being a teacher – Page 137

I recently read Matt Ray’s post titled “Awards for All” (and I encourage you to read it as well) and although I know that his intent is pure, after all, he loves those children like no one else, I question the idea of providing an award for all. Awards can be a sticky mess for me. I know I don’t want them to be a part of my classroom, particularly from an academic standpoint, but I am also starting to believe that really we shouldn’t be concocting “fake” ones either However, I got the impression that Matt created these rewards because otherwise his students may never actually receive any form of reward. So then that makes it ok, right?

This society with its emphasis on making someone the best means someone is always the loser. This competition for adoration starts young, when students are subjected to enforced spelling bees and honor rolls in elementary school. It is not that I am opposed to celebrating students, I just don’t understand the need to always give them something. To hand them a diploma stating that they are indeed number 1 at whatever we decide. While personality awards like the ones Matt discussed may seem harmless, I wonder, how does the child feel that really wanted to most improved in math and didn’t get it? Or the child that has been working hard to be kind toward all but is not recognized for it? We are also making losers out of them.

Awards are a slippery slope and while we as teachers think that it boosts students self-esteem, how often does it hurt it? How often does the innocent title that we give a child in order to raise their self-esteem end up boxing them in instead? When we choose to focus on one trait of a child’s personality, no matter how kind our intentions were, we in essence tell the child that this is the one thing I have noticed and all of these other things, you did not quite excel enough in. Why the need for recognition? Can we not through our own words and actions give these children enough recognition without having to do it in awards form? Is this society so entrenched in awards and making losers out of someone that we have to make up awards just to reach all children? If that is the case, then I guess I am not doing my part.

being a teacher, conferences, global, global read aloud

The Global Read Aloud – My Session From The Global Education Conference 2011

November 19, 2011 Pernille Ripp

This week I had the thrill of presenting at The Global Education Conference on my passion; The Global Read Aloud. This 30 minute or so presentation was recorded, so if you would like to hear it “live” here is the link.

You can also see my slides below, I am not sure they will make much sense though without the audio. I tend to not do a lot of text.

being a teacher, education reform, Student-centered

Want to Shut Educators Up? Tell Them "It Is For the Children…"

November 18, 2011 Pernille Ripp

The oldest excuse in the book for change in education is, “We do it for the children.” And it works! Throw that baby on the discussion table and people just go silent. After all, if it is for the children then it must be good. If it is for the children then if we decide against it we are deciding against children. If it is for the children then it must be researched and proven to benefit them. And yet, we have all been fooled by this statement. Purchasing a Smartboard – it is for the children. Creating more tests – it is for the children. Slashing school budgets – it is for the children. Proposing merit pay – it is for the children. Common Core standards – it is for the children. Asking teachers to take pay cuts and freezes – it is for the children. Bigger report cards with more homework and tests to report – oh yes, it is for the children.

Except most of the time it is not. Because when were the children ever asked? We say it is for the children and yet they never enter the actual decision-making or even discussion. If you asked a child if they wanted more “rigor” in their education, I can almost guarantee that most of them would look at you like you were crazy. If you ask them if they needed more grades or more tests, their answer might surprise you. When teachers are asked to take pay cuts because otherwise our children will get hurt, most children would be sad to hear it.

So let’s cut the crap, sorry. Most decisions in education is not for the children, but for the test company, for the district to look good, or for someone’s life to be easier. It is not for the benefit of the children. And yes, of course, we know more than the children but the fact that their voices are left out of the education debate and reform should be frightening to us all. So start small; ask the children in your room and then tell me it is for the children.

being a teacher, classroom expectations, classroom management, student driven, Student-centered

This is My Room – How Controlling Ones Classroom Can Send the Wrong Message

November 17, 2011 Pernille Ripp

I used to be the ruler of my universe; my classroom, the queen of the systems. You need to sharpen your pencil? There’s a system for that. You need to leave the classroom? Here is the system for that. How we walk down the hallway, how we get our jackets and backpacks. How we act when others come into the classroom, how we borrow books from the library, how we borrow supplies. Don’t answer the phone, don’t sit in my chair, don’t eat your food now, don’t, don’t don’t…Everything had a protocol, rules to be followed, always designated by me, and I was exhausted. I was so busy keeping track of all my check out sheets and reminders that I forgot to just enjoy what I was doing with the students. I was so wrapped up in managing my space that I lost focus on what was important and instead wasted time getting upset when my system wasn’t followed. It was time-consuming, overcomplicated, and downright ridiculous.

Yet I feared what I knew had to be the opposite of my contrived systems; chaos. I feared what would happen if I just let a kid check out a book without having them sign it out and leave it in their desk at the end of the day. I feared what would happen if I didn’t know who had which manipulative, or how many pencils someone had borrowed from me. Add that fear drove those systems forward until they got me so lost that I didn’t know the teacher I was anymore.

So I stopped the endless control. I “let” students borrow books from my library and take them home. After all, the worst that could happen if a book was lost was that another child might read it. I showed the students where I kept all of the supplies and let them grab what they wanted. I had them unpack and come in from the hallway in the way that suited them best; some need one trip, some need more. I stopped obsessing over our systems and gave the room to the students instead.

And the result? Not chaos as I had feared, but ownership. It turned out that these students knew exactly how to take care of our space and actually were a lot more invested when they felt it was theirs. They no longer come into my room, but into our room. They no longer ask permission to use a stapler or use some tape, they just do it. They fight me over my chair, and take pencils when they need. They now welcome others to our room, answer the phone with their name, and take over the space every day. I don’t manage them, but instead focus on our learning. Giving back the classroom to my students righted a wrong I didn’t know I had committed; I had taken their space from them. I often remind myself that teaching is not about me but all about them, and now our room reflects that. Does yours?

being a teacher, education reform, power

Every Day I Make a Choice

November 14, 2011 Pernille Ripp

Every morning I choose how I see the day. I could view it through the lens of most that I will not do enough to help my students, I will not be able to get them where I need them to be because the system is against us.

I could view the students as obstacles that need to be conquered and my colleagues as people who take up too much time or none at all. I could view my administration as the enemy, and my standards as chokeholds around my teaching. I could blame the system for my lack of progress and I could feel good that at least I tried. But I don’t.

I choose every morning to believe in my own abilities as a teacher and as a human being. I choose to be positive, thinking that today will be the best day I could ever make. Today my students will conquer mountains and guide me on new paths. My colleagues will inspire me if I reach out, and then will support me through my journey. My administration will hold me to high standards because they believe I will soar. The standards are simply guides and they can be worked with much easier than worked against. The standards do no tell me that I have to prep my students for tests, or even how I should teach, but only what our goals should be and those can be reached in many ways. I choose to fight the system from within and change it the way I can. I do it for my own sanity and for the curiosity of my students.

Every day I have a choice in how I will view the world, and although I wake up grumpy (just ask my husband), and bogged down by all of the forces working against me, I slip on my teacher super power suit and I stay positive. The last thing schools need is another person bringing it down. The world is already trying to do that. So what do you choose?

being a teacher, conferences, Student-centered

A Student-Led Conference

November 13, 2011 Pernille Ripp

There they sit, hands clutching the paper, eyes shifting a little back and forth; the responsibility clearly weighing on them and yet…If you look a little closer, you will also notice poise, presence, and a sneaking calm. The students are ready to state their goals, to own their learning; welcome to student-led conferences.

Most of these students have never been given the control of their conference so they are more nervous than they need to be, in fact, I think they get a little glimpse of how many teachers feel. They want to do well, they want to be able to answer the questions, they want to offer their parents hope and positivity. Yet they are not afraid to bare their shortcomings, they are not afraid to discuss what the path ahead looks like. They own their education.

I leave the meetings exhilarated and proud, we shared our journey and we previewed our path. Parents had tough questions but the students were honest in their answers. Parents leave feeling satisfied, proud of their children, and part of the process.

As educators, we wonder how we lose the engagement of our students and then do conferences to them. We do education to our students acting as if they have nothing at stake, pretending to be the one true expert that will fill the empty vessels. Even if we do student-centered learning, we then forget to shape our conferences on the same model; less me, more them. I could never go back to the old conferences.