Category: being a teacher

aha moment, assumptions, authentic learning, Be the change, being a teacher, education reform

What I Need to Change

Pernille Ripp

I was going to write about all of the things we have been doing to try to break down the barriers to poetry in class.  All of the eye rolls I have been seeing, the grunts and groans.  The many “Roses are red…” poems I have sen in the last few days as I ask them to write me a poem, any poem, just write something.  I was going to write about how many of my students hate poetry because of all of the rules we have forced upon them in our pursuit of helpfulness and understanding.  I was going to write about how my students are slowly inching further away from a disinterest or total hate to a small interest or even like when it comes to listening to poetry.  Writing it is an entirely different battle.

But I decided that this was bigger than that.  This moment, in our classrooms, is bigger than that.

It is not that my students are the only ones that hate poetry.  In fact, some of them do, some of them don’t.

It is not that my students are the only ones who hate writing.  Hate reading.  Hate book clubs.  Hate English.  Some of them do, some of them don’t.

It is not that my students are finally expressing their hatred not to be mean or out of spite, but so we can do something about it.

It is not that my students are different from most students.

It is more that I have had the same conversations every year.

It is more that every kid has something they hate about school because of choices I have made, choices we have made, when we decided to teach a certain way.

It is more that student curiosity seems to have been drowned out by our carefully planned lessons.

That inquiry and critical thinking have been buried by the pursuit of the one right answer.

That we have taught students that school is black and white while life is multicolored.

That we tell them to sit still so much that they forget their own voice.

That we make all of the choices for them and then get frustrated when they cannot create on their own.

That is what I need to write about because that is what I have discussed with my students.  That is what teaching poetry has revealed so far.  That is what I need to change.

Who knew poetry would be the place my students found their voice.

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. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day.  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.

being a teacher, education reform, MIEExpert15, no homework, student voice, students choice

Before You Assign That Homework – What Students Wish You Knew

Pernille Ripp

FullSizeRender

“Should teachers assign homework?” was the question I asked my students today.  I thought I knew the answer, a resounding no I was sure, and yet, once again my 7th graders surprised me.

While some pleaded for no more homework, many said they understood the purpose of it, that it was a necessary component of school and then wrote a paragraph asking for change.  Asking for their thoughts to be considered.  Asking for teachers to think before they assign.  So what my students wish teachers knew before homework is assigned is now written here for the world to see.

They wish teachers knew just how busy they are.  That we ask them to live balanced lives that involve sports, family, friends, and sleeping, yet assign hours of work that pushes their bedtime later and later.  They cannot fit everything in, even though they try.

They wish teachers knew just how stressed they are.  That they feel like our expectations are through the roof at all times, but sometimes they are bound to mess up, and can we make that okay as well?  Can it be okay to forget once in a while or to not get it all right?

They wish teachers knew that they don’t always need the practice.  That homework should be for those kids that don’t quite get it, not assume a need for everyone, and that those that really don’t get it won’t get it after they do the homework.  That they need help in school instead.

They wish teachers knew how much we all assign.  That we spoke to one another more so that we see that our class may not assign a lot but when you add each class together, it is now hours of work, not just a little bit of time.

They wish teachers knew that they have worked really hard in school and wish they could have a break.  That homework on some days is okay but it doesn’t need to be every day. Nor does it need to be over the holidays.  That tehy get we have a lot to cover but can they promise us to work hard in school in exchange for time off from school?

Finally, they wish teachers actually did their own homework.  That they tried the assignments so they could see how difficult or confusing they may be.  That they worked through it with kids, not in a pretend way, but really, and then shared their own learning with students.  That teachers truly felt what it means to live the life of a student, along with the pressure of homework,  to understand why homework continues to be a problem for some.

Once again, my students thoughts push my own thinking.  I quit assigning homework years ago but still run into my old ways once in a while; there always seems to be so much to cover, so much to do.  Now, I only assign reading every night, but even that adds up with everything else.  So I wonder; if we all asked our students, what would they say about homework?  And what would we do about it?  How would their answers change education?

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. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day.  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.

aha moment, being a teacher, books, Passion

Got a Minute? One Sure Fire Way to Get Students to Read

Pernille Ripp

For the past 3 years I have avidly shared my reading life.  Students always know the book I am reading, they know the titles I am excited about it, I have shown them pictures of my ever growing TBR (to be read) pile at my house and every week I am lucky enough to bring in new books for my students.  I place them on the shelves, the ledges, the window sill.  I place them on their desks and I place them into their hands.  And yet, something was definitely missing.  Students were reading sure, I see them with the books in their hands, but for some reason my excitement was not carrying over.  Those books I had loved that were given 5 stars on my “Read” poster were still staring at me from the shelves.  Enter Nancy Atwell and her idea that is so simple, yet I had forgotten to do, the idea that has changed the way my students are finding books, the idea that has taken 1 minute to implement in every class.  Yup a minute.

Got a minute?  Do a book talk.  Seriously.  Grab a book and plan one right now.  

For a little more than a week, I have started every class with a book talk.  A one minute recap of why a book was amazing and deserves to be read.  Sometimes I have expanded it to 4 minutes as I have read the first few pages of a book when I don’t feel the back page gave it enough selling power.  Then I have put it down where the students can see it and then started to teach class.  Easy to prep, easy to do, doesn’t take much time out of our precious 45 minutes.

The result has been palpable.  Almost every single book I have book talked has left the room.  Almost every book has found a new reader right after the talk.  That is why I talk up a different book to each class, so they all get a chance at something amazing.

The best part though is that a book talk doesn’t just end with the one reader that gets the book.  Once a child loves a book, they pass on that love to another friend,  and that friend passes it on.  A whole chain of book love going on all because you took one minute to talk up a book.  I should have done this from the start.  Thank you Nancy Atwell for reminding me.

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. 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.   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.

aha moment, being a teacher, education reform, Passion, student voice

Want More Student Understanding? Try This.

Pernille Ripp

I don’t know when my classroom first got so quiet, but I remember the moment when I realized that it shouldn’t always be.  I remember looking around at the students, some working through the task at a steady pace, others with their hand up waiting for me, and some staring into space completely lost.  There were no words spoken.  My shushes and teacher looks had effectively taken care of that.  So those kids with their hand up waited until I could get to them while I tried to get those who stared into space started.  The time wasted for all was significant; not much had been gained by the silence other than compliance and loss of learning time, but at least they were silent.

It seems an epidemic of silence has been harming our schools for many years.  That we long for silent hallways, which also mean quiet classrooms, as we tour schools.  That we often equate silence with good learning and noise with bad.  Teachers are evaluated on how quickly they can get students to settle in and listen, not how quickly they can get them talking.  

I knew then that this was not the type of classroom I wanted to be a part of; one where students were so well-trained in being quiet that they didn’t even dare advocate for themselves anymore.  Where students waited patiently at a time when they should have been figuring out how to access the information they needed without the teacher.  The quiet, the shushes, yes they still had a place but it could not be for everything.  It should not be the golden standard with which we held our learning too.

So I changed the way I taught, in fact, it was quite easy to do.  I started to plan for when they students should speak.  Rather than plan for silent engagement at all times, I plan for discussion, for deeper learning to occur because more than one person (IE the teacher) has shared their thoughts, doubts, or wonderment.  When I teach, I seek out moments for students to talk.  They turn and talk or discuss with their groups before we discuss as a whole group.  Even before an assessment, I ask the students to discuss for a few minutes to help them sort through their thoughts, to gain confidence in their beliefs, and to get mentally started with the task ahead.  I can still assess their thinking just fine, in fact, I think theirs has gotten stronger simply by allowing them a few more minutes to process in a different way.

I am not saying that all noise, all the time, is what we should strive for but there should be more.  Students should leave every single classroom having used their voice to further the learning.  Students should feel that their voice mattered, that they were heard, that those questions they carried, those ideas they had were brought into the world and at the very least touched upon.

So as you plan ahead for the week today, ask yourself; when are the students speaking?  When are they a part of the teaching going on?  My students will discuss every single class, every single day this week, much like they have in the weeks past. They will grow their listening skills by speaking.  They will grow their ideas by sharing them.

Our classrooms should not be judged on how quiet they are but instead on the type of noise they create.  Please allow the students to speak, teach them how to use their voices for good, for learning.  Let our classrooms be about the students speaking and not just their listening.

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. 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.   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.

being a teacher, education, education reform, student choice, student voice

Does It Matter Whether Students Recognize What We Do As Teachers?

Pernille Ripp

I asked my students, all 114 of them, to show off their typical day in school.  Then I asked the world to join in.  Yesterday more than 3,000 students did the #studentlife challenge.  Images shared through the hashtag, blog posts, or any other social media platform all to let the world in to what happens when you are a student.

I was not surprised when I saw all of the sitting.  Students learning by listening rather than doing.  I was not surprised when I saw many teachers teaching, standing at the front of the room handing out information.  I was not surprised when I heard students tell us how tired they were.  How many hours of homework they had. How every day was the same; monotony rules their world.  We know this, I have been fighting that type of school for the last 5 years.

I was surprised though, when I saw how many of my students said these things.  How many of my students told me they sat down, that they wished for more movement.  That they wished for more breaks, longer lunch, more doing, less listening.  That they wished for more freedom in their own school.

I was surprised because in many of the classrooms around my school, they do move.  They do speak.  They do rather than just sit.  And yet few mentioned any of this.  Few mentioned how hard their teachers work to try to make lessons interactive, engaging, and worthwhile.  Few mentioned how little homework they have.  How little we ask them to do outside of school.  How much choice they do have in a day.  My students sounded like all other students; like school was a punishment they had to suffer through every day until their real life starts.

Disheartened, I wonder if students will ever notice, or whether it even matters?  Will students ever see how hard their teachers are working to change their educational experience?  Will students ever realize that the way many are teaching now is not the traditional way of teaching anymore?  Will students ever realize that they do have a say in their education but that they need to speak up for us to change?

There seems to be two lenses of education; the one shared by students and the one shared by teachers.  And they don’t seem to mesh up at all.  You ask a teacher what their classroom is like and they will show you pictures of happy students doing learning.  You ask a student what their day is like and they will show you a picture of textbooks and teachers standing at the front speaking.  Where is our educational narrative not matching up?

I will never stop tying to engage my students.  I will never stop trying to make their days active.  To give them choice.  To give them voice.  I will never stop trying to make school a place of curiosity and fun, rather than mandatory listening.  I wonder if I am being too optimistic that students would notice all of this?  Does it matter whether students recognize what we do?

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. 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.   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.

aha moment, being a student, being a teacher, being me, change, education, Passion, student voice

When A Student Stops Asking Questions, Who’s to Blame?

Pernille Ripp

I pulled her aside, wondering how I could help as we face another half a year of 7th grade.  Carefully I asked why she was with me, what had held her back from understanding what I had planned out.  What stood in her way of not completing her work. I searched for clues to be a better teacher for her and hoped she would she some light on why she never asked the questions I am sure she had.

“Do you get what the assignments ask you to do?” I asked searching for a place to start.

“No.” She answered matter of fact.

“Well, why don’t you ask me questions about them then?” A classic follow up question.

“A teacher once told me I asked too many questions.  Whenever I raised my hand he would say, “Oh here comes another question…” and so I stopped.  I figured I didn’t want to upset my teachers.  I figured they didn’t want to hear it.”

The weight of that statement swallowed me for a moment, the enormity of a child telling me they had stopped questions, so I looked her and said the only thing I could.

“You have our permission to ask as many questions as you need.  You have our permission to ask even after you have asked and you still don’t understand.  Don’t ever let someone stop you from asking a question.  Part of my job as a teacher is to answer your questions, don’t forget that.”

I think of what I have probably said in the past when I have been in a hurry.  When I have been annoyed that a student asked that question.  When I felt sure that they just hadn’t listened  and so they didn’t really deserve for me to answer their question.  I shudder at the permanent damage I may have caused from my own terrible judgment.  I shudder at the things I have taught students just because of my own impatience.

The thing is with teaching that I sometimes forget; part of our job is to answer questions, not judge them with our answers.  Not judge them with our veiled contempt at yet another question.  Part of our job is to create classrooms where students feel safe to ask.  Safe to ask again.  Safe to ask in a different way. Our job is to teach all of the kids.  Even the ones who don’t understand.  Even the ones who ask us question upon question.  Our job is not to teach students that they should never ask a question.  Think of the damage our words may cause.  Think of what we truly teach children with our words.

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. 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.   Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press.  Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.