Category: reflection

Be the change, reflection, students

Stop Seeing Red Cars

Pernille Ripp
You know that kid I am about to write about.  That pencil swirling, head lay downing, always poking kid.  He always has en excuse for why he is doing whatever he is doing that is greatly annoying you at the time.  And I say “he” only because I have never had a “she” but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.  So you try your most patient tone of voice, you conference one on one on your feelings and how they are hurt whenever he does that thing he does so well.  He promises sometimes to get better but remember it really wasn’t his fault.  And you don’t believe him but you give him the benefit of the doubt, after all, you love all children.  5 minutes later he is doing those things again; not listening, fiddling, goofing off.  You panic and think you must be boring, non-enigmatic, sleep inducing and yet a little voice tells you that he is the problem, not you.

So you try a different approach; a stern warning; we will call your parents.  And yet those parents where the ones that told you their son was a little strange, good luck with him.  He doesn’t seem to care too much about that either, after all, they have had that same phone call many times before.  So you wish you had a punishment system, some sort of way you could take something away from him until he behaved.  Until he conformed.  Until he stopped doing those things.  And then you realize, hey wait, stop seeing red cars.

In my first teaching year, I had to take a mentor class, and although some times it was more a social gathering than educational, one video stands out.  In it the narrator speaks of the “red car syndrome” as in you buy a red car and all of a sudden when you drive it, all you ever see are all of the other red cars.  Well, inherently we as teachers see red cars in our classrooms too.  You hone in on that kid and instead of ever seeing all of the improvements, or the struggle to act the right way, you only see the problems, the slips, the slides, the just not acting the perfect way.  You see only the behavior you loathe, that upsets you.  So stop!  Be aware of it, speak to him about it, and then realize you are hyper-focused on him.  This kid did not wake up that morning and decide this is how he would act in school; you are after all the next teacher in a long line of teachers before you.  This may take years to help him with, or even better yet, find a way to make it work.  Don’t let it overwhelm you, don’t let it bring you down, but more importantly do not take your frustration out on the kid.  After all, he would probably rather be a perfect child too (which by the way, perfect children do not exist).  So stop seeing red cars, instead embrace, celebrate and realize that we are all human beings, quirks and all, even if that human being happens to be 9 years old.

education reform, reflection, students

So Oprah Thinks I Care?

Pernille Ripp

I got into education to be a teacher.  Think of that statement fore it may be simple but it is powerful.  I am here to teach.  Not to save, not to comfort, not to emphathise, but to teach.  Yet all of these other aspects of the job are things I do gladly, willingly, and often.  In fact, every day I look forward to coming to my job, every day, I know that my students will surprise me, amaze me, question me.  How many people have that intimate luxury of truly loving what they do.  I do, and no matter what Oprah says, or the people who follow her every word; I am making a difference.
Of course, I was as outraged as most after the infamous show on education.  Who wouldn’t be when something that they work so hard at every day, that we shed tears over, comes under attack?  And then you distance yourself from it, remove yourself from the equation and think about what was truly said.  Yes, the educational system in America is in crisis, and yes, there are “bad” teachers, or ineffective ones as Michelle Rhee called them,.  And yes, the show forgot to highlight the incredible people that love what they do.  And why are we surprised?  It is not sensational to tell people that you love your job, or that you work 14 hour days, or you come in on the weekends to set up your room and get ready.  It is not shocking that you give students’ rides so they can come to school functions.  It is not newsworthy that you spend your summers learning how to be better, smarter, more accountable.  And yet, that is what we do.   And we do it because we want to.

Teaching is a choice for me.  It was never a calling in the true sense of the word, but when I came to it, it was right, and I knew it.  I knew that here was a chance for me to reach out and make a difference.  Yes, it is a cliche to some but cliche can also mean that it is a universal truth that we all accept and repeat.  If you do not believe that you can change the world then you don’t have any business being a teacher.  And so what if Oprah focused on the negatives.  That is the type of society we have become; negativity sells.  Negativity makes people do.  And doing is what we need!  So while some are waiting for Superman, I keep on going to my job, that I cannot even call a job because I love it that much.  And yes, I know I will never be rich and in this society that is a hard truth, but so what?  I breathe teaching.  I live for these kids.  They are my family as much as my husband and daughter are.  I am not worried about what Oprah says or anyone else for that matter as long as I know I am making a difference.  And no one can take that away from me.  So don’t let it be taken away from you!
reflection, students

We Are Not Role Models

Pernille Ripp

The following is a guest post I wrote for @Mrmacnology’s blog, I asked him if I could also post it here.  
I am not a role model, nor do I ever fool myself into thinking I am one. Of course, it would be a fabulous designation to have but when I look at my true self in the mirror, I know that I am flawed. Not flawed in a deep serious way, but in a human way. My path did not go straight to teaching but rather to ragtag jobs where I gained human experience, failed attempts, and people to celebrate it all with. And I am proud of that. These scars, bumps and bruises along my life path are what make me, well, me. If I were a role model I would never fail, never falter, always know the right course. If I were a role model, I would know which method lead to direct success rather than bumble along and discover knowledge with my students. The journey would be mapped out with no room for detours and the teaching would take care of itself.
Role models are up there with heroes. People like to proclaim teachers as everyday heroes, as role models, elite self-sacrificing angels that give up their whole lives to rescue the future of America. Yet, we are not self-sacrificing or perhaps even heroes and I think that is a good thing. We are every day people trying our hardest to reach every kid and to more importantly make every kid believe in themselves. If we were heroes or angels, no one could attain to reach our status, no one could want to be like us because we would be too perfect.
So perhaps we are role models in a bruised and battered kind of way. We are role models for the believers, for the thinkers, for the can doers. We are role models for the kids that we embrace, the kids that we cheer on, the kids that we believe in. We are role models for ourselves. But we are not heroes, just ordinary people and that is how I want to stay.


Be the change, grades, reflection

Rulebreaker

Pernille Ripp
I wasn’t born a rule breaker. In my hometown of Bjerringbro, Denmark, population 7,390, I did not strive to be a rebel without a cause.  In fact I was your average tomboy, a middle of the roader, a child deemed living below their potential.  I followed the rules set forth because that is what I was told to do.  Not specifically by people, but as a child, you just know what the rules are and what the expectations were.  Of course, there were small rebellions such as coming home just a few minutes late, or perhaps “forgetting” to do my spelling words (I knew them already so why did I have to write them out 5 times?).  So my childhood was not an adventurous one and my adult life seemed to be kind of middle of the road as well.  That is until I met my husband, Brandon.

Oh, the tales of love can inspire excitement or convulsions in people.  Mine usually gets giggles and aw shucks.  You see it was the classic tale of bartender meets bouncer and the rest they say is history.  And yet something fundamentally changed for me when I met Brandon. He asked me what I planned to do with my life, and although many had asked that same question before, including my dear mother, with him, I really wanted to impress.  I became a teacher, knowing I wanted to reach children, change them, inspire them, listen to them.  And yet, I followed the rules.  Good teachers graded.  Good teachers rewarded.  Good teachers told students that if their homework was not done then there would be consequences.  

In my gut, I knew something was wrong and yet these were the rules and by signing up to teach, I had signed up for the rules.  Never did I stop to question those rules, why should I?  They obviously worked, until they didn’t.  Last year, my class was a mixed bag of emotions.  Various big personalities that needed a lot of love and a lot of patience at times.  I learned more in that year of what type of a person I am, than I think I could have in any other profession.  I started the year the same way, detailing how to get an A.  How to earn a class party, how to get on the awesome board.  Basically, how to be the best student they could possibly be.  Or did I?  Really all I did was tell them the rules and then tell the punishment there would be for breaking those rules.  How is that for inspiring the youth of America?


So this summer, after having accepted the fantastic challenge of a combination classroom and joining Twitter searching for others, searching like me, I came upon a tweet from Jeremy (@MrMacnology) to Joe (@Joe_Bower).  I stopped because I was surprised.  They tweeted about perhaps not grading, perhaps not rewarding, perhaps breaking the rules.  I lurked on their conversations, wondering if they would not mind another person asking questions.  Finally I held my breath and wrote to Jeremy asking if I could ask him questions.  We have collaborated since on a regular basis and I am proud of knowing him.

Grading degrades.  It tells a student that no matter how hard they worked, if it does not fit into our rubric, our vision, our plan for them, then they may not get the success they so hoped for.  Grades tell students that even though their parents are violently fighting and they can’t do their homework because they are scared, they lose 10% off their grade and get a zero if I don’t get it in a week.  Grades tell students that even though they devour books, when they leave the title and author off on a book report, they must not be A+ readers.  Grading tells students that have way too much responsibility at the young age of 10, that I don’t care that they had to watch their 4 younger brothers and sisters instead of doing their homework.


We know this as educators.  We see the defeat in students’ eyes when they get that grade they did not hope for.  We see it in parent/teacher conferences when parents’ zero in on the bad grades rather than all the plusses we so meticulously planted on the report card.  You cannot blame the parents; after all, they were part of this system too.  We all are.  Well, I am not anymore.  Or at least I strive to break the rules on this one.  I strive to follow my instinct and speak to students about their successes. Listen when they tell me answers that they didn’t know how to spell right.  Think when they give me an unexpected explanation.  I may not have been born a rule breaker but I have certainly become one.  It is in the best interest of my students and myself that I break these rules.  There is a better way to teach, we just must not be afraid to try it.  Will you break the rules with me?
Be the change, new year, reflection

No, I Didn’t Survive the First Week of School

Pernille Ripp
This week, I saw a few posts on blogs talking about how they survived the first week of school.  As some of you may know, this bothers me greatly.  I did not survive my first week, I thrived in it.  Some may call me relentlessly optimistic or just plain annoying but the truth is that I love my job.  I have been planning all summer for this first “real” week of school and it did not let me down.  So here is what I “survived” this week:
  • A student with autism who mostly speaks repetitive sentences telling me he loved me.
  • A student, who was in my 4th grade class last year, returning to be in my combination room this year after having been in 2 other school already this year.
  • A 5th grader in my room who last year asked for help every 5 minutes, not asking for help, but instead trying it himself and lighting up at his success.
  • 27 students who didn’t really know each other create their own Animoto for their parents to see their hopes and wishes for my room.
  • 25 hands in the air all wanting to model the incorrect way of how to read to self.
  • A shy boy with little math success last year, raising his hand 3 times during math class and getting it right.
  • A 4th grade girl, who moved to our school after a person got shot on her block, subtracting 35 from 71 in her head.
  • 3 students telling me that so far I was not a disappointment and that I was their favorite teacher ever.
  • 2 parents emailing me that they do not care that I have 27 students in my room, they are not part of the petition to get another teacher added to my school to alleviate our high classroom sizes, since they believe in what I am doing.
  • Another student with autism letting me in a little by cracking his first joke to me.
  • Students letting down their guard and reaching out to new people even if they are not the same age.
  • Students asking me to please not tell their parents that Double Bubble Gum’s flavor only lasts 4 minutes, thus making it the worst investment when buying bubble gum.
  • The students getting so excited about the Global Read Aloud project and studying the maps that we will mark when we connect with someone.
So no I did not survive the first week of school, I lived it to the fullest, eagerly anticipating many more days with these incredible kids.  Did you?
Be the change, new year, reflection, students

Dear New Mrs. Ripp Student

Pernille Ripp
Tomorrow is our first day together and even though we teachers benefit from our vacation almost as much as you do, we also spend a lot of time preparing and waiting anxiously for you to come back to us.  This year was no different for me, except if at all possible, I was even more excited to have you come back.  You see, we are a combination classroom.  A bunch of 4th and 5th graders thrown together, it is now us against the world no matter our age or our grade; we belong.  And while others may look at us differently or ask you a lot of questions, know that I like that we are different.  I like that we have different ages in our room.  I like that we cannot be classified as just a regular classroom.  I like that I have to think about what I teach and not just say one grade level.  I really like that we have kids with a lot of different abilities and talents that will learn form each other. 


Just like you, I have to learn too and so this summer that is what I did.  I learned that Thea loves it when you read the same book over and over, especially the one about Fergus the dog.  I learned that my husband really likes it when I just sit and read next to him or when I recommend books for him.  I learned that my 95 year old grandfather in Denmark thinks that my daughter is just about the best thing that has ever happened to this family (I agree).  I learned that my little brother will be shipped to Afghanistan in January and that I worry about him now already.  I learned that a dog’s heavy breathing will indeed keep you up at night, especially when that dog is 100 pounds and tries to snuggle with you next to your bed.  I learned that books are not always good just because a  lot of people have read them.  Did you know it is okay to not finish a book – crazy, right?  I learned that thousands of educators are on Twitter just waiting for you to ask them a question.  I learned that blogging and writing about your thoughts can be a great way to inspire and learn from others.  I learned that Chinese food doesn’t have to taste bad.  I also learned that Madison is one of the best cities for little kids; oh the adventures we have had.   I learned that no elementary student should be given an F because as long as they are learning they are not failing.  I learned that technology can both give you time and steal it away.  I learned that no matter how many times you do an orientation day you will always have jitters, nerves and never feel prepared enough.  I also learned that the excitement for the first day of school only builds, never diminishes.  I learned that i have many more things to learn.

So whether you have had me before or have no idea who this crazy teacher is; welcome, I am so excited you are here.  I hope we will learn together.