Category: education reform

education reform, voice

We are Part of Something Bigger

Pernille Ripp
We are part of something bigger.  Those of us who choose to ask the hard questions, those of us who dare to raise our voice in the face of testing, rewards, and sanctions.

We are part of something larger than us, something that is taking root in America, in the world, and educators are standing up and saying “No more.”  Our children are the ones who suffer under politicians latest ideas.  Our children are the ones we experiment with, hoping that someday we will get it right.  Our children deserve something better than having school done to them.

It is time to listen to the passionate teachers that actually have ideas for change.  It is time for us to raise up and join together, reclaim what is ours, education,  and let our voices be heard.  It is time.

So join the discussion, write your editor, blog, speak up, discuss with anyone you can.  We are not failing as educators, changes need to be made but they need to come from us, not from the politicians.

being a teacher, education reform

Stop the Tear Downs

Pernille Ripp
Education and particularly teachers are under a harsh lens right now.  Everywhere you turn headlines scream out new nasty discoveries about bad teachers, horrible programs, and how schools are failing.  As a teacher, it is hard to not drown in all the negativity.  Yet as most of the teachers I have encountered, we choose not to drown, and instead we focus on our students, on our lives and continue to do what we do beast; teach, knowing that this too will end and at some point sanity must be introduced back into the conversation, right?

Yet as the rhetoric gets more cutthroat and the divide grows, this mentality of us versus them has formed and cemented itself into too many educational debates.  No longer are teachers united, rather it becomes veterans versus new, tech users vs non-tech users, always a split, always two sides, never just one united front.  And we teachers buy into it as well.  If one teacher is heralded for doing something good, other teachers get upset because then they must be doing something wrong.  If a school is highlighted as working well, then other schools within the district must be performing poorly.  Rather than view success of one as success for all, it becomes just that; success for one and failure for everyone else.

This epidemic of negativity must stop.  We are tearing each other apart, trying to climb to the top, vying for the same spotlight.  But that is not what teaching is about, we teach our students that we are only as strong as the weakest performance, and that we must celebrate everyone.  And yet, somewhere that message is lost.  The public may want us split, because then it is easier to create “reform” and yet now is the time we must band together.  We must relearn to celebrate successes and not be afraid to share them.  It is time for people to speak up when something incredible happens in their classroom or in their school, and it is time for everyone else to celebrate it, not tear it down.  This isn’t me versus you, it’s all of us together.

education reform, testing

It Is Time to Reclaim Tests

Pernille Ripp

De Cito Eindtoets Basisonderwijs.Image via Wikipedia

Perhaps it is time we reclaim the word “Test.”

Perhaps we, as educators, can show society that yes tests are part of the picture but they are not the only way to assess learning.
Perhaps we need to change the way politicians see tests as only multiple choice, scantron torture devices and bring them into a realm of good tests.
Society has bastardized the word tests and now many educators shudder at the mere thought of them, but it shouldn’t be that way.  We know all tests are not created equal and we know that all tests are not inherently evil.  We just need to find a way to show those in reform power what a good tests looks like.  Something that actually teaches our children and helps their knowledge acquisition.
Are we up for that challenge?  Is there such a thing as good test? 
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education reform

My School – A Dream to Work With

Pernille Ripp

We all talk about “If I was in charge…” or “If I could decide…” then this is what school would be like.  Well, here are my ideas, unfinished, a lot of wishful thinking and yet powerful in their simplicity.

My school would have less walls, more carpets for laying down and many nooks and crannies for self-reflection.

My school would have less bells, more time to explore and not so set schedules of when one class ends and another begins.

It would have farmers connected to teach students about food and to celebrate where food comes from and teachers would be given the time to collaborate and even teach each other’s classes because they are all our children.

My school would have windows that could be opened and fields that beckoned for exploration.  There would be desks of course, but also stand up tables, shelves, couches and beanbags for students to choose from.

Curriculum dreams would come true meaning standards would be followed but not shoved down our throats and we would have enough time to update our learning quests.

Questions would be posed from the students and then time given to find the answers.

Engagement would be evident, as would loudness and excitement.  And that is just talking about the teachers not to mention the students.

There would be real accountability, urgency, and a shared goal for progress.  Results would be discussed and reflected upon, not just noted and scored.
Collaboration between grades and level would be expected as would the sharing of resources.

Students would be heard as equals and parents would be brought in to discuss change and direction and actually be listened to.

There would be no grades, just progress and feedback.  No homework other than meaningful projects and punishment would not be integrated either.  We would have to to build community and discuss behavior.

My school would be for all students and students with special needs would be given the resources they need.  Teachers who work with them would be given the time to do so right.

Technology would be used to connect with the world and strengthen students voices, but books would also have a home as would pen and paper.  There is no need for either or at my school.

We would be flexible but firm and have a clear vision.  A vision that we all created together and that never became stagnant.

My school would be a place where everyone knew they could learn, where no one was just passed through the system, where students actually were listened to as were teachers.

My school may only exist in my imagination, but many ideas I can implement into my classroom already.  I cannot wait.

education reform, Student-centered

Ask the Children

Pernille Ripp

There are many experts in education.  Government that seems to know best, education secretaries that certainly have the solution, districts that mandate, standards to be followed, and teachers that always know best.  Yet in many conversations surrounding education we seem to leave someone important out; the students.  No one seems to be bothered to ask what they think of the state of the American educational system.  No one seems to care how they feel about Race to the Top, college tuition, or even day-to-day curriculum.  No one seems to care because we do education to them.  

Students are not seen as the experts that they truly are.  Students are not included in the debates, in the decision making and yet all of our decisions impact them the greatest.   This year, I ran my classroom with one word in mind: ours!  This classroom does not belong to me, I am not there to “do” anything, I am there to educate along with my students.  And believe me, they want to be heard.  When I provided them with the opportunity to speak either through conversation or blogging, it was like a floodgate had been opened.  These 4th graders already knew how they learned best, they knew how to be the best students they could possible be, except no one had ever asked them.

We claim to be experts yet forget to ask those we are experts on.  How can this failed social experiment continue to function?  How can we do education to all of these children without ever asking them how they feel about it.  Ask the children!  Hear their voice and then change!  It changed my life when I let my students speak, don’t continue to support the silence.