taken my time to make sure each letter was meticulously printed, outlined, and filled in with sharpie. In fact, I had started over several times when the result was not quite as eye catching as I wanted it to be. I remember sending the poster through the laminator holding my breath a bit, after all, sometimes that pesky laminator ate all of my hard work. Not this time though; this poster made it through and now graced the best location on my wall; right above the sink so that every single time a student washed their hands or threw something out, this poster would catch their eye. In fact, it hung in the one spot that you could see all the way from the hallway; any person who walked by the classroom would know what mattered most to us. What was this magical poster that I was so proud of, you may ask? My consequences for breaking the rules.

Yup, my first two years of teaching the one thing I was most proud off was the poster that stated what would happen if you misbehaved in my classroom. I loved it. I thought it sent a clear message to the students about the type of classroom they were in, who held the power, and just what the expectations would be every single day. I loved that it was the first thing people noticed, after all, that must have meant that others knew how serious I was about classroom management. That although I was a new teacher, I knew how to control these 4th graders.

I loved the message it sent because it certainly sent one loud and clear; every day my students knew that they could be punished. That if they screwed up there would be consequences. That the whole class would know if they had done something wrong, because the very first consequence was to write your name on the board. If you broke the rules again a check mark got added, and if you broke the rules one more time then it was an automatic phone call home, in front of the class. Infractions included talking during class, leaving the class without permission, and any kind of rude behavior. If you were a kid who had trouble sitting still, your name was almost always on the board by the end of the day. The poster ruled the day.

After two years, when I changed the way I taught, I pulled down that poster. Terrified of the future and breaking the rules, yet I knew there had to be a better way to handle misbehaviors than what the poster said. That check-marks and names on the board was not a way to build community, but instead splintered it every single day. My students didn’t need the constant reminder, they already knew that there were behavior expectations. They already knew who the teacher was. They already knew how to behave in school. What they needed to know instead was that there was also flexibility. That I saw them as a whole person and not as a person to be controlled or punished into behaving.

When I first hung the consequence poster on my wall, I thought it signaled strength, management, and someone who was on top of their teaching game. What I didn’t realize was all of the other things it signaled as well. That this was my classroom, my rules, and that they didn’t have a say in how situations would be handled because the rules were clear. It told them that every situation, no matter the back-story, would be given the same consequences no matter what. By hanging that poser on the wall, I could never make my students believe that this was our classroom because the poster would always signal otherwise. It made a liar out of me.

Five years without a consequence poster on my wall and I have no regrets. My students have shown me that they know who the teacher is, what the expectations are, and that this is a community of learners. They know if they make poor decisions there will be consequences, but more than likely those consequences will be figured out with them, not thrust upon them without hesitation. They know that the rest of the class no longer needs to know who is in trouble, because it is a private matter. I pulled down a poster so that my students would finally believe that within these four walls, we share the control. Are you able to pull down yours?

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark, who has taught 4th, 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. The second edition of my first book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” will be published by Routledge in the fall. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

behavior, punishment, students

Before You Hang Up That Public Behavior Chart

November 29, 2014November 29, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I have written before about public behavior charts, how I feel about them, what they do to students in my opinion. And while some seem to have found a way to make them work within their environments, I wonder; what if we assumed that all students would have a great day, a great year, and we started off our year without them? No behavior chart prominently hanging greeting the students on the very first day of school?

I think of the message we send on the very first day of school and how it can frame the way a child sees us. I used to go over my behavior chart as one of the very first things of the school year; how to act, what the expectations were and more importantly what the consequences would be. I assumed that my students would need consequences. I assumed they would need punishment. I knew they needed a structure, all people do, but I framed that structure in a negative way hoping for a positive result Why I didn’t see that oxymoron until a few years in, I am not sure.

I am not saying get rid of your behavior systems, not if you’re not ready, but perhaps re-think the assumption that they need to be present from the very first moment of the new year. And while we are battling assumptions, maybe it is time to reconsider whether all children truly benefit from them. Do we really need a behavior chart for every single student in our rooms? I think of my own daughter who works so hard on being good every single day, proudly telling me whenever she gets a compliment from the teacher, and the devastating effect it would have on her if she had to be on “yellow” or “not so great” for the whole world to see. She cares so much about others, sometimes to a fault, that it would wreck her if others thought she was “bad.” Some may say that that is exactly the intended response; for a child to be so mortified that they never do that behavior again. Yet, I wonder if that mortification leads to a break down in relationship?

We all know that student behavior can get better if a child feels safe within our environment. That means safe to learn, safe to try, and yes, safe to have a bad day. When we publicly show the rest of the class that a child is having a bad day and then leave a reminder up, we limit the way a child can process through their actions. Some students will obviously correct their behavior, whereas others will continue down the path of bad decisions since they have already been called out on it. So instead of the public behavior chart, how about a private one? That way a child can still know how they are doing, you can still have the conversations it may spur, but you cut out the public call out, the public humiliation. And what if on the first day of school we didn’t speak of just our own rules, but had the students discuss their rules for the classroom? How about instead of consequences, we spoke of the learning journey?

So before you hang up that public behavior chart, even though it may have room for both great behavior and bad, consider whether every child needs one? Can we accomplish the same privately? Can a compliment mean more to a child than moving their clip? Can a hushed conversation be a better consequence for a child who is making bad choices? Can the same benefits that some see in the charts be reached in a kinder, quieter way? I don’t think it hurts to ask the question.

PS: If you want to read more about what I do now in my classrooms, read here

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4th, 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” is out now from Corwin Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

aha moment, behavior, being a teacher, students

I Was Ready With THE Speech

November 20, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I was ready with THE speech. Had been since about 5 AM when I woke up and knew exactly what I needed to do. All day I was waiting for that class to come in, to tell them that there was a new sheriff in town, and yes, we have been having fun, but we are wasting too much time and it is time to get serious. Ugh, sometimes I hate serious but my meager 45 minutes doesn’t allow me much breathing room.

There they came, eager as always, happy to be in our room, not so much because of me but because of all their friends and the discussions we might have. I was ready. Counting down the seconds until their usual raucous nature would erupt. Almost holding my breath, running the words I had rehearsed through my head. “…there will be no more of this….the time is being wasted….serious….pay attention….things to learn….” I was ready.

Except, they didn’t start. I started teaching and showed them our deadline. I showed them how big of a time crunch we were in. I told them I was serious, that I meant it, and that the world would practically fall on our heads if we didn’t make this timeline. Ok…So they got to work, they started speaking to each other a little, so I figured now was the time. I started my speech, ready to be asked hard questions, ready to be challenged, or even interrupted. Instead they just looked at me…and then kept working.

It wasn’t perfect today. It never is. But for a moment I had forgotten that we have bad days and good days. That sometimes our bad days seem to last much longer than they really do. And sometimes our good days don’t even count because they must have been a fluke, right? And sure, there was talking, and sure there are consequences, but they were not the ones from my head. They were not the ones I was ready to dole out. Kids change. Sometimes from day to day. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but I am hoping for a good day.

Be the change, behavior, being me, classroom management, reflection, students

So What’s My Problem With Public Behavior Charts?

June 21, 2014July 29, 2014 Pernille Ripp

image borrowed from Kimberley Moran – see her great post on how to move past behavior charts linked at the bottom of the post

The day starts out fine, you had your breakfast, you had your tea, you feel prepared, happy even. You are off to school and ready to teach. At the morning staff meeting you get so excited over an idea you lean over to your colleague to whisper in their ear. After all, they really need to hear this. “Mrs. Ripp, please move your clip.” Shocked, you look around and feel every set of eyes on you. You stand up, walk to the front, move your clip from the top of the chart to yellow or whatever other step down there is. Quietly you sit down, gone is your motivation for the day, you know it can only get worse from here.

Ridiculous right? After all, how many times as adults are we asked to move our name, our clip, our stick, or even write our name on the board so others can see we are misbehaving? We don’t, and we wouldn’t if we were told to, after all, we demand respect, we demand common courtesy, we expect to be treated like, well, adults. So us, moving sticks, yeah right…

Search for “Classroom behavior charts” on Pinterest and prepare to be astounded. Sure, you will see the classic stop light charts, but now a new type of chart has emerged. The cute classroom behavior chart, filled with flowers, butterflies, and smiley faces. As if this innocent looking chart could never damage a child, as if something with polka-dots could ever be bad. And sure, must of them have more than three steps to move down, but the idea is still the same; a public behavior chart display will ensure students behave better. Why? Because they don’t want the humiliation that goes along with moving ones name. Nothing beats shaming a child into behaving.

The saddest thing for me is that I used to do it. I used to be the queen of moved sticks, checkmarks, and names on the board. I used to be the queen of public displays heralding accomplishments and shaming students. I stopped when I realized that all I did was create a classroom divided, a classroom that consisted of the students who were good and the students who were bad. I didn’t even have to tell my students out-loud who the “bad” kids were, they simply looked at our chart and then drew their own conclusions. And then as kids tend to do, they would tell their parents just who had misbehaved and been on red or yellow for the day. Word got around and parents would make comments whenever they visited our room of just how tough it must be to teach such and such. I couldn’t understand why they would say that until I realized it stared me in the face. My punishment/behavior system announced proudly to anyone who the bad kids were, so of course, parents knew it too. So I took it down and never looked back. No more public humiliation in my classroom ever again.

We may say that we do it for the good of the child. We may say that it helps us control our classrooms. We may say that public behavior charts have worked in our classrooms. I know I used to. And yet, have we thought of how the students feel about them? Have we thought about the stigma we create? Have we thought about the role we force students into and then are surprised when they continue to play it?

The fastest way to convince a child they are bad is to tell them in front of their peers. So if that is what we are trying to accomplish, then by all means, display the cute behavior charts. Frame them in smiley faces, hearts or whatever other pinterest idea you stumble upon. Start everyone in the middle so the divide becomes even more apparent when some children move up and others move down. Hang those banners of accomplishment, make sure not everyone is on there. Make sure everybody has been ranked and that everybody knows who is good and who is bad. Create a classroom where students actions are not questioned, nor discussed, but simply punished. And then tell them loudly and proudly to move their clip. After all, if the whole class doesn’t know someone is misbehaving then how will they ever change?

To see one teacher’s journey of how she moved past public behavior charts, please read this post by Kimberley Moran “Moving Past Behavior Charts”

PS: As Patrick’s comment wonders, what are the alternatives? I have blogged extensively about what to do instead, just click the links highlighted in the post or go to this page

PPS: More thoughts on this have been posted tonight

I am a passionate teacher in Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4th, 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.