being a teacher – Page 115

All summer my mind has been in high gear trying to wrap itself around what my classroom experience will be like next year. I know I will be teaching an incredible age group of students at an amazing school with a stellar team. I know I will be an English teacher and what our curriculum is. But that still left me with the big question; what will this look like in my room? 5th grade I knew what it looked like. 5th grade I had 90 leisurely minutes to get through reading and then another 75 for writing. What luxury! But 45 minutes every day for both reading and writing what does that even look like?

So I did what I always do; reach out both locally here to my awesome colleague Wendy, but also globally to amazing people who have been answering my questions. So I think I have an idea of what it will look like, a more tangible plan has been forming in my head, so now I do what I always do; share. Because I cannot be the only 7th grade English teacher wondering how to do this!

My crazy ideas include independent reading EVERY DAY. This is not a typical thing I have heard in 7th grade due to the limited time for teaching, but Jillian Heise, who I admire, gave me the perfect idea; to use it as the very first thing when students enter. That way every child has a purpose and routine as they enter the room. I am free to check in with students, gather what needs to be gathered and otherwise just observe/assess/and ask questions.

Up next will be the mini-lesson, I will be alternating days between a reading and writing focus, however, there will be both every day. This is where my skills of not blabbering will be tested. The mini-lesson needs to be short! This is where picture books come in handy, as well as using the same text for both. That way students are familiar with the text on the second day but we can change our lens with which we view it. Also, the Global Read Aloud text “One For the Murphy’s” will be used as our mentor text for the 6 weeks of the project, ensuring that we participate in the read aloud. And yes, I set up my rocking chair and easel in a corner just for this purpose, students can choose to sit on the carpet or in chairs as we listen, discuss, and reflect.

Then on to conferring and independent work time. I will be meeting with small groups and one-on-one with students for the next 15/20 minutes. During this time students will be writing or reading, whatever the focus is for the day. That does mean that some kids will get more independent reading time, and I am thankful for that. I fully believe that if we want kids to be great readers they need to read as much as possible. I am hoping to meet with 2 small groups at least every day. This may be totally unrealistic, but it will keep the pressure on me. I will also spend time popping down next to students as they read for informal check ins, cutting out time wasted of students coming to me.

We will end the 45 minutes with grammar, blogging, random mini-teaching points as well as show-and-tell. Yup how-and-tell. Thank you John T. Spencer for the idea. If we are to live a life of readers and writers, we need to build a community and show off what we hold dear. Show and tell allows us to share a slice of us, plus it can lead to deeper reflection for the audience of the reaction they have to something. This won’t be every day, probably on Friday’s, but it will happen.

This is all tentative and should really be entitled “Pernille’s crazy ideas for modified workshop.” But it is a start, a tangible start, that gives me something to work with and work on from the very first day of school. There will also be days of Mystery Skype, Skyping with authors, longer assignments, speeches, and presentations. But those will come as needed. And with my independent reading class I will get to implement 20% time every Friday! So yeah, I may not know what I am doing yet, but I have an idea, and it is making me so excited to get started!

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

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, building community, making a difference, new year, principals

Dear Administrators, Please Don’t Forget About the Little Things

August 12, 2014August 13, 2014 Pernille Ripp

Dear Administrators,

I know you are excited. I see it on Twitter, I hear it on Voxer, and in the conversations I am lucky enough to be a part of. School is starting and another year is about to begin. The big ideas are ready, the new initiatives, the dreams, hopes, wishes that come bundled with the start of a new school year. There is so much potential surrounding you. So much to do. And so little time to waste.

But before you get too far in your dreams, think small first, please. Before you roll out all of the new initiatives, the changes that you know will make everything so much better for everyone, yourself included, make me a promise first; promise to take care of the little things as soon as possible.

Yes, I know it is not fun or exciting to think about those things that you promise teachers that you will do, like approving a form, emailing a parent, looking up that long lost order. But those little things? They make a big difference to us teachers. Those little things that you may not think deserves your limited time right now, those are the ones we need you to also take care of because those things add up to a whole lot of stress for us when left undone. In fact, some of those little things may be stopping us from fulfilling our big dreams, hopes, and wishes.

An amazing school doesn’t just come from dreams. It is built upon a foundation of trust, of accountability, of feeling respected. And all three of those are built on getting the management side of your job done for those who need it. There are certain things that we teachers can only ask you to do, we don’t mean to burden you, we don’t mean to add more tasks to your already busy day, but there are some things we are not allowed to do or we are not capable of doing. There are some things we need you for to make our jobs easier.

So this year, please do dream big. Please do work for change. Get excited about the big things. But don’t forget the little things, those boring to-do tasks that don’t seem pressing. To you they may be able to wait, but to me, it matters so much that you got them done. That I can trust you to get them done. That I know that even the small things deserve attention in the journey we are on.

Thank you,

Pernille

PS: Shannon or Jason, if you read this, you do this. Thank you from the bottom of my very excited heart.

Be the change, being a teacher, new year, student choice, Student-centered, voice

Some Myths About Student Choice and Voice

August 11, 2014 Pernille Ripp

If you ever listen to me speak, whether in a podcast, at a conference, or just over tea here in Wisconsin, chances are at some point I will mention student voice. And then, if we continue discussing teaching, student choice will also pop up. I can’t help it. It is what I fervently believe in. It is what I live for in the classroom. Yet, sometimes when I bring it up, I get strange looks, like “Is she insane?” type of looks. Or just confused expressions, nonchalant shrugs, or even indifference. Sometimes though I get excitement, then confusion, then questions. Those are my favorite types of moment.

So what are some of the most common myths about student voice and choice?

That it is hard. Giving students a voice is not hard. Asking them for their opinion is not hard. Implementing it is. Listening to it without judgment is. But asking the first question, not hard, not even brave. Acting on what they tell you, now that takes courage.

That is a mess. Sure, students working on different things can be messy, but it is far from a mess. A mess would indicate no direction, no instructions, no real purpose. Messy can indicate a variety of things; creativity in progress, exploration at hand, failure and triumph all at the same time.

That it is utopian. Offering students a choice in what they are doing, even if it is a small one, is not an unrealistic expectations for students to have. After all, as adults (which I believe children will be some day) we are given choices all of the time. Sure, certain things are determined by things outside of our control, but so many things can be handed over to students to decide. We just have to look for them.

That it stands in the way of learning. Often choice is seen as a hindrance to cover what we need to cover, yet, in my experience the opposite is true. Giving students choices and a voice in the world will help you cover more curriculum. You can have students unpack the standards with you and come up with ways to cover multiple ones in projects. Plus student engagement inevitably goes up when they are engaged in the learning progress.

That it will breed negativity. Often the assumption is that if you give students a voice all they will do is complain, but that is simply not true. Sure, there will be complaints, but there will also be constructive criticism, braistorming, ideas, questions, and hope. We will not know what we get without asking first.

That it is the answer to everything. I love student choice and voice, but there is more than this to creating a successful learning journey. You can add it, but it won’t fix everything. To do that you have to figure out whether you would want to be a student in your own classroom and then start fixing what you wouldn’t like. Student choice and voice are just parts of the solution.

being a teacher, new year, reflection, Student-centered, students

I Know What Students Want So Why Do I Forget It?

August 9, 2014 Pernille Ripp

The new year anxiety and excitement is creeping in. The days are ticking down. I am awake more often with dreams of schools and ideas trailing around my mind. Can I do this? haunts me in my thoughts Do I know what I am doing? keeps me awake.

Then I remember. I know what students want. Not my new students, those I have yet to uncover, but year upon year when I have asked my students what they need from school and teachers their answers have been the same.

We need someone who cares.

We need someone who listens.

We need someone that believes in us. Notices when we are not there. We need someone who likes what they are doing.

They need us to be kind. To be honest. To be present.

They need us to have open minds, open hearts, and open arms.

They need a safe place to try.

But it is not just what they need that I remember. It is also what they want.

They want to be respected.

They want to be pushed.

They want us to see that having in fun in school does not mean learning has stopped.

They want to have a voice, to have choice, to know that their opinion matters and so do their ideas.

They want to know that what they are doing is relevant and not just because. They want to know we trust them,

They want to feel loved. To feel important.

They want what so many of us want; a place where they belong.

So why do we forget this every year? Why do we allow the curriculum to push us into a frenzy, forgetting about these most basic things?

Children don’t remember the tests, the homework, not even always that crazy, cool project you did. They don’t remember the posters, the seating, or even the rewards necessarily.

But they do remember how they felt, and that we can control. They do remember if our rooms felt like home, and whether they mattered. Don’t forget that as our year gets busy. We know what to do, just do it.

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, new year

What We Can Choose

August 7, 2014August 7, 2014 Pernille Ripp

We get so caught up in our big things. The units we have to teach. The conferences we need to do. The to-do list that always grows with our next big project. We lie awake at night wondering about our direction, whether students are invested? Whether what we do matters? And yet, the big things are not always the things that matter the most. We may think they do, but really, the little things have a lot of power. There are choices we make every day that seem so small, yet make such a big difference.

We can choose to look at a child when they speak to us. That matters.

We can choose to withhold judgment as an answer is given. That matters.

We can choose to do something we promised we would, even if it is so small we think the other person may forget about it. This matters.

We can choose to smile when someone greets us.

We can choose to stop by, say hello, even if we are busy.

We can choose to be interested, to slough away our tiredness, and instead remember why we do this job.

That matters.

We can choose to remember names. To ask about a weekend. To find a book. To lend a pencil. We can choose to take time for talking.

We may be busy. We may always have the next big thing waiting for us, pressing down on us, urging us to move faster and further. Yet.

We can choose to slow down in small moments.

We can choose to savor the time.

We can choose to tell a story. To laugh out loud. To show our humanness. We can choose to share our mistakes.

We can choose to unveil our dreams, our fears, and in turn create a community. This matters.

We may dream big, but we should think small. Everything matters, especially the things we think matter very little.

That’s what we can choose.

Be the change, being a teacher, new year, reflection, Student-centered, students

Just Fine is Not Enough

July 30, 2014 Pernille Ripp

Today, my baby twins turn two.Hard to think they were ever small enough to fit in my body when they stand in front of me demanding another waffle, another kiss, another story. And yet, two years is a long time, a lot has changed. Not only have they changed, but we have changed. The world has changed in ways we could never imagine. Sometimes on purpose, other times out of necessity. Change, as they say, is a constant.

I think of how we change in the classroom and how we often change based on what we need. We are after all the ones who wield most of the power. We are the ones who plan the lessons. Who chart the course. Who have to act in charge, even if we don’t feel it. We change when things don’t work for us, when things don’t fit into our framework of what our classrooms should look like. We change when the little voice inside tells us we need to. And sometimes we change because the kids ask us to. Then we get happy, we stay, we think our change is enough and the years start to tick by, and we forget that we ever needed the change because what we are doing seems to work just fine.

“Just fine…”something I hear so often when I ask people to whether they can change. We hold up our files of success, our pictures of kids engaged, we find the proof we need that things are working and kids are learning, that our change that happened so long ago was enough for now. Yet those kids are not the same, I see that in my own four kids. The twins are nothing like Theadora when she was two, the world has changed a lot since then. And when Augustine turns two, the world will have changed again, and so will the kids in it.

So be proud of your change, but check it too. You may have found it works “just fine” but is it time to change again? To fine-tune? To adapt? To throw it all out? Is it time to listen to the kids that are coming to you now, not those that you taught a few years ago. The ones who are excited to have you be their teacher this year. Is there change that needs to be done for them? I know there is for me.