Category: being a teacher

being a teacher, change, choices, education reform, hopes, Student-centered

What Have I Done?

Pernille Ripp

I wish I could say that I run my classroom like a well-oiled machine,after all isn’t that what effective teachers do? In truth, it is more of an adventure as our day unfold. Sure the destination has been determined and even a tentative path, but often my studentts’ questions or wonderings are just too juicy to pass up. So we veer off the path and in the end, end up with more knowledge than I could have planned for.

I teach the way I hope my daughter is taught one day. I teach my students to find their voice, to speak up, to share their ideas. At first this seemed like a trap to them, like if they really spoke their minds about schools, they were going to get into deep, serious trouble. Now, about two thirds of the year has passed and these kids are not afraid to tell me the truth. If I am speaking too long, they ask me to let them work. If a lesson is boring, they tell me so, but even better, often offer up suggestions on how to make it better. The same thing goes for praise; if they love something, the tell me, they blog about it and they tell their friends.

And so I wonder what have I done? What have I set my students up for? I will not be passing on students who are used to sitting in their desks listening to a teacher deliver all of the learning. My students will want a voice, a choice, and a goal presented to them. My students will be demanding, honest, and have high expectations that their input will be valued. What have I done?

As we change our approach in the classroom and get more in tune with how we think education should be, are we instead just harming our students by showing them a different way to learn? Would it be better if we shelved our ideas for more student-centered learning and let our students remain in the mold they have fit into for so many years? When we reform are we really just setting our students up for failure? I would love your thoughts on this.

being a teacher

I Do Not Manage

Pernille Ripp
I am sick of the word “manage” as in “classroom management” or even better how do you “manage” your students?

Well, I don’t manage them.  I teach them, guide them, and learn along with them.  I do not come to school intent on herding cattle but rather helping young minds develop their knowledge, as well as their desires to become more knowledgeable.  I do not manage my classroom, but instead I collaborate with students to set up perimeters for us to function at our best, be our best, and want to stay that way.  I do not manage their desires to learn or become better citizens; I nourish it, sometimes light it, but always, always maintain it.

I do not manage to get through my day, I flourish through it, loving the trials, the ups and downs, the wondrous moments that come with teaching.  I do not manage my life or my curriculum, I live it, love it, and will continue to push myself as a teacher, a human being.

I am not a manager, I am a teacher, and I would like to stay that way.

being a teacher, being me, end of year, hopes, inspiration, students

What I Pass On

Pernille Ripp
When I decided to change things up in my room, I knew these students would only be mine for a year.  I knew that I had those 180 days to make an impression, to plant a seed and help them develop.  I knew that I had to let them go some day.  As spring break begins tomorrow, the letting go looms nearer and I wonder; what will I pass on?

I will pass on students that want to know what the goal of the assignment is, and not in a confrontational manner, but rather so they have clear expectations and a destination in mind.

I will pass on students who want to create.  They want a voice, not just a task.

I will pass on students that know where they work best, and yes some still choose desks, but most do not.

I will pass on students that take ownership of their learning.  Again they are partners, not just participants.

I will pass on students that will look for the global connection; that extra element that elevates a lesson.

I will pass on students that are not afraid of technology, its usage, and even know when not to use it.

I will pass on students who expect their voice to be heard and appreciated.

I will pass on students that are not just satisfied with a grade but would rather discuss what they need to change.

I will pass on students that believe in second chances, continued learning, and the power of a group.
I will pass on students who believe in their own self-worth, who believe they can make a difference and that their actions matter.

I will pass on students that have made me a better teacher, a more humble learner, a keener listener, and a kinder heart.

What will you pass on?

being a teacher, inspiration

What is Their Sentence?

Pernille Ripp

Image from I Can Read

After seeing the post by Daniel Pink and some very inspired posts regarding “What’s your sentence?”  I too have been wondering what is it I believe in?  What is my vision, my mission, my dream – what do I some day leave behind?  What is my sentence for the year, for the next 5 years, for my life?  In this thought path it struck me; what is important to me is not what is my sentence is but rather what is their sentence?

Them, those kids, those people we touch every single day; what sentence will they utter about me as they depart my classroom, my home, my life?  Those people that mean everything to me today, what will they remember about me, how will I have affected them?  What will their sentence be?  And more importantly, what would I like it to be? So I dare you to ask; what is their sentence?

So please if you will, share your “their” sentence in the comments. I have a feeling they will be powerful.

being a teacher, classroom expectations, students

So We Breathe

Pernille Ripp
We work hard in my room each and every day.  The students know that to be in a limited homework classroom, they are on the minute they get to school until they leave.  The pressure is on to stay on top of the learning, to be involved, and to grow, grow, grow.  So this week as we finished our dream project, as we inch closer to break, we breathe.  We release, we relax, and we rejuvenate.

As an educator I push my students, I make them reach for the things they are not sure they can touch, that is after all why I am there.  And yet you cannot continue to push kids to their utmost, day in, day out.  And so we breathe, we release, relax, refocus.

Academic rigor still stands, standards must be met, projects must be completed.  Yet our brains slow down, attempt to reconfigure all of this information.  We rewire our thoughts, we charge our spirits and we breathe.

being a teacher, common sense, Decisions, promises

I Am Committed

Pernille Ripp

We all struggle with decisions, every day, every minute. Some decisions become easier as we get more set in our ways, language we use, motions we go through, and yet some never lose their unfamiliarity, their newness, their rawness. As a teacher I cannot begin to count how many decisions I make in a day; language choice, assignments, what I bring into my room and what I take out. TO teach does not just mean to guide the learning, I am also there to make decisions.

So I wish for this for the coming week, month, and year; that whatever decisions I make, I make them fully. That once I commit myself to something, I commit the entire me. Not just a tentative part, but the whole thing. That once my thinking is through and outcomes have been weighed that I then trust myself. That I trust myself to know I made the right decision, that I trust myself enough to agree with my choice, and to perhaps even revel in it. Trust myself to fully commit. Give myself the gift of believing that I made the right decision, perhaps then I can give myself a break. Do you need to commit?