being a teacher – Page 98

advice, aha moment, being a teacher, being me, Reading

Enough – My Nerdtalk for #NerdCampMi

July 7, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Yesterday I had the incredible honor of declaring myself a reading warrior along with hundreds of other passionate nerdcampers. Thanks to the awesome Erin Klein,this Ignite/Nerdtalk from Nerdcamp 2015 is below. If you have never experienced Nerdcamp, you need to put a huge “X” in your calendar for next year. It was absolutely incredible to be surrounded by people who are as passionate about literacy as I am. We will change literacy instruction if we band together! Thank you to Colby, Alaina, Suzanne and all of the other incredible people that put this event together.

PS: Due to the slides not working you will see me filling 3 minutes of awkward silence with my stand up routine – luckily I think I am better teacher than stand up.

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark, who has taught 4th, 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. The second edition of my first book “Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students” is available for pre-order now. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, being me, MIEExpert15, Passion, student voice

This Is For the Kids

July 3, 2015 Pernille Ripp

This is for the kids who made me cry. Who wore me out, who tore me down. This is for the kids who wondered why. Who dared to speak, who dared to question. This is for the kids that didn’t give up, that saw something in me I would have never seen myself. Who questioned persistently, who had the audacity to say they were bored. And who never ever thought that school should be about the teachers and not about the kids.

Those kids that may be “hard” to teach. Those kids that are definitely hard to reach. Those kids with their chips, their baggage, their grudges. Who couldn’t think that this was what school was meant to be, who didn’t believe that it couldn’t get better. Who pushed me and pulled me, who got angry at times. This is for you kids, and I hope you know who you are, because without your courage to speak up, I wouldn’t write. I wouldn’t speak, and I wouldn’t be a better teacher.

So this is for the kids who dared to dream that being a student in our schools could be more than it was. Who through their defiance shattered my illusion that I was a good teacher and drove me to become better. This is for you, for all of you, who instead of giving up, got angry, who instead of fitting in, stuck out. You gave me the reason to change. Thank you for being those kids to me.

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, ideas, Passion, student voice

How Dare You Teach Our Students to Speak Up?!

June 30, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I used to be afraid of what the next year’s teachers thought. Of how I would be judged. Of how they would roll their eyes when I spoke of the dreams I had for my students, of the voice I was trying to give them. Of how they questioned everything I did. I still remember the day I was told that I was not helping students, but hurting them instead, and how dared I tell students to question the every education we were providing.

And so I stopped. For a few days any way as I licked my wounds and cried at home. Because how I had become that teacher that instigated, disrupted, and told students that if their education was not working for them then they had to speak up. How had I become a teacher who told students to question?

But my students didn’t. They still questioned me, stopping me and asking what the purpose of something was, asking if they could do it in a different way, if they could change, break, create, or even skip. And in their fight for a better education I realized that no matter what the next year’s teachers had thought, I had to support that fight. That my students had the right to create a ruckus when the education being given to them was not working,

So instead of telling them to just speak up and question, I taught them to do it kindly but persistently. That there were ways they could ask their questions without being seen as dissenters. at all times That they had a right to ask and that they needed to involve themselves in the education that was happening to them. They had a right to an education that would work for them.

And within the courage of my students, I found my own courage. Reclaimed it and held my head up high again. Because the question should not have been why I dared to have students question their own education, but instead how I dared being an educator that didn’t… Where is your courage?

PS: In my district now this does not happen, next year’s teachers are some of the biggest supporters of student voice that I have ever met.

being a teacher, being me

Passionate Learners – My ISTE 2015 Ignite

June 29, 2015November 10, 2015 Pernille Ripp

On Sunday, I had the incredible privilege to give an Ignite speech at ISTE 2015. An Ignite is a 5 minute speech with 20 slides where they automatically advance every 20 seconds. I have never been to ISTE and I have never given one of these before, so I took a chance and spoke about what it means to break the rules a little…

If you are wondering how you can break the rules to create a classroom full of passionate learners, the 2nd edition of my book Passionate Learners is being released on September 22nd!

being a teacher, Passion, teachers

Before You Give Up On “Those” Teachers

June 29, 2015 Pernille Ripp

We have all heard of them; those teachers. Those teachers with their negativity. Those teachers with their fixed mindset. Those teachers that don’t like children, that don’t like change, that will always, always be the one who says no. Those teachers are at every school, often with the strongest voices, often with the most power. And we cannot wait for them to quit.

Yet, before we give up on those teachers, before we push them out, write them off, and definitely talk behind their back, stop for just a minute. Because those teachers had a dream once. Those teachers came into this profession wanting to inspire, to change, to create. They didn’t come to be the naysayers or the ones that brought us down. They came into this profession wanting to be the very best teachers they could be. To reach every kid and truly make a difference. To be the type of teacher that kids don’t forget, that leave their door open,and that try to and try and try. And yet, along the way something happened. And that something changed them at their very core. Changed their dreams and their optimism. Changed them to become something they never thought thy would be.

And here’s the thing. We will never know what that something is for a person. We will never know how many times they stood up and fought until to be broken down. We will never know how many times they were told to find their place, stay quiet, and keep their dreams to themselves. We will never know what path they walked to take them where they are now.

So before you give up on those teachers take a moment and ask; why did you become a teacher? What was your dream? What happened and what can I do?

Because those teachers are just like us, they just got a little lost. They don’t need to be pushed out, they need to be re-found. So do your share, don’t give up, because just like we continue to find new ways to reach all students, we need to find ways to reach all teachers.

Be the change, being a teacher, being me, Passion

Start Again

June 29, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I could write about the incredible people I have met. I could write about how overwhelmed it is to be approached by people that love a project so much that they tell the whole world about it. I could write about the passion. The inspiration. The ideas that have surrounded me at this conference and in turn have humbled me beyond belief. But I won’t. Today is not the time, because today is about starting again.

I think we get so caught up in the perceived time periods of school that we forget that we are masters of our schedule. That we think that change can only come on perceived dates. That we try our new ideas only when the calendar beckons us to change. But the thing is with change; it can happen any time. It can happen anywhere, and anyone can change.

So as I walked the streets of Philadelphia last night and realized just how lucky I am to be a teacher, I realized that perhaps what we all need to do is simply to start again. That education is not broken but simply needs a new start. That we all need to get back into our classrooms and try that new idea, pick our pieces up, and put them together in a new way. That change doesn’t just happen but instead is something we pursue.

Starting again doesn’t require permission. It doesn’t require approval. It doesn’t require you to be extraordinary. It simply requires courage, a first step, and a little bit of perseverance. And that is something we all can find.