being a teacher – Page 126

Building a Team of Teachers

June 20, 2013 Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I happen to be on an incredible team, and while I have always been on good teams, there is something rather magical about the team I on now. Whether it is sense of humor or mutual respect, I am not sure, but my team, yeah, it jives. Yet we are pretty different and we do different things, some of our major teaching philosophy points differ, and we deliver lessons differently, most of the time that would spell disaster but on this team it doesn’t. So why not?

Mutual respect. I believe my team mates are capable of teaching well and they know that.
We speak to each other. I know this sounds like a “well duh” but I am constantly surprised by how many teams don’t. We are constantly in each others rooms, we have official meetings and unofficial ones. We hang out outside of school, we text each other, and tweet each other. We discuss students, and school sure, but also life and dreams.
We know each others’ strengths. We also know each others’ weaknesses which is just as important I happen to know that Jarod is really good at getting kids passionate about their writing and Mark is a math expert. Both of them have many talents and I use their expertise whenever I can.
We care about the same thing; the kids. We do everything for the kids and we support each other to be the best possible teachers for our particular students. We also switch kids around for math so that all of the 5th grade become our kids. This is huge for us.
We are open to new ideas. I am not afraid to share ideas with these two guys, sometimes they like them, sometimes they don’t. We borrow ideas vigorously and then adapt to fit our class, no hurt feelings if we don’t use something.
We are honest with each other. And that even means if we have differences. I don’t talk poorly about something one of my teammates has done (although I cannot think of what that would be anyway) but if something does irritate we go straight to each other and figure it out.
We hear each other out. My teammates know that I am passionate about the detriment of standardized testing and punishment in classrooms. They also know how I feel about homework, grades, and all of those things that make my classroom a bit different. They always hear me out without judgment and even sometimes see my point. That doesn’t mean it wil work for them and I am ok with that.
Believe in them as professionals. I do not think my team mates are poor teachers because they do not teach like I do. We are so quick to judge others that haven’t gone a more nontraditional route and it leads to strife rather than understanding. I believe every teacher needs to teach in a way that suit them best.
We lead at different times. Mark and Jarod will attest to the fact that I like to be in control at all times, hopefully they will also attest to the fact that i know when to step down as leader. I would say our team has three leaders we all step up at different times for different reasons, that balance is huge. No one feels like they have to do everything and everyone shares the responsibility.
We laugh together a lot. Being a teacher is supposed to bring you joy so when we can we share funny things or just crack each other up. We have enough pressures from the outside, I want to have fun at school with both my students and fellow teachers.
We support each other. When I put on #EdCampMadWI they both showed up. Took the time out of their busy day and came to something because they knew it was important to me. When they saw how much I tweet they didn’t laugh or call it silly, they got it. When I told them I get to have a book published in September they congratulated me. I do the same for them, I am not jealous of their succeses only eager to see them succeed more because it boosts the whole team.

We certainly can teach in our own bubbles. We certainly can keep to ourselves and nt worry about what other people in our grade is doing. But why should we? The power of a team is the same as the power of a global PLN. Why not be surrounded by people who build you up rather than break you down?

PS: If you want to see my teammates, follow them on Twitter: Mark and Jarod (they are still learning…)

being a teacher, testing

The Real Crisis in Education

October 17, 2012 Pernille Schmidt Ripp

You can’t miss it, the headlines, the politicians, the self-proclaimed experts all screaming from the rooftops, “There is a crisis in education!” So they answer it with more testing, more cuts, more rigor, more strenuous measures. Out with the old, in with the new. The crisis is the civil rights issue of our time some say. This crisis will determine America’s future say others. This crisis of education can be our undoing, and yes they are right, the crisis is here, it is now, and we must take action.

image from icanread

But wait, their crisis is not what is the problem. Their crisis of low test scores and America’s ranking in the world is not really what will be our undoing. The real crisis is how we are losing veteran teachers, how people with years of experience are quitting the field they love because they no longer can teach in a creative manner. In every district across the United States veteran teachers are being blamed for the education crisis. They are being told their methods are outdated, their methods are not teaching to the test, and by the way, they are also much too expensive.

The travesty that is losing all of these knowledge experts is what will be our educational undoing. All of those years of experience, of knowing what works, of being able to reach children, is walking out the door with our veterans. Those people that teachers like me reach out to when we are stumped, they are quitting in droves, sick of the testing, sick of beng the bad guy, sick of being told how to teach so that test scores can’t improve. And I can’t say I don’t blame them.

The state of education is indeed one of crisis and I wonder when will we as a society realize that being knowledgeable is an asset, not a detriment. That teaching in a manner that encourages creative problem-solving, hands-on learning, and that is influenced by the teacher is a great thing. That assessing students in a way that reflects how they will be assessed in their future lives makes more sense. That teacher worth cannot be measured by a multiple choice test taken by a tired ten year old. And that having an experienced teacher who still loves what they do is one of the best educational investments we can make.

being a teacher, blogging, student blogging, Student-centered

What Does Student Blogging Exactly Do?

October 16, 2012 Pernille Schmidt Ripp

As a proponent of student blogging I am often asked what it “does” for my students. The thing is, it does quite a bit.

Provides them with a voice. Education cannot be done to students anymore, they have to have a voice since it is their lives it effects the most; blogging gives them that.
Gives them an authentic writing audience. The product doesn’t end with me and a grade, it is out for the world to see and to continue to be developed.
Puts their place in the world in context. We think our students know how much in common they have with kids their age around the world, but they don’t usually. Blogging with those kids and connecting through projects such as the Global Read Aloud brings the world in.
Increases their global knowledge. Again, when you connect with others through your work and words, friendships develop and as does a mutual interest in the lives of one another This is the modern version of penpals.
Instills them with tech saviness and confidence. Blogging teaches my students yet another tool to use and we also use it to showcase other tools we have played around with. They feel confident in their skills as bloggers and it carries into their overall tech approach.
Instills safety rules and measures to be taken whilst online. We drill safety all year and the kids know the lessons by heart. It is our job to teach them how to be safe and the best way to do that is to work with them in situations that could be unsafe if treated the wrong way.
Teaches them how to give constructive feedback. We comment on each others posts but they have to be constructive comments. Blogging is a natural extension of the peer edit.
Teaches them how to have a meaningful written dialogue. When students don’t get comments on their posts, we often go back to see why not. Usually they realize it was not written in a manner that invited others to participate in their writing. Revision and reformulating follows.
Cements proofreading and spell check. We don’t want the world to see us as a poor spellers or grammatical buffoons.
Expands their geographical knowledge. We pushpin maps with the location of our connections, this sparks more questions, which lead to a deeper relationship between the students and those we connect with.
Furthers their empathy, as well as interest in others. Blogging should not be a solitary experience, but rather one that invites discussion. To have meaningful discussions one must care about others, which is shown through their questions.
Encourages them to view their own writing through a more critical lens. Because we have a portfolio of their writing from the beginning of the year to now, we can go back and see their development. Are they developing as a writer or what do they need to focus on? The stakes are raised because it is not just the teacher that sees their work.
Creates reflective students. Because students are given a mouthpiece to the world, I see them take more chances to reflect on themselves and their choices. It is remarkable to see a student reflect on what grades has taught them or what it means to be a student.
It creates opportunities for us to have fun.

being a teacher, hidden rules, listen, Student-centered

Sometimes We Have to Break Our Rules

September 29, 2012 Pernille Schmidt Ripp

image from icanread

It’s 3:40 AM and Ida is inconsolable. My normally calm, happy baby just will not stop crying; she is clearly miserable. I have tried everything in the baby books; swaddling, ssshhing, feeding, rocking, singing, pacifier, but nothing, nothing works besides holding her in my arms. So I do what I had promised myself not to do this time around, fall asleep with her on my chest, and finally we both get some much needed rest.

Why do I share this story? Because sometimes doing the thing we had promised we would never do is exactly what we need to do in our classrooms to progress. Sometimes we have to go against what we have read, go against what we have thought we would do, and simply figure out how we can help a child. Because when that child clearly has needs we are not fulfilling and we stumble across some idea, or we realize that our procedures and policies simply do not work, well then, we have to break those rules.

In the end; helping all children succeed is what we were put into our classrooms for. Even if that means sometimes doing things we never thought we would do. And I am ok with that.

being a teacher, classroom management, discipline, punishment

Red Cup, Green Cup, I Even Had a Blue Cup – Why I Threw Out My Sticks in A Cup

September 20, 2012 Pernille Schmidt Ripp

image from icanread

I remember the first time I displayed my classroom management cups; I was so proud. Although the idea was not my own, far from it, I felt that here was something I could embrace, here was something I could stand behind and really make my own. My old system of putting names on the board had proven to be too complicated, I had given up on it and so had searched for something new. Inspiration struck in another classroom and I too had gone to Target and purchased my cups; big fancy tropical drink cups.

The system was so easy; a stick with your name on it starts out in green, when you misbehave you move it to yellow – warning! – and then when you disobey again you move into red. But that wasn’t enough, oh no, I needed another level of bad, another level of punishment; enter the blue cup! The blue cup was an immediate phone call home to parents. It didn’t matter what we were doing, blue infractions meant stop the class and make that phone call in front of all of the class to tell your parents just why you were calling home. Proponents of in-class embarrassment can clap their hands with glee here. It was great! Not only did I get to call students out in front of their classmates to move their stick, I also got to have the cloud of warning hanging over them all day, and that stick of theirs could never move backwards in a day, only forward so the whole class knew exactly who had been bad that day with absolutely no chance to redeem themselves, power to the teacher!

With some kids the system was great, they misbehaved so often I didn’t even have to speak the words, we had a hand motion and a certain look that told them exactly what they needed to do. Move that stick or else! Or else… or else I publicly humiliate you in front of your peers, or else I make sure that if your day didn’t start out poor it is now guaranteed to be. Or else I call you out for any little thing because I am so focused on you now with that stick in the yellow cup. Those cups were central to the power in the room. Their placement was at the front of the class right by the white board where everybody could see them. No slinking to the back to move your stick, oh no, get up here and do it.

So what were these stick moving infractions because they must have been bad, right? Well, to the teacher I was then, where it all had to do with keeping the control, they were definite deal breakers. They were kids speaking out of turn, blurting out, or not paying attention. Kids coming in late from recess or not having their supplies ready after they had been asked. How about leaving your homework at home and then forgetting to come in during recess to do it. Or if I was in a bad mood it might be a snarky comment or the attempt at a joke; move your stick! You see, there was no rhyme or reason, some days it was easy to move your stick, other days I let things slide because I was in a better mood. And yes, some kids moved their sticks more than others because they just couldn’t sit still, because they just couldn’t get it together, because they were that kid that just keeps getting in trouble because we are so focused on them and their misbehavior. Poor kids.

So I stopped when I realized, too late, how much damage this system had created. Students had relinquished the power to me, sure, but it was because of fear not out of respect. They knew I was the boss because I made sure they were at the edge of their seats hoping to not be called to the front. I had created the type of classroom I swore I would never teach in and it had all been so easy. I knew I had to change when I saw their self-esteem suffer. I knew I had to change when it was the same kid day in and day out moving that stick. I knew I had to change when those parents didn’t answer the phone call because they knew it was not good news. I knew I had to change when I couldn’t recognize the teacher I saw in the mirror. So I threw out the cups, threw out the sticks, took a deep breath and swore off all systems. No more sticks, no more calling out, no more cups. And guess what…the kids behaved. The kids started to have more fun, to show respect, to pay attention. Was it perfect? Of course not, this is real life not a movie. But by throwing out the cups we shifted the power to be more balanced. The room became theirs again and I got to fulfill the role as teacher, not just punisher. I got to show the kids that I loved my job and more importantly that I loved having them in my life and that will always be more important that a cup and a stick. I have never looked back.

Be the change, being a teacher, choices

Find Your Change

September 10, 2012 Pernille Schmidt Ripp

image from Case&Co

I write a lot about change, after all, in education how can you not? Change does appear to be the constant every year and this year is no different. However, the change I love to focus on is the personal change; the one where we know that something has to be different for us to keep on going. The change that tells us that we will burn out in teaching if we don’t act now. So the one question I seem to get the most is; how do you change?

The answer for me is; start where you are. Take stock of what it is that makes you tick and what makes you stop. What burns you out and what do you have power over? There are many things that wear my soul down that I cannot control so I try to focus on those that I can; homework, grades, punishment, ways I present information, community, and so on. And then I focus in on a few that I need to change right now. I do not marry an idea, I date i,t and year after year it may get transformed – the change may change, and I am at peace with that.

I also don’t buy into a lot of programs. I already have enough to memorize with the curriculum I have to teach so I look for natural changes; those that speak to me, that I know are authentic to me, nor purchased and packaged in a sleek form. I have tried to implement many programs in my classroom, Tribes anyone, only to watch them disappear because I don’t remember what the main components are. So my change is my program and therefore not prescriptive, it works for me in that moment, in that year, and I believe those are the best types of changes.

So this year, as I sit on maternity leave and wait for the calendar to show November 5th, I think of changes I may implement this year. There are many I can think of but none that I know for sure, after all, how can I know what to change when I don’t know what will work with this amazing group of students? And yet, the need for change is there, I can’t wait to blog about it.