Category: education reform

being a teacher, education reform, testing

It’s a Half Percent

Pernille Ripp
“I don’t mean to alarm you but it appears that your baby has an elevated risk for Downs…”  The road blurred in front of me as the words took shape in my stomach.  “The test results are back and normal is 1 in 10,000, yours is 1 in  214.”  It’s a half percent, it’s a half percent, it’s a half percent ran through my mind like a mantra, willing my hands to stay on the wheel and my eyes to stay on the road.  “The doctor will call you in a couple of days when he reviews the test results.”  And with that my whole world changed.

The first frantic phone call was to my mother, who was waiting for the airport bus.  I could barely choke out the words.  Shock, and then mommy reflexes sparing into action as she repeated “It’s a half percent.”  Finally got through to my husband, shock, then husband reflexes, and then anger.  Where was the doctor, why was a nurse calling with this information, what did this all mean? Soon the Internet became our go-to place; forums, statistics, percentages all became mandatory reading for this unwanted and unknown territory. Life dreams were revisited, rechecked, redreamed.

There were decisions to make, tests to have or not, what would a life look like with a child with Downs?  Could we provide the support and medical care that this child could possibly need?  Where had the bubble of the first 16 weeks of perfect pregnancy gone?  Why us?  Why me?  What had I done wrong?  2 days later, after many calls wondering whether the doctor had reviewed my tests, the call came.  He was angry.  Why had they pushed this extra test on me anyway?  The first test had been normal, so why do a second one?  I could barely hear his words, all I kept hearing was “It’s a half percent, it’s a half percent…”

So we went ahead and had the evasive sample test done because we knew that no matter what this child possibly had, we wanted to be prepared for it.  The worry consumed me for days as I begged my body to not lose this child, that all I wanted was answers, whatever they would be.  That this child would be loved, no matter the cost, so please, please just stay with me.

I was home alone, another phone call.  The results were in, “Your little girl is fine, no need to worry.”  My heart stopped beating for just a second.  “Did you say fine?  Did you say little girl?”  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Another visit with the doctor and again that same anger; why would they test you?  Why did they want one more?  I felt embarrassed to tell him that I had jumped at the chance when it had been presented to me, after all as a first time pregnant person, I thought the more tests, the better.  After all, don’t we want to rule everything out?  He looked at me and said, “If one test works, then there is no need for another one.”

How often could we apply those same words in education?  That one test should be more than enough, if we actually are able to trust the results and choose to use them correctly?  Instead we barrage and deluge our children with test upon test, just to check once more.  How many times have we falsely diagnosed problems that were merely there because the test created it?  How many times do we ask for just one more test to make sure there isn’t really a problem?  How many times will we continue down this path of only believing the tests, rather than everything else?

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.

aha moment, answers, assumptions, balance, being a teacher, believe, change, education, education reform, educators, elementary, hopes, inspiration, invest, school staff, talented, teachers, teaching

Bring Out the Experts

Pernille Ripp

The education community loves experts. Experts are flown in, bussed in, and wined and dined. If you are an expert on something chances are there is a school that wants to pay you for sharing your thoughts. In fact, you don’t even have to claim to be an expert, others will often bestow that title upon you as a favor. After all, how else will your expense be excused? So I wonder, how does one become an expert, after all, aren’t we all just humble learners?

The word expert is tinged with weight. To be an expert you must be not just knowledgable, but also an authority. Yet who decides when one is an authority? Does it need a book deal? A huge following? Or someone else who is an expert to look at you kindly? Who decides who the experts are?

We are quick to bring in outside experts whenever there is a need but often I wonder who could we have turned to on-site? Who at this school could already have shared that same information at a fraction of the price? Who at this school could have had the opportunity to teach others, much as we teach our students every day. I consider myself lucky being surrounded by experts every day. I find myself among some incredible educators that work hard to bring their expertise into the classrooms to benefit the students. Isn’t it time for all of us to recognize the experts among us?

I dare to propose that we are all experts. Although not world known, or even known outside of our small circles, yet we are knowledgable of something particular, something that we can claim authority on. And so consider this; at school you are indeed surrounded by experts. Whether they are experts at teaching the civil war, grammar, haikus or how to dribble, they have deep intimate knowledge that they can pass on to others. So share your expertise with others, go ahead open up and discuss what you know you are good at. We have to get better at celebrating each others knowledge, each others succeses, simply each other. We are all experts, how will you foster expertise?

being a teacher, education reform, government

Dear Scott Walker

Pernille Ripp
I can’t afford to be a teacher anymore, at least not if what is proposed here in Wisconsin gets passed.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not a teacher because of the money, I am not a fool after all, but if I lose 17% of my already insanely low salary, I cannot afford to remain a teacher.

I cringe at saying those words aloud, but the facts remain, if I want my child to go to daycare so that my husband and I can work to pay for our bills, then teaching does not let me do that.  We speak of wanting another child, yet know that on my salary today, it would be a far stretch with extra hours picked up wherever possible.  If my salary is cut, there will be no second child, no house mortgage and certainly nothing extra.

So the debate within me begins; can I give up what I so passionately believe that I was meant to do?  Do I even have a choice anymore if my salary is reduced and frozen?  I have been willing to sacrifice almost all of my social life to dedicate myself to the craft of teaching, but at some point, the realization hits that it will not just be time I am sacrificing but the ability to pay our bills.

So dear governor of Wisconsin, you may think that you are solving the problems, but who will you get to teach the children?  Who will have the luxury of being a teacher when they cannot afford to anymore? You speak of us as if we are using the system, stealing money from children who need health insurance, while you cut taxes for businesses.  Who will educate the future workers of Wisconsin?  Who will buy the goods of all those companies you lure to our state at the promise of less money taken from them?  Who will want to raise their children here when we slash funding and stifle the voice of teachers.  We do not have a lot, but what we have, you want to take away.

So that is where I stand.  Blamed for the deficit, blamed for why we cannot beat China in test scores, and blamed for why America is slipping in its world rankings.  One teacher with all the blame at her feet.  I wonder what will happen when the teachers cannot be blamed anymore, who will be next?

being a teacher, education reform, grading moratorium, No grades, Student-centered

So How’s this Whole No Grading Thing Going for Ya?

Pernille Ripp

This year I threw out letter grades almost completely. Only almost because I am still required to give my fourth grade students a letter grade on their trimester report card. I thought I was crazy, doing this, and I am sure I wasn’t the only one. I thought I was going to regret it for sure, face uphill battles from confused parents and upset students, yet instead, nothing…

I have battled with grades my whole life myself, from being a student that never applied themselves enough to a staunch, anxious overachiever with a ridiculous GPA. I never quite found the balance. I just couldn’t get my grades to fit me, they never showed my interests, my smarts, my deficits. They were just an arbitrary number on a piece of paper, something that said nothing about my future or my past. Not even a snapshot in time.

So when I became a teacher, I fiddled, I muddled, and I tweaked. Those poor averages and grades I came up with never seemed to tell my students their story either. An A meant little but an F meant something,right? We finished a product, stamped a grade on it and end of discussion. So this year I stopped grading and I was terrified.

When you tell people you don’t believe in grades, they mostly think you are crazy and have no place in teaching. After all, life is one long file and rank and grades make us all fit in so nicely. And yet, my parents on orientation day believed in me. They seemed to get it because I explained to them what I would do instead. I promised to engage their child in discussions, to constantly evaluate and more importantly reevaluate what knowledge their child had secured. I promised to set up learning opportunities where their child could show off their skills in different ways than written work. I promised them to monitor, alert, refine and reteach whenever needed. I promised them that they would know what their child knew and what they were still working on. I add to these promises whenever I can.

So has it been perfect? Oh I wish. But neither were my letter grades before. Averages never told the full story, and often it was hard to fully explain why a child was a B or a C. Now I can talk about where the child stands, what they have secured, where they are developing. Now when I discuss strengths of my students, I have checklists, specific samples and conversations to refer to. The students are aware of their progress and they know what they need to work on. Getting rid of grades has meant more work for me focused on the student. It has meant more time spent talking to my students, more focus on our goals, more time to really prepare and think about my lessons instead of all that solitary grading. For me, it has meant I can hold my head up higher when in conferences with my students. For me, it has meant a new way of teaching, of preparing my students for a life that will try its best to label them somehow. A way for me to help them tell their story right now and perhaps even point them to their future story.

So that whole no grade thing, maybe not such a bad idea after all.

PS: I couldn’t have done this without support from Joe Bower (@Joe_bower), Jeremy MacDonald (@MrMacnology) and some wisdom from the guru that is Alfie Kohn.

being a teacher, education reform, Student-centered

Let Them Speak – If You Missed It

Pernille Ripp
Last Saturday, I was excited to be a part of the incredible New teacher Reform Symposium.  Not only did I get to participate in some incredible presentations, but I also got share my journey in my own classroom toward a more student-centered classroom.  Thank you to all that participated in my presentation, I learned so much from the comments and feedback, and I am forever amazed at how many people are willing to reach out, share, and learn from others.

If you missed my presentation, it can be viewed in this archive.

Here are my presentation slides, which probably need to be viewed along with my notes, otherwise they do not make a lot of sense.