being me – Page 71 – Pernille Ripp

Ahh the Edublog Awards, affectionately known as the Eddies, are upon us and with that comes all the “Vote for me!” tweets and posts as well as the misgivings people have about awards. And boy does that get boring after a while. But let’s be real here for a second, it is nice to be recognized by someone that your blog is worthwhile. In fact, it is really nice. I was lucky enough to be nominated in 3 different categories, all new to me, and all way out of my league. Most influential post…did you see who I am in company with? So that is why I am certain I will not win, and I am ok with that.

The thing is, I am still fairly new to this blogging world. I started 1 1/2 years ago not intending to write to anyone but just as a matter of reflection for myself as I changed my teaching dramatically. In that time I have shared many personal stories as well about losing a pet, various competitions, and even the heartbreak of losing a pregnancy. This blog has morphed into a true reflection of my life, my dreams, and my fight for students first in education. And for that I am proud. I look at some of the contenders in the awards and I realize that I have far to go, many miles to walk and mountains to climb before I reach their level. It simply is not my time.

So if you stumble upon the EduBlog Awards take some time to read the other people. Discover new blogs if you feel like it and weigh their contribution. Don’t worry about how long they have been blogging but rather whether or not you have been moved by their writing. Worry about whether it speaks to your heart, or whether it changes your mind. Then vote for them or maybe don’t even vote but add them to your reader. Celebrate the diversity of the voices out there and know that being nominated is indeed an honor, but not a necessity to be a great blogger. My biggest prize from blogging are the connections I make, the comments I get, the ways I am challenged through discussion. I win that every week, and that I am ok with.

being me, family, questions

We Pass on Our Wondering

November 28, 2011July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

My grandfather always told me that a little girl lived in the water-tower by his house and that if I paid enough attention, I would notice her stocking hanging out of the little window to dry. To this day, when I go home to Denmark, I pass that water-tower knowing that his story is probably not true and yet I wonder. My grandfather gave me that gift; that little spark of curiosity that kept me focused and interested even beyond my curious years.

I try to pass that on to my students. I don’t make up stories as much as he does, but rather leave them with a spark of curiosity. I proudly exclaim that I do not know the answers and how will we ever find out? I ask them to seek their wonder, to allow their mind to ponder, and to take some time to reflect.

The day passes by and we do our curriculum and yet we try to squeeze something out of every minute we have to give us some extra time to wonder. We wonder out-loud, we wonder silently, sometimes alone, sometimes as a group. We speak of it because that provides it a legitimate place in our classroom. We cherish it and we laugh about it. Not all wonderings are meant to be explored. The gift that my grandfather gave me I now pass on to my students. A fitting legacy for the man that means the biggest part to me, the man whom we chose to name Theodora after, the man who now is in the twilight of his life. Every time I drive by a water-tower I wonder if there is a little girl upset that her stockings are always wet, looking for a window to hang them from and then I wonder whether he remembers?

As my grandfather slowly succumbs to ill health, I keep him in my thoughts, knowing that I made him proud.

being a teacher, being me, classroom expectations, classroom setup, hidden rules, our classroom, student driven, systems

No Size Fits All – Some Thoughts on Prescribed Systems in the Classroom

November 27, 2011 Pernille Ripp

I am sometimes asked what system I used in my classroom; which system do you prescribe to to get them to act this way, which system do you believe in for your philosophy. I always feel like a disappointment when I tell them, “None.” It is not that I am pioneer within education, or a maverick, but rather that I don’t believe in systems. A system to me means prescribed, a system means rigidity, rules to follow, and scripts to use. I tried that for 2 years when I first started teaching and it failed, horrifically and miserably. My classrooms doesn’t work that way, it doesn’t fit into a book description. So while some people may say I fall under whatever system they think, I always giggle a little because the truth is much simpler.

I follow the Pernille system. The one that says to listen to your students, give them a voice, get out of the way, and then change your mind when needed. The system I use has no book or no guidelines but only common sense and a lot of reflection. I don’t manage my children, they are not stress I must constrain. I guide them, they guide me and we trade spots more often than I can count. I do not read a book to see how I should train my students the first week of school; they are not circus animals getting ready for a performance. Instead we get to know each other and we laugh a lot because laughter is a key ingredient in my life. I do not hide the “real” Pernille from my students because I believe education must be authentic to be meaningful. My students share their emotions and opinions whenever they can.

I know that if I wanted a book-deal or masses of followers I should call my system something, my husband jokes about that all the time. That way people could refer to it and ask themselves, “Well what would Pernille do?” And then they would be confused as to why my system wouldn’t work as well for them, because a system has to be as personal as your classroom. You borrow, you steal, you get inspired by others, but in the end your voice and that of your students is the one that needs to shout the loudest and it needs flexibility and adaption skills. So trust in yourself, sure read the books, ask the questions and then reflect; what will you do and what will your students do? Hint: It requires conversations with your students to create your own system. Good luck.

being me, label

Those that Matter

November 15, 2011 Pernille Ripp

I often think of the labels we bestow upon each other…hero, leader, expert, inspiration

And those we give to our students…smart, lazy, underachiever, confused, creative

And I wonder how often we miss the mark altogether?

How often does the label describe the whole person? How often do we truly know the whole person?

I do not do well with labels, and I laugh when others give them to me, but there are some I carry with me always, in awe that that I have them; mother, wife, teacher.

Those are the labels that matter

being a teacher, being me, future, student driven, Student-centered

Why I Make My Life Harder

November 12, 2011 Pernille Ripp

Sometimes I wonder why I make my life so hard? Why do I let the students explore rather than just dictate what they are supposed to learn? Why do I fight for them not to be graded at every turn when just writing that percentage or that letter would free up so much of my time?

Why do I insist that we work things out rather than just punish them without a conversation? Why do I force myself to get the learning done in school rather than sending it home as homework?

Why do I fight for the creative spirit of these kids? Why do I challenge myself to change and grow when really I know that I am a decent teacher, isn’t that enough? Do they really deserve the best of me so that my family only gets the rest of me?

I make my life hard because our future is at stake. We are modeling the future of the world and I want it to be a beautiful one. I want it to be one where children believe in themselves as learners, where their creativity shines, and they are unafraid to fail. I want the world to be one in which I do not fear sending my own child to school, afraid that our system will kill her curiosity. I do this for my daughter and for all of the other children.

being me, labels, questions, students

Does Teachers Having Background Knowledge on New Students Harm Them?

November 6, 2011 Pernille Ripp

Early on in my life, I was labeled smart, something I have discussed in other posts. This distinction wasn’t given to me because I proved myself in class or because I excelled in all academics. The label had in fact been bestowed upon me because I had started school when I just turned 5, rather than the normal age of 6 in Denmark. Unfortunately, I was the perpetual underachiever that just floated by unless I really, really cared about something such as creative writing and yet the label stuck through all of my years of schooling.

That label “smart” though had its advantages; teachers viewed me with a favorable lens, even when I really had no clue what I was doing. I was assumed to be not working hard when in all actuality I really was so lost I couldn’t explain many things. And the teachers did most of the work for me, it worked perfectly since from year to year my old teachers would tell my new teachers that I was smart and so the year was set. I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone, just sit through the barrage of parent teacher conferences where my mother was told numerous times how I wasn’t applying myself.

Some may say that my teachers saw something in me that I had not recognized myself yet, and to them I say, sure… But what is more intriguing here is really that label teachers bestow upon children and how it tends to stick with them. They say that first impressions count and nowhere is that truer than in an educational setting. Often by the time our students start in our classrooms, we know a little about them, maybe not all of them, but most. We may have spoken to their previous teacher or we may know their family, or in the very least have heard of them. Sometimes they come with a file thicker than my arm, other times they are a vast mysterious until we have our first class. And yet, we think we have them pegged very quickly. I often wonder how much of a different perspective one could get of a student if the first class you had with them was one in which they excelled?

So can we move away from our assumptions? Are we, in fact, creating a barrier between us and the real student by having “background knowledge” about them? Can we stop labeling students or is this hardwired into our nature?