Category: community

being a teacher, communication, community, students

The Mayor of West Middleton

Pernille Ripp

The mayor of West Middleton works the crowds.  He is that kid, busy in the hallways saying hi to every kid, every teacher.  If he doesn’t know your name that day he runs after you to ask you what it is.  And then he remembers.  He knows us all, whether veterans, brand-new, student teachers, substitutes.  He knows parents, siblings, and any new kid 10 minutes after they walk in the door.  He smiles, laughs, and pays attention.  He cares and he lets you know that he cares.

It’s not an act, this welcoming thing; it is him, something in his nature that he cannot help.  Something that cannot be contained, as his teacher – trust me I have tried when we walk down the hallway.  Then I realized that it was only my sense of order that made me dislike these random outbursts of talk or stopping and hugging people.  I needed him to walk with me, not in front or behind me, not be around the corner when I needed him in line.  Now, I let him loose on the people, let him do his thing.  He never goes far, just far enough to greet, to spread that smile.  And for that I am thankful, he makes me a better person, a better teacher because he shows me every day what genuine interest does for another person.  He leads by example, and it is an example we should all follow; know everyone, greet them, hug them if you want, ask questions, and if you don’t know their name it is ok to ask.  But most of all; remember them all and show them that you are happy they are here, happy they are with us, happy they came to school that day.  The world needs more kids like him.

assumptions, being a teacher, communication, community, new teacher

Sing the Praise of Other Teachers

Pernille Ripp

We want to be a welcoming school, a place where all students feel safe, happy and inspired. We cherish our kids, greet them in the hallway and take a special interest in anyone who needs it or just happens to be in our path. We recognize achievements, we assemble and build community, togetherness and pride in ourselves and each other. We discuss how to do it better, more, bigger. How can we reach each kid to make them feel appreciated, acknowledged and valued? And yet, sometimes we forget about the teachers.

We are so busy always focusing on the achievements of the kids that the natural success of fellow staff members becomes something that slips our mind or is an entirely taboo topic depending on your staff climate. Why? Shouldn’t teacher accomplishment, whether big or small, be the first place we start when we discuss success in our school? Don’t we want to be part of an active community where you hear genuine praise in the hallways, classrooms and staff lounge? We forget to share or assumptions are made that no one wants to hear it. I some places, jealousy can rear it’s ugly head and people learn to not share, to not divulge that they did well on something.

Enough of this fear of acknowledgement! Ban the temptation to not share or highlight. Praise others as you wish your students would praise each other. After all, our students learn best by example, think of the great learning experience it will be for them if they hear natural praise every day between staff members. Start small, be genuine, be brave and take the first step; tell someone you noticed, you cared, you were inspired. Praise someone and set the example, start a movement.

being a teacher, communication, community, school staff

Know the Power of "Hello"

Pernille Ripp

Good morning, hello, hi… all small words that when left hanging in the hallway can have tremendous effects.  The power of a greeting, something our parents teach us to always reciprocate, is massive.  It can shape our mood for the rest of the day if met by the right caliber of person or leave us wondering about ourselves if unanswered.   So simple yet so powerful.

Yet, in hallways across America, teachers are reporting feeling isolated and genuinely uncared for whether it be through their own actions or by simple mistakes conducted by others that perhaps were too busy or just preoccupied.  So weigh the power of hello, a greeting, an acknowledgement.  Think about it, greet others, take the time to acknowledge that they are in your building, in your presence.  Don’t be too busy, don’t rush by, don’t scowl or close yourself off.  Be the pebble that starts the wave of positivity rather than negativity. So say hello, mean it, perhaps even smile.  I am happy to see you today.

being a teacher, blogging, community, students

A Ghost Child says Hello

Pernille Ripp
Image from here

I call them ghost children, those students who pop up in our classroom for weeks or months only to vanish again as quickly as they appeared. One student, let’s call him Tom, showed up a couple of weeks into the school year ready to learn. Hailing from Chicago, he was so excited about having art, gym, and regular teachers rather than subs.  At his old school they didn’t have such luxuries I quickly discovered.  I spoke to his mom several times on the phone, asking if there was anything we could do to help her find a home, a job, etc. Her main concern was always Tom and his education, particularly getting him out of trouble and into learning.

Every day, Tom greeted me with the biggest smile. He was ready to learn, no matter the obstacles and just couldn’t believe all of the “amazing” things we were doing. Blogging, in particular, was something he loved to do, writing stories that made little sense and never quite fulfilling the task at hand. But he wanted to learn, to connect, to be a part of something.

And then, one day he was gone. We called home and got no answer. The weekend came and another couple of days passed by and his seat continued to be empty. I reached out, once getting a family member on the phone stating he would be back the next day.  Days passed and I got more people involved, trying to find my student, worrying where he had gone’ and why his stuff hadn’t gone with him.

More than 2 weeks has passed and this morning I opened up our kidblog. There was a new post waiting for my approval:

hay ever one this is Tom what up i am  likening my new school sorry miss ripp i had to transfer but i will talk to you and the class ever day tell Nathan Erick Hannah Lewis well ever body i miss them by


There he was, letting me know everything was alright, reaching out.  Maybe this blogging thing makes a difference after all.

being a teacher, communication, community, new teacher, school staff

Why is Teaching a Lonely Job?

Pernille Ripp

This past week as I have reflected upon personal conversations, emails and posts I have come across I had a sad realization; everywhere there are teachers who feel that no one wants them to succeed, that no one cares what they do, that no one stops to listen to them.  While I had hoped that these were merely regional perspectives and not something worldwide, I see now that teaching can be an incredibly lonely job.

Every teacher wants to be the best teacher they can be.  They start out with ideas, ideals, and aspirations, truly believing that every child can learn, achieve, be something incredible.  And yet, after perhaps not so gracious welcomes, or reserved hello’s, teachers learn their first lesson about teaching: don’t expect a red carpet welcome.  It is not that other teachers aren’t welcoming, the profession as a whole just seems to be a bit skeptical, naturally reserved when anything new enters our midsts whether it be a new idea, change, or a new person.

And what a sad lesson that is.  We are there to reach out to all students, to make them feel welcome, and we spend precious class time building community with our students and then forget the community that needs to be re-formed every time someone new enters our schools.

I discussed this with my mother, who is a college professor.  She agreed with me that this is not a localized phenomenon but something that she has encountered on various levels as well.  Her take was that it often can be attributed to jealousy, busyness, competitiveness or a combination of any of those.  I hate to say she is right but I do think from personal experience that there is room for improvement in how we treat each other face to face.  I think of how in my online PLN whenever there is a success, people cheer and ask more questions.  Now I wonder whether this happens as much in real life as we would  like to think it does.  I certainly have days where I feel as if no one hardly cares and then there are days when I feel accepted and welcomed.

So I open it up for debate.  Are teachers friendly to each other or could we improve on this?  Why can teaching feel as if it is you against the world with few people cheering you on?  Do we create this situation or is a just a cutthroat profession where people fend for themselves, constantly wary of the new person?

advice, alfie kohn, assumptions, being a teacher, classroom setup, community, educators, elementary, new teacher, new year

Declutter I say! Or Why Motivational Posters Demotivate

Pernille Ripp

Life is full of choices, so choose carefully! How can anyone love you if you do not love yourself? And my favorite: failure is never an option! All sayings found on various motivational posters sold to teachers that mean well and boy, do they sell. Anyone who has ever been in a teacher store those last couple of weeks before school start will see the poster wheels spinning frantically as the just right poster is sought. Ok, I admit I, I was one of those teachers, however, I thought I was clever and that I had it all figured out. You see, I had edited my pre-packaged collection and therefore only had select few displayed. Thus, my students knew that these were the sayings they had to focus on. I remember one was a cute little frog hanging on to a tree branch and something about sticking with it. Oh, day in and day out that little frog inspired my students to never give up! Right? Well, not exactly. My students didn’t care. I am sure they thought they were cute and one or two of them used them for inspiration for their own doodles in their journals but did it ignite their passion for learning? Hardly, in fact, I would like to argue quite the opposite. You see, my students were overloaded with messages. Walk into almost any elementary classroom and you will be bombarded with motivational posters, hand-made posters, student work, rules, classroom jobs and anything else that deserves a special place on the wall. And we don’t just tack it to the all, we put up back posters and fancy boarders o that it gets really colorful and pops! In fact, bare walls are taunted and laughed at, seen as someone being unprepared or dare I say dispassionate about their room, their job, their kids!

And so the pressure on new teachers in particular is immense. You may be new but your room should still look inviting, educationally functional and also be a representation of you as a teacher. That last week before my first week of school ever, I was waking up in cold sweat wondering whether the kids would get “me” in the room? And then school happened and I realized little by little that even though I had labored intensely over my handmade sign with the great Shakespeare quote “Do Not be Afraid of Greatness” my students had never read it or noticed it really. How do I know? My principal asked them about it when I was observed the first time. But surely they had noticed all of the signs? Not so much, even if I had pored over each placement of every poster so much that my walls had holes in them from my tearing off the gorilla tape (note to self: don’t ever use gorilla tape again.) I had created rules – keep them simple but firm, and a little flexible. Classroom jobs – instill responsibility but make the chart so fun that the kids cannot wait to see what job they will do. And maps – I had maps all over my room. Why maps? Well, I really like maps and they filled all that dreaded empty wall space. I would have continued to cover and decorate had it not been for a pesky thing called the firecode. It stopped me at 20%.

So what changed? One day I realized that it wasn’t my room that represented me, but myself that represented me. In fact, I got sick of re-taping posters that kept falling down, or moving them when I actually needed the space for learning and so little by little down they came. The ultimate clean up came when I had to move rooms this year. I sorted, evaluated and donated. Now I chuckle when I see my “old” posters hanging somewhere else. Don’t they realize why I got rid of them? I also thought about my students more and how they reacted to the environment I created. Too much of it was about me, and how I wanted the room to be. They didn’t feel welcome or that the space was theirs, but merely as guests passing through borrowing the space. Another consideration was that I have students that get over-stimulated quite easily. Being a clutter freak myself I start to get clammy when I stay in these rooms too long so imagine if you are a student trying to focus on whatever is going on on the whiteboard. Where do you look? To the poster telling you to keep focusing or on to the actual board? So is my room bare walls? Nah, but what is up there is important. In fact, the kids have noticed what is posted. Quotes form the Little Prince, from the “I Have a Dream” Speech, and student introductions in Wordles. We have some literary elements as reminders and even a couple of pictures. The students know how obsessed I am with zombies so they draw me pictures of flesh eaters. No rules, no motivational posters, just us. Our space, our room. And most importantly, room to grow into a community. Into making the space our own. They own the room as much as I do and that is more important that sticking to it or never giving up!