being a teacher – Page 115

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.

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, 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.

being a teacher, new year, Reading, writing

Some New (and Old) Ideas for Reading and Writing

July 28, 2014July 28, 2014 Pernille Ripp

My head is spinning, the thoughts are creeping in, ideas seem to be coming from everywhere and it is reaching that critical time…How in the world am I really going to teach reading and writing to my incoming 7th graders? Not the curriculum, that has been taken care of for me, but how am I going to work with it? How am I going to get them excited about it? How am I going to welcome them, get their attention, and then keep it for a whole year of our adventure? How will I bridge the gap between my elementary mindset and their middle school mindset?

So while, I don’t have it all figured out, after all, who really does before the kids show up, I do have some ideas of what we will do to create a great writing/reading experience.

I brought my library with me. There may not be many other middle school teachers that have this sort of library in my new district, but my books are who I am. Along with it, I brought my rocking chair, my carpet squares, and all of those picture books that mean so much to me. Together we will dive into the library and make it our own. I cannot wait for students to explore it.
our library corner
We will start with a picture book. Picture books are the vessels with which so much knowledge can be dispersed. They lure us in with their colorful pages and seemingly easy words, but leave us with deep thoughts and inspiration to write. So we will start with students choosing which book to read aloud. Current contenders include Pete & Pickles, Journey, Sparky!, My Teacher is a Monster, Mr. Tiger Goes Wild, Chu’s Day, The Story of Fish and Snail, Chalk, It’s a Book, and Unicorn Thinks He is Pretty Great. I hope each class chooses a different one.
picture books to grab their attention
We will discuss the good and the bad. Last year’s lesson on why reading sucks taught me so much about my students and I hope to replicate it in some way this year. While I want to highlight how incredible it is to read and write, I need to acknowledge all of the kids that don’t feel that way. We need to have an honest discussion and we need to put all of our reading and writing demons out there. We cannot move on if we are not honest.
We will use reflection. I learn so much when the students allow me into their heads so this year we will start with a reading and writing reflection. I may be crazy to think I can do the workshop format with all of my students, but I am going to try. This reflection will serve as our starting point. There has to be a way to get these kids reading, writing, reflecting, and talking. This is how we grow, this is how we learn.
There will be comics. I have always had some comics in the classroom, but this year I brought more out. I know that some of my students are very reluctant readers and I need to catch them with something. So comics, graphic novels, and books that I may not have thought would fit for 7th grade has been brought along, and they will be pointed out and placed into the hands of students. Whatever it takes to get these kids reading.
Books read will still be displayed. However, this time it will be on a bulletin board rather than on the door. I really want the focus to be on students’ reading and not mine when people walk by, so it will be our favorite book covers gracing our door rather than just what I have read.
my old book door display
There will be voice. We start with short stories and I was reminded of the art of story telling by a friend. I need to see where students are as writers before we can set goals and short stories lends itself perfectly to this. Students will be encouraged to create one of their own, using a medium they are comfortable with. We will focus on telling their story rather than all of the heavy editing, that will come a little bit later as we start to grow, set goals, and become mindful writers.
We will be global readers. We will be reading “One for the Murphy’s” as part of this year’s Global Read Aloud. I cannot wait to see the students connect with others as they think about this book and its powerful theme of redemtion, love, and finding one’s place within the world.
I will share my reading and writing life. I will continue to prominently display what I am reading, but new this year, I will also display what I am writing. I think it is easier for us to show off our reading because kids expect us to read, but do they know us as writers? I think it will be powerful for the students to see that I write all the time and for a variety of reasons. Hopefully, this will spark discussion as well.
writing sign for the door
Non-fiction will have a home. John T. Spencer inspired me when he discussed how we as adults forget that we read non-fiction all the time, yet it seems to warp itself into a textbook centered beast in our classroom. So this year I will embrace non-fiction even more. Not to forgo the wonders of fiction, but to help students understand how much non-fiction text they are already surrounded by and to realize that this counts as reading as well.
nonfiction gets it’s own shelf

Of course, this is not it. There will be more as my thoughts settle and I get into the classroom and see what else I can do. But it’s a start and I am excited, and that to me means more than anything right now. What ideas can you not wait to implement?