Category: reflection

reflection, teachers

When Do We As Parents Have a Right to Speak Up?

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

The last many Saturday’s have been spent watching Theadora try to do gymnastics.  With every glance our way, every smile, every shriek  I can see just how excited she is.  Yet it is not just her I see though, every Saturday I have also watched her gymnastics teacher and seen how her style affects Thea.  You can call her style it nonchalant at best; she models a move once and then steps off to the side letting the kids try it, never once modeling it again.  While Thea tries her hardest most of the time her move looks little like the one just shown and I wonder if she will ever be able to get it if the teacher doesn’t teach better.  Yet I keep my mouth shut feeling like it is not my place to say anything about how my daughter would learn best because the teacher is a professional and surely must know what she is doing, right?

It is not that the teacher is bad, she isn’t, she just isn’t that great either but I let it slide because it is “just gymnastics” and I hold back because I don’t want to be THAT parent who knows better.  That parent that corrects or advises, all in the best interest of their child.  Yet every Saturday I really want to be that parent.  While gymnastics is not life altering, Thea starts 4K in September, putting her with teachers that will mold her for the rest of her life, and that leaves me wondering.

So I wonder when do we as parents speak up for our child?  When do we let a teacher know that there are better ways to teach?  I think being a teacher and a parent puts us at distinct disadvantage because we know how it feels when a parent tries to steer us in a new direction, and so because we are teachers should we just keep our mouths shut if it is not “that bad?”  Perhaps we are just too nice overall to anyone that teaches because we know how it feels?

A recent post by Josh Stumpenhorst has made me ponder just how nice we are as a teachers.  We like to say that we are all great teachers and we certainly don’t ever tell a teacher we know that they should change.  But I wonder; why not?  Being nice to someone isn’t going to make them a better teacher, they are just going to think they are and then who are we helping?

So when do we step in and try to guide?  How bad does it have to be?  Do we keep our mouth shut until it gets really bad or is there a way to tactfully help?

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principals, reflection

Can A School Be Great If the Principal Isn’t?

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

I have been thinking a lot about principals lately, and not because I am here to say they are not needed, but more considering just how important the role can be to a school.  In fact it seems that so much depends on the principal.

The principal is the natural face of the school, they serve as the filter for district administration, the state, media, and anxious new parents.  They serve as the mouthpiece highlighting hopefully all of the amazing things that are happening.  They are the ones that praise and share all the great work that is done at their school.  They are also the ones that add new team members and try to guide teachers to become more effective.  They are in a sense the connecting point of the school; a steady presence with ever evolving teachers and new students.  They can unify a school or tear it apart.  They can lift a school up or bring it further down.  They can highlight or they can forget to mention.  They can advocate and practice unity or they can cause true separation.  And while they are not the only parts of the school that make it run or function, they are unique in their singularity; no one else carries as much overall responsibility as they do.  No one else is looked to as the point that connects everyone else.  No one else seems to have so much say, so much weight to their words, so much power behind their decisions.  At least not anyone that I can think of within a single school.

So it leads me to wonder; a school can be filled with all the best teachers, but can it truly be great if the principal isn’t amazing as well?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

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end of year, reflection, students

What My Students Taught Me This Year

Pernille Ripp
This year was one of those years that I will always smile about.  This year with these kids is one of those years that went just a little too fast.  Where the kids grew a little too quick and our final days together came a little too soon (9 days left).  Being out the first two months with the twins didn’t help this year either.  I learned so many lessons this year all because of these kids.  So what these kids taught me was

That to create passionate readers you must be a passionate reader yourself.

That to get kids to read you have to give them time to read.

That to get kids to open up in their writing you have to do the piece yourself and then share it when it is your turn.

That poetry is best done without thinking about rules or rhyming, at least most of the time.

That it is ok to cry in front of the kids when you read that part in “Love that Dog” or that part in “The One and Only Ivan” or that part in “Wonder.”

That when the world stands still because your read aloud is so good that you should really just keep reading.

That when an author tweets you back it is something to scream aloud about.

That when a kid thrusts a book into your hands urging you to read it, you should read it as soon as possible.

That when a kid asks you a question you cannot answer take the time to try to figure it out.

That when a kid asks for a break right after recess they really need a break.

That when a really good song comes on your ipod during math it is ok to turn it up and have a little dance break.

That is ok to admit when you bungled a math concept and then figure it out together.

That it is never too late to ask why, never too late to change your plans, never too late to ask the kids what they think.

That often silence is the best way to start a conversation.

What did your kids teach you this year?

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reflection

My Students and Blogging

Pernille Ripp
Sunday I was lucky enough to receive a grant for an iPad for the students to use in the classroom.  here is what I said at the acceptance:

270,490
That’s the number of unique visitors my students and their blog has had since they started letting the world in 3 years ago.  From discussing field trips with students in Egypt, explaining Thanksgiving to students in London, England, to sharing book recommendations with students in Singapore, my students personify what we mean when we say we want to create global citizens.  

With the addition of this iPad they can continue on their quest to bring the world into to our little learning universe while further exploring the world.  They often take these connections for granted, which means I have done my job.  Global connections are no longer the exception to the rule, but the rule under which they live.  I am grateful that I get to be a part of their global collaboration every day.

Be the change, reflection, students

A Student Demands a Better Education…Finally

Pernille Ripp
I don’t know if you have seen this video, chances are you haven’t so stop reading and watch it.

Edit: the video has been pulled by the user which I am sad about.  It was 1 minute 30 seconds of a student asking a teacher to please teach them better than she was, that they did not want anymore packets and that she had to get them excited and to touch their hearts.  He then leaves the room after the teacher keeps telling him to.  He does this without swearing or raising his voice.

Edit 2:  The video is back up on Gawker

The video was posted on Reddit, I saw it this afternoon and immediately knew that I had to react it.  And while I do not know the backstory, I do not know this kid, or his teacher, or what the context was for this particular moment, I do know that I think this kid has courage.

If it is true that all he has been doing is packets since he got there then he has the right to stand up in a respectful manner and demand a better education.  It is what I teach my students every day; their voice matters because they are the ones we are doing this to.  And this kid, Jeff, he did it.  He stood up to a teacher without screaming, not really swearing, and asked her to touch their hearts.  To not treat them like a paycheck.  To make them excited and not sit behind a desk.  And then he left, just like she asked.

I cannot imagine the anger that must have built up for a kid to stand up to his teacher in this way.  I cannot imagine the courage it must have taken.  Courage to stand up against a system, courage to demand a better educational experience, and yes, courage to defy the determined authority and stand up for his own desire to have a better class.

I wish more students would stand up to the system, in a respectful manner, and let their voices be heard.   Students in America have the right to be angry about what is happening to them in their classroom, I am glad someone is finally speaking out.  We have silenced the voices of our students for too many years, we have not invited them into the educational debate even though it is being done to them.  Even though every decision we make as a teacher directly effects their lives and their future.  Jeff gets that and he has had enough.  I hope others figure out that they have to.  Us teachers cannot be the only voices demanding a change.

Be the change, reflection, students, testing

Testing Makes Me Feel Like a Bad Teacher

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

I know I should not care, I should go on my day like it is nothing, but the truth is; standardized testing makes me feel like a bad teacher.  It shouldn’t be a big deal but anyone who has had their students sit through a MAP test will tell you; printing out that report and seeing whether the students met their projected growth score is downright anxiety producing.

Once the test is over then we stand with the repercussions; scores that were not met because the kid was having a bad day, scores that were not met because they rushed, scores that were not met because they didn’t get that one question.  And yes, scores that were not met because I didn’t do my job well enough.  The problem is; I don’t know which category a score fits into.  I can certainly take a guess but that is all it would be; a guess.  So I base my teacher performance on a score that supposedly tells me everything without really teling me much.

I take their scores and try to let them be a guide merely, forget that they will go on with the students to middle school, forget that these scores will determine where on the data wall they sit.  Forget that as much as we pretend they don’t matter, that these scores will usually mean more to their future education than any of my feedback or summative assessment ever will.  And it makes me feel like a bad teacher.
I cannot protect my students from what I fight against; the standardization of their intellect.  The standardization of their knowledge, their creativity  and their aptitude.  I cannot protect them from being labeled due to test scores.  I can only do so much within my classroom to shield them from the test obsessed education policy that seems to be driving us.  I can downplay the test but the educational system does not let me downplay the result anymore.  So I feel like a bad teacher.
I became a teacher to make a difference, not to feel bad about the tests I have to put my students through in order that someone will believe me when I say that they grew as a reader, that they grew in their math knowledge, that they grew in their intellect.  Apparently my word is not enough anymore, perhaps it never has been, now the data is what guides us.  And the data makes me feel like a bad teacher.