Category: being a teacher

being a teacher

Have You Been Using Adobe at School?

Pernille Ripp

Adobe’s annual contest for educators that use their products was just launched this week.  So why not submit your best projects, lesson plans, curricula and tutorials to the 2012 Educators’ Choice Awards.
The 2012 Educators’ Choice Awards will honor and reward Adobe Education Exchangehttp://edexchange.adobe.com/pages/home members who submit the most innovative teaching and learning materials. The Adobe Educators’ Choice Awards feature distinguished judges who will select the finalists, voting by members (who will select the winners), and amazing prizes, including laptops, iPads, and Adobe Creative Suite 6 software for you and your classroom. The contest began this week and the submission period ends October 5, 2012. Educators in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are eligible to submit entries in three categories including:
  • Primary/Secondary Education
  • Higher Education
  • Creative Suite 6
Enter or get additional information on the 2012 Educators’ Choice Awards here. For inspiration, view last year winners. Follow @AdobeEDU, #AdobeEDUAwards for the latest updates about the awards. Get creative and win big!
being a teacher, blogging, connections, journey, reflecting

Not All Teachers Have to Blog or Even Be On Twitter

Pernille Ripp
Image representing Twitter as depicted in Crun...
Image via CrunchBase

I see a lot of posts and discussion about how we wish all teachers would get on Twitter or how all teacher should start a blog, and at first, I was a believer.  I know how much I have benefitted, in fact, how much my life has changed, because of blogging and Twitter.  And yet, now I falter on the belief of blogging and tweeting for all.

Blogging for me opens up a conversation that I don’t have the time for to have face to face some times.  It opens up debates, new ideas, and inspiration that I often cannot find in my every day doings.  However, it also removes me from seeking out those opportunities to have those same discussions “live.”  That doesn’t mean everyone responds that way, but I think many of us do.  Blogging is a tool for deep reflection, even though it is a public one, it is a time for me to put myself out there and to sort through what it is I really mean.  And that doesn’t work for everyone, and why would it?  We all have different comfort levels in how we share ourselves.

So instead of syaing that all teachers should blog we should hope that all teachers reflect.  Whether it is through a blog, throguh a conversation, through a journal; the reflection is what matters.  The reaching out to others and having those courageous conversations, putting yourself and your ideals out therefor debate, that is what matters.  Not whether you blog or not.

The same goes for Twitter.  I love Twitter because I can connect with others, easily, on my time.  Yet you can connect in other ways.  Twitter is not the only way you can learn something and again here I think it is the act of connecting that makes us herald Twitter as the best PD for teachers.  It is not Twitter that does the professional development for us; it is the way we use it.

So no, I don’t think all teachers should have a blog.  I don’t think all teachers should be on Twitter.  But they should all be reflecting and connecting somehow, somewhere, with someone.

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being a teacher, control, education reform

Forced Education is Not Cruel and Unusual Punishment

Pernille Ripp
Image from here

An interesting debate has been sparked in the comments section of my post “Not Grading is Awful” on the Cooperative Catalyst, with some people stating that forced school is inhumane.  I have been pondering this for a bit and I must say I disagree; having an educational system that is mandatory is not inhumane, not having one would be.  And neither is forcing courses on students, it all comes down how those courses are taught, which incidentally is something we do have a bit of control over.

Now I know that we are tied to standards and district regulations, the politicians are breathing down our neck to raise test scores and there are, indeed, major flaws within our educational system, and yet…There are many things we can change within the public school setting.  I did.  But back to the original point that forced courses or mandatory education is cruel and unusual punishment and that students should have a free reign instead over what they study and how.  I disagree.  I think students should be expected to take certain classes simply because education is what rounds us out at human beings.  Particularly in the primary grades.  I loved climbing trees as a child and could have spent most of my days outside roaming around with my knife, and yes because of school I couldn’t pursue that all day, however, that childhood passion would certainly not have led me down the path of teaching.  Instead going through school and having a foundation to do further studies on led me to where I am.  Children may have the curiosity to explore, and that should never be stifled, however, we must support that curiosity with basic common knowledge and a well-rounded worldview.

So some may argue that there is no point in knowing historical facts that do not directly relate to whatever we end up pursuing as a career.  Some may argue that much of math is arbitrary for most people who simply do not end up using it.  Some even say that grammar and how to write an essay is superfluous knowledge that does us no good.  I disagree.  I think all of these lead us to where we end up.  I think knowledge as a whole is needed to be a citizen, to be a knowledgeable member of society, to be respected and accepted.  So I may not remember all of the days of grammar drilling, or spelling lines, or even math facts, but I see the result of them; me teaching it to my students but trying to make it more interesting.

I think we sometimes mistake the whole notion of education for all as flawed, where instead we should be focusing in on the parts that are.  Drill and kill, sometimes that is a necessary component.  Teacher talking, yep that too.  However, how we teach becomes just as important as what we teach.   And that is something we all have control over in this endless debate of education policy.

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achievement, alfie kohn, assessment, being a teacher, No grades

Not Grading is Awful

Pernille Ripp
I am just going to admit it; not grading sucks!  Not grading means I cannot assign an average, translate it into a grade and be done.  Not grading means I have to have anecdotal evidence to back up my final grade on the report card, anecdotal evidence I have to collect throughout the year and then actually keep in one place.  Not grading also means that my students have not been given percentages at any time throughout the year, which means that when I have to give them a letter grade (as mandated by my district) it is my job to make sure that they have an idea of why they are getting what they get.  Not grading means I cannot just zip through a pile of papers, correct them according to my answer key, and whip out my calculator.  Not grading means that a product can take weeks to truly be complete because that student has to rework it or revisit it in some way.  Not grading means I have to find the time in our super packed schedule to have discussions with kids about their progress.  And it sucks, honestly, because it is so much work.  I am not going to lie.  It is a lot of work not to grade in the traditional sense.

And yet, despite all of this, not grading in the traditional sense of percentages and letter grades makes so much sense to me.  Giving feedback rather than a letter leaves room to start a conversation.  It leaves room for the student’s voice to be part of the deliberation.  It leads to more learning situations as I cater my curriculum to fit the needs of that particular student.  It leads to much more time spent with the student rather than at home going through their piles.

For one, sitting down with my students to discuss why they have assigned themselves whatever grade is eye-opening.  To hear 5th graders take control of their learning, to own up to where they should have worked harder, to set up the future path for learning they need to travel, wow!  I even used my Livescribe pen for some of these conversations just to record what the students had to say, even though no one but me would listen to it.

Second, I am amazed at how often my students and I land on the same grade.  These kids really know where they are in their learning journey and they know why they are there.  It is rare that I have to steer them toward a different grade and even then it is something we discuss.

Finally, having these reflective discussions is a great way for me to culminate the year.  The students give me feedback on what worked for them, they give me ideas on how to improve and we discuss where they are headed.  All of them set learning goals for the summer, not through assigned homework, threats or promises from me but because they want to read or want to remember their math concepts.

And yet, I still struggle with taking that conversation and distilling it to a letter grade.  That letter seems so shallow compared to the rich discussion we have had.  That letter doesn’t seem to reflect all of the growth they have done.  That letter doesn’t seem to describe their journey at all but instead boils them back down to a percentage, to a number and a grade that says nothing.  So I return to my constant state of reflection on grading; what am I trying to accomplish with it?  What is the true purpose?  What am I trying to classify and portray?  How can I ever hope to capture the essence of a child’s growth in a mere letter?  And the time?  Where will I continue to find the time as our school gets more focused on tests and data?  I am not sure I have all of the answers but in my heart and mind I know what I am doing makes sense for me.  Even if it is one of the most time consuming changes I have ever integrated into my room.

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being a teacher, Student-centered, writing

Student Feedback on Writing

Pernille Ripp
On our last day of school I like to pull out the student questionnaires from the first day of school and have the students revisit them.  We laugh over some of the things we wrote, we share what we still believe our strengths are and then the students tell me what they still don’t like about school.  How often do we ask students that?

As we went around the circle one thing was made abundantly clear; writing was not a favorite subject.  Writing!  These students who have blogged more than 700 posts, blown me away with their superhero creations, and handed out heartfelt thank you letters to all of their teachers, they hated writing.  In the past, I would have shrugged and not thought further of it, “Oh well, I tried…”  But this year I asked them to tell me why and how I could fix it.  So here are some of the ideas my 5th graders gave me:

  • Let one of the daily journal prompts be a complete free write (easy!)
  • We use the 6 traits curriculum so every week focus on one specific skills also in their journals.  They can write about whatever they want but what we are looking to improve is that one skill.
  • Give them more time to delve deeper into their stories.
  • Have a culminating writing project (which we did this year) but make it free choice.
  • Once a week do a pop definition hunt of a word where students are not allowed to use computers.

As I look at this list I see two things; free choice and how easy all of this would be to implement.  So once again I remind myself to give the students time to speak, to add their voice to the curriculum, and then to actually follow through.  I am already excited to add some of this to my writing next year.

being a teacher, goodbye, students

My Kids Say Goodbye

Pernille Ripp
We have committees at the end of the year and we always give thanks to all of those who have helped us have a successful year.  So a group of kids spearhead thank you letters; they have everyone write them, they gather them, bind them and present them.  This year though they presented one to me as well; a complete surprise and one that has left me a little teary eyed.  So what were some favorite comments?

  • I like it a lot because you are not strict but don’t let kids fool around like my bus driver.
  • I sometimes have been thinking I did bad but you made me feel much better.
  • My family and I will miss you…I babysit.
  • The most interesting part of my blogging experience was that people on the other side of the Earth ask questions that people in America think everyone must know the answer [to].
  • Thank you for not trying to bore us in class…
  • Thank you for criticizing me but not being mean about it.
  • You have inspired me to want to become a teacher.
  • You cared about the class and what we wanted…
  • Thank you for helping and believing in me…
  • I will miss you the most

And so that’s why I teach…

May your final days with your students be filled with stories and laughter, and perhaps a tear shed in private or public.