Category: inspiration

alfie kohn, being a teacher, inspiration, no homework, students

So What’s My Problem with Homework?

Pernille Ripp

I just read a frightening and excellent post by Mark Hansen discussing homework in a real-life example with his son and immediately I wanted to comment on it.  But then I realized that would be rather lengthy, so instead I offer this post.  What is my problem with homework?

I never use to hate homework until last year.  Something hit me when I told my husband that I knew exactly which kid would hand in the homework with “some” help from the parents, which kid would hand in something half-finished, and which kid would never hand it in but instead take my punishment.  And punish I did.  Oh, I used to be the queen of taking away privileges.  It was awful.  There we were, staring at each other every recess trying to figure out just how much help was needed versus how much effort needed to be exerted.  It was exhausting for me and the kids.

And guess what, I was right!

I knew exactly which kids would not be able to complete the homework no matter how much help I gave them in school; they simply did not have the skills or resources needed to finish it at home.  Over the summer, this was the point I kept returning to, wondering if I could be “radical” and get rid of homework almost altogether?  And so I did.  This year, there is very little homework in my room and here is why, in no particular order:

  • Homework is an excuse for the stuff we didn’t get to.  I stated this in my parent/student orientation and most parents nodded their heads.  We always have one more thing we just need to get to when the bell rings.  Well guess what?  Then we need to restructure our day and get to it, rather then slip it in to the backpack for the kids to deal with.  I know there is pressure with curriculum but if you know what your goal is for the lesson, then get to it!
  • Homework is practice – for some kids. Some kids will take 5 minutes to do homework because they already get it, some will take 30 minutes because they need parent help, others will never finish.  This is not fair.  If we do not equip students with the correct knowledge to complete the homework then we should not assign it.
  • Homework is not fair.  You know which kids will ace it and which kids will spend hours trying to solve a math page.  One sheet/assignment/report does not fit all.  If you already know how a kid will do on something then why are you bothering with the assignment, seems to me they have already shown you where their skills lie.
  • Homework steals away childhood.  Every minute of homework that you assign is an infringement of your students’ time spent experiencing the real world.  We say we want well-rounded students, but then have them spend an hour or more practicing school skills.  We already asked for 7+ hours of their time, let them have some free time to do the things that exposes them to the big world and in turn helps them become better people and students.  You will end up with kids that might just be excited about school, rather than exhausted.
  • Homework does not always fit the learning.  Worksheets are on the way out in many classrooms, and yet, we fall back on them all the time to check for understanding.  However, not all skills that we teach transfer onto paper very well.  I agree that math lends itself nicely to paper pages of problems, but why assign 3 pages if you can get away with just a couple of problems?  Before you assign think of the purpose of your homework; does it really give the students a way to show off their knowledge or will you just help you assign a percentage better?
  • Homework is maybe not just done by the student.  There are many helpful parents out there that really want their child to succeed.  As parents nothing gets us more than our child not understanding something.  How often do parents tell us that they had to help their child finish their work?  How often do we get projects turned in that required hours of craft work way outside of the range of your grade level?  The parents have already been to school, stop asking them to do work or in some cases, stop giving them a way to relive their school days through projects.
I know that there are times and situations where homework becomes a good extension such as sending kids out into the community to interview elders for heritage days, or continuing research on their own.  
I am not against all homework, what I am against, though, is the homework just for the sake of assigning homework.  I used to tell my parents to expect about 40 minutes of homework every night in 4th grade because I had been told it is about 10 minutes times the grade level.  40 minutes!  And then we ask students to read their books and do projects on top of that.  No wonder our students are exhausted when they come back the next day rather than eager to learn.
Think of what the purpose of homework is in your room, look really hard at your reasoning; why do you assign it?  Is it a meaningful learning experience that will help students become smarter, more knowledgeable, better people?  If yes, excellent.   But if no, not always, then stop, re-evaluate, clean it out, and then tell your students.  You will marvel at their response.
I was petrified to stop, worried that people would think I was skimping out on my job duties.  Almost all of my parents now rejoice in this year of calmness.  They know that if I assign something, there is a valid reason for it.  They also know that their child is learning as much as any other student in the 4th grade.  Stop the homework insanity and let these kids be kids.  We can accomplish the learning without the extra work.  You just have to believe in your own capabilities as en educate, so educate, don’t assign.
being a teacher, inspiration

Today, There were Tears

Pernille Ripp

Today, there were tears, good ones, not the sad ones of saying goodbye to the kids as they left me for winter break. Great tears of welcome, of happiness, of rejoice in knowing that this job is the one for me. That these kids might just be the most magical kids I have ever encountered (alright, I think that every year). That this year, we have something so fantastic going on in room 310 that I simply cannot wait to get back to work with them. That this year, we will move mountains, change the world, and have a lot of fun in the process. And you know what? They feel the same way.

Teaching is magic.

being a teacher, inspiration, mistakes

A Little Too Much Pressure

Pernille Ripp

Last Thursday, I went to the hospital for an out-patient procedure that would hopefully provide my husband and I answers to our battle with infertility. Why do I share this personal experience? Because it is shaping me into being a better person. You see, what was supposed to be an hour long procedure with quick return to my home that same evening turned into a four-day hospital stay with continued observation. During the routine procedure, my doctor pushed a little too hard and ended up puncturing my mensateric artery. As you can imagine, this is a serious mistake.

It was not because he was eager to finish, or inexperienced, but rather because he had to apply a little bt of pressure to go through scar tissue from a previous surgery. He thought he knew how much pressure to apply, but as it turns out, he applied too much. Think of how often this happens in education? We have experience, we have the time, and we think we know exactly how much pressure to exert on our students. We push, we dig, and all of a sudden the damage is done and it is too late. We don’t know how we got so deep, how we hurt them, and now it is our job to figure out how to heal them.

My doctor did something smart; he called in an expert. Someone who knew exactly what to do and could do it thoroughly and efficiently. He also asked a lot of questions and then he gave his best. He explained to my husband what had happened, he explained it to me, and then had to explain it several more times over the coming days to me and my family as we struggled with our questions. He never got angry, or impatient, but continued to answer our questions, to help us heal, to help us redevelop our trust in him as my doctor. He put in the work so that I would not lose my faith in him as a professional, or more importantly, as a human being. And I haven’t; he continues to treat me, and I continue to choose him as my doctor because he showed me that when a mistake was made, he was still there to figure it out. To make it right. To make me understand and to help me get better. That is our job as teachers as well. We make mistakes, we are human, but what distinguishes good teachers from great ones are the ones that stick around to fix their mistakes, to learn from them, and to invest even more into that relationship.

So next time you push too hard or you mess up; call in an expert, rely on others, repeat yourself, invest yourself, go above the requirements, and show them you are human, that you care. You will be better for it and you may end up strengthening someone’s belief in you.

As for me, I am stil out of school, still seeing a doctor every two days, still taking a lot of pain medicine, and very, very emotional. But I am ok. We got the answers we were looking for, we have a path to follow, and we also were reminded just how incredibly precious life and the people we share ours with is. Thank you for sharg yours with me.

being a teacher, classroom expectations, inspiration, our classroom, students

The Perfect Classroom

Pernille Ripp

Did you see those students? How focused and engaged they were? Did you see that quiet classroom, that looks to be the perfect classroom. My insides cringe. Quiet = learning, since when?

I used to be a believer in quiet. After all, if the students were not quiet how could they listen to all of my wisdom? After all, I was the one with the degree, the answers, the path, the years, and mostly the responsibility for any and all learning. I was a trained professional and they were just students, empty vessels ready to be filled.

And then I thought about all that energy put into saying “shhh….” into asking for silence, not to speak with partners, face me, me, me, me. But it wasn’t about me and it never should have been. It is about the students and them finding their voice, the knowledge, the confidence to believe in themselves and their brains.

So my perfect classroom now: a little messy, (after all learning is kind if messy), student-owned, pods, choices and that wonderful noise of learning. There are still guidelines, we are not crazy, but there is life, excitement and joy. So if you walk by my room and think we are a little bit loud, hey, that just shows there is learning going on.

inspiration, our classroom, Social studies, students

Letting Students Rule

Pernille Ripp

Social studies was getting stagnant with packetwork meant to establish background knowledge for a Native American simulation. So work before the fun; going against my philosophy. The students kept asking amazing questions to which I replied that maybe later we would study that.

So I decided to do a circle discussion of social studies and the kids asked me if they could please research something of their choice about Native Americans. Sure. They even had ideas for how they would present the info: posters, models, skits, glogsters, research papers – boundless creativity.

So today my room was filled with noise, kids partnering up, books being shared, questions being thrown out and discarded, research being questioned. In short; it was beautiful.

being a teacher, first day, inspiration, new teacher

Dear First Year Pernille

Pernille Ripp
Image from here

Dear First Year Pernille,
You did it!  You got the job you set your heart on and now comes the part you have been looking forward to; teaching!  I know life has a lot in store for you this first year, already you are 4 months pregnant on the first day of school, and yet there are just a few things I want you to know before you start.

Stop stressing over your room!  Now is the time to be outside going for a walk, not laboring over the placement of posters, bulletin boards or welcome signs.  The kids will hardly notice it so give yourself a break.  Even if it feels like a hallway bulletin board competition at times – it’s not.

Ask more questions.  Your teammates are some of the kindest and smartest people around.  Don’t feel that you are a burden or that you should already know.  You are new, don’t feel like you have to act like you already know the answer.

Trust your gut.  Feel that little tingle in your stomach?  Besides the baby, that’s your intuition trying to tell you to listen to it.  So absolutely go ahead and use some of those same programs but then spend some time finding yourself as well. Make this your room with your teaching style, not a watered down version of someone else’s.

Allow yourself to fail.  The students love it when we fail, why?  Because it shows we are humans.  The sooner you embrace your failures as another step in learning, the sooner you can get over it, and the more you will be a role model for the kids.

Don’t beat yourself up.  Not everything will be perfect, even for an overachiever like yourself.  Some days will be amazing, others will not.  Don’t worry there will be more good than bad but when those bad ones come around – give yourself a break.

Smile.  Love. Laugh.  Share.  Think.  Reflect.  Question.  Be kind.  Be brave.  Be you.  Everything is going to be just fine.  Oh, and do get on Twitter.

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