student choice – Page 11

being a student, being a teacher, Personalized Learning, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement

Who Are We Really Doing This For?

June 27, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Traveling this summer seems to have offered me a lot of time for reflection. There is something about sitting on an airplane, getting nervous about the days ahead and thinking of how did one ever up there? I realize time and time again that there are certain truths that guide everything I do and that if I ever stray from those truths then I hope I have the spine to admit it. Because as I travel, I realize more and more that this is not about me, about Pernille the teacher, but instead about the very kids I teach. About the kids we all teach and yet we seem to so easily forget that as we make decisions in our schools, in our classrooms.

So I realize once again that while I may think I have all of the answers, I won’t ever know unless I ask my students. That my job is not to foresee and problem solve every little thing, but instead to let them explore and to create alongside me.

That when we go out and share what our students are doing, we need to recognize that this is not about us, but about them. That it is their education at stake, not our own, and that is why this mission is so very urgent.

We are losing kids every single day in our classrooms. We are losing them when we remove control over even the slightest things. We treat them in a way we would not want to be treated ourselves, and then expect them to just be ok with it because that is a part of childhood. We dictate bathroom breaks, where they sit, who they work with, and even how they share, sometimes allowing very little autonomy in the process. And then at the end of the day we wonder why they are exhausted and cannot wait to get on with their “real” life?

What if every decision we made was centered on what is best for students? I know we say that that is what drives us, but is it really? When we decide on curriculum do we pick it because it is easy for the adults to implement or because it will inspire the children? When we seek out learning opportunities do we do it for the right reasons or because it is another thing to check off our to do list?

When we control our classrooms so that we can function, do we ever wonder who those we teach will react to the perimeters we set up?

So we can talk about personalizing learning, or whatever other buzz term we are all infatuated with at the moment, or we can talk about good teaching. About creating learning opportunities that center on the student, on the child, and not the adult needs. We can remove the “alizing” and just focus on the person instead.

Change may seem hard, but it gets easier as we go. Think of the small things that already communicate to students that what they need is not as important as what we need. Think of all the little rules we have in our classrooms that do not benefit them nearly as much as they benefit us. And then do something about it.

When I ask my students what they wish every teacher would do it is not to give them less work, to give them less tests, or even to speak less – we teachers, do love to talk – it is to let them choose where they sit. Almost every time. If that doesn’t speak volumes about how powerless students feel in their education, I am not sure what will.

So this summer, or winter depending on where you are, whenever a new decision needs to be made, don’t think of what you need. Think of what kids might need, and if you are not sure; ask them. They are ready to tell us if we only ask.

I am currently working on two separate literacy books. While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher. The first book titled Reimaging Literacy Through Global Collaboration is scheduled for release November, 2016 by Solution Tree. The second, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge. So until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams

The Reading Rules We Would Never Follow as Adult Readers

June 21, 2016September 22, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Why is it all right to impose rules on children's reading lives that we would never follow as adults?

Choice.

The number one thing all the students I have polled through the years want the most when it comes to reading. No matter how I phrase the question, this answer in all of its versions is always at the top. Sometimes pleading, sometimes demanding, sometimes just stated as a matter of fact; please let us choose the books we want to read.

Yet, how often is this a reality for the students we teach? How often, in our eagerness to be great teachers, do we remove or disallow the very things students yearn for to have meaningful literacy experiences? How many of the things we do to students would we never put up with ourselves? In our quest to create lifelong readers, we seem to be missing some very basic truths about what makes a reader. So what are the rules we would probably not always follow ourselves?

Removing choice. I have to start with the most obvious; removing choice in reading (and even in writing). We know that choice matters, we know as adult readers we revel in the sheer experience of being able to choose what we want to read. We take it for granted and will even rebel in small ways when someone says we have to read something. Choice is the cornerstone of our own literacy life, yet it is one of the first things we tend to remove for children, especially fragile or developing readers. And I get it, we think we know better when students repeatedly choose wrong, yet, it is in the selection process that students can uncover who they are as readers, if we give them time to discuss, reflect, and yes, even try the things they choose that may not be a great fit.

Forced reflection. We seem to be reflecting kids to death with our requirements to write a little bit about every book they read. Or having them keep a reading journal or having them write about the signposts or whatever else they are finding when they independently read. It is not that we shouldn’t have students reflect when they read, it is that we make these one-size-fits-all requirements where students cannot discover how they would like to digest their reading. How often do we as adults write a paragraph every time we finish a book? Or summarize it? Or make a diorama, (which yes, I made my students do)? While I know adults that would love to do all of those things, I also know many that would not. In fact, many adult readers I know would slow down their reading or hide their reading if they had to do all of that “work.” When I teach the signposts (from the excellent book Notice and Note Notice and Note) I tell my students that they are not expected to find them when they are reading at home, but that they are meant to be able to find them when asked. There is a big difference in the way they feel about the task because it is not something they have to do all of the time.

Forced tracking. Oh reading logs, I am looking at you here. Yes, as an adult I track my reading on my Goodreads account. I even write reviews sometimes. But I don’t track my pages (unless I have a bigger purpose in mind and then it is for short amount of time), or time how long I read for, or even have my husband sign for me. I make time to read because I love reading. And while we can say that reading logs foster more reading because it is a check up system, it also kills reading for many. If you want to see if the kids are reading, have them read in class and pay attention to what they are reading. Allow students to track in a way that is meaningful to them; Goodreads, notebook page, poster, pictures of books on their phone, or even through conversations. There is no one system that fits all and if a system we have in place is even killing the love of reading for one child, then we need to rethink it.

Points and competition. Yes, AR, you have it coming. Plus all of the other initiatives that we put in place to urge students to read. And I get it; we desperately want students to become readers and to keep reading, yet this short-term solution can actually have a long-term consequence; kids who do not read for reading’s sake but for the prizes or honors attached to it. We know what the research says regarding motivation and reading and how it can actually have adverse effects, and yet, we continue to concoct programs to try to get them reading. How many adults though would read more because we then could take a computerized test that would give us points? How many adults would be okay with their reading lives on display for the world to see? Some would, while others would hate for the world to know something that they see as a personal discovery. Why do we assume that what might work for one child will work for all?

Limited abandonment. As an adult reader I practice wild book abandonment, passing books on when I know they are not right for me, yet as teachers, we often have rules for when students are allowed to abandon a book. I used to subscribe to the 50 page rule myself. Why? If a child wants to abandon a book, they are on their way to knowing themselves better as a reader. This is something to celebrate, not something to limit. If a child is a serial book abandoner, and yes, I have a few of those, then we should be asking them why, rather than just stopping them. What did they not like about this book? What do they need to look for instead? Help them explore their reading identity so that they can develop it rather than have them mimic yours.

Inane bookshopping rules. My students used to be allowed to bookshop on Fridays. That was it. Yet, as an adult reader I bookshop all of the time. I am constantly on the prowl for the next great read and my to-be-read list is ever expanding. I get that book shopping or browsing sometimes becomes an escape for a child when they do not want to read, but then we work with that one child, rather than impose limits for all. My students know that book shopping can happen anytime during our independent reading time, or even if they have completed other tasks. I would rather want children that want to look at books, than those who abhor it.

When my students started telling me their reading truths, I drove home in shame; how many of the very things they told me had killed their love of reading where things that I had done myself as a teacher? How many of the things was I still doing? Yet, within the words of my students, I found the biggest truth of all; different children need different reading experiences and so that means now is I try to create a passionate reading environment, where there is room and scaffold for all of my readers. Not just those that can work in one system concocted by me. I know that sometimes large things are out of our control, yet, there are so many small things that are. Think of what made you a reader or what stopped you from becoming one and then use that reflection to shape the way reading is taught and practiced in your own learning environment. Being a teacher means that we learn from our mistakes, I have made many, and it means that we continue to strive for better. We cannot do that if we don’t listen to the students. And you know what; don’t take my word for it; ask your own students. Then listen. Then do something about it.

PS: Today I pondered out loud on Twitter how many educators tell students to read at home or over the summer and never read themselves. Being a reading role model should be a requirement for all teachers of reading, it makes a huge difference.

If you are wondering why there seems to be a common thread to so many of my posts as of late, it is because I am working on two separate literacy books. While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher. The first book tentatively titled The Global Literacy Classroom is scheduled for release November, 2016 by Solution Tree. The second, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge. So until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a student, being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams, student driven

The Leveled Library; When Is It Time to Remove the Scaffold?

June 17, 2016June 17, 2016 Pernille Ripp

Levels were never meant to confine a child's reading choices or life, they were meant to help them on their way. pernille ripp

When I was a 5th grade teacher, I was told to level my library, or at least a part of it. When I asked why, I was told that it needed to be done so that students could find the right fit books. Yet, in our classroom, this was already happening. I was a 5th grade teacher after all and most students had many different ways of determining whether a book would be the right fit for them or not. This was something we had developed throughout the year. Just like when they went to our school library, the students knew to pick up books, flip through the pages and determine whether they wanted to read a book by reading a few pages and so on.

When I present, I often discuss levels and our seemingly obsession with the boxes they create for us. We love when we can quickly point a child in the right direction. We love when we can hand a kid a stack of books without having read them and say; these are for you because their level told me so. Whether Lexile, Fountas & Pinnell, AR score, or another contrived measuring form; levels seems to have permeated our educational experience. And it makes sense, after all, with our obsession with data and standardized testing, we love when we can break something complicated down to something tangible. But reading identity was never meant to be broken down like this.

Levels are not meant to be a child’s label, but a teacher’s tool to quote Fountas & Pinnell. They were never meant to be hindrances to children exploring books, nor were they meant to be the focal point of how we know a reader. They were meant for guiding us, the teachers, as we planned our instruction in order to help students succeed at the reading strategies we were teaching. And yet, I have seen entire classroom libraries designated by letters, even whole school ones. I have heard from librarians that were told that they had to police their book check outs to make sure a child had picked the correct books. From teachers who have seen children stop reading because they were only allowed to pick from certain boxes. Levels have even shown up in our book order magazines in order to help parents guide their child’s decision.

I cannot be the only one that is horrified at what this is doing to our readers?

You see, levels, much like a child’s reading level, is meant to be a scaffold. We start our early readers by guiding them using every tool that we have, including the reading level they are at, as we try to help them figure out how to pick books by themselves. Having a level or a letter helps them on their beginning journeys as readers. So does the five-finger rule. Yet at some point, our conversation needs to move beyond the letter, or whatever other designator we have. We need to shift the exploration of reader identity past the easy and into the hard. We need to start asking students what draws them to books and what keeps them there. How do they know when a book will be successful for them? How do they book shop? How do they keep track of what they want to read next? It has to be more than just because the level said it would work for them. Those conversations take time, they take energy, and they take us knowing our students in a deeper way than just their supposed reading ability. It also takes investment from our readers, which again, takes time within our curriculum. If our goal is to create reading experiences where students will leave our classrooms and school knowing who they are as a reader, then our conversation has to extend beyond the level.

So before we level our entire library, or even tell a child what level they are at, remember that depending on our students, it may be not only unnecessary, but also damaging to their future reading life. As educators our main goal is to create independent learners, yet the very levels we use to help students reach independence means that they are not. Moving beyond a level, a label, or whatever else we have decided will break down a child for us must be a priority as teachers of reading. We must ensure that their reading identity does not hinge on an outside indicator, but instead on their own understanding of themselves as readers. That takes time, and while time seems to be something we have very little of in school, it is an investment into their future life as adult readers.

Levels were never meant to confine a child’s reading choices or life, they were meant to help them on their way. Much like we remove training wheels from a bike when a child is old enough, we must remove the levels as well. We owe it to the future adults we teach.

PS: I love this post from Kylene Beers “A Kid is Not an “H””

being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, student choice, Student dreams, student voice

The One Thing that Made the Biggest Difference (According to My Students)

June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 Pernille Ripp

I asked my students what made the biggest difference. I asked them what I should tell other educators as I ready myself for speaking this summer, honored to be invited to so many great states. I asked them what they wished every teacher would do, if they had to pick one thing, what would it be? Answer after answer, paper upon paper, they told me their one thing. And while I wasn’t surprised, I had not expected it to be so frequent. I had not expected it to show up on so many independently answered surveys. I had not expected it to be the ONE thing so many times.

Please tell them to give us time to read. Please allow us at least 10 minutes. Please tell us to read. Tell us to read only great books. Give us the time so we can fall back in love.

The time; that was the most important.

I have started almost every single day with a sacred 10 minutes of reading. Not enough, I know, but when I only get 45 minutes to teach English, it is more than 1/5 of our time. Every day I have expected all students to read and to read a good book. Every day I have expected students to fall into the pages that they chose and only come back up when the timer sounds and the rest of our class begins. I was scared of what we would lose in our curriculum by giving them so many minutes. I was scared that I would not be enough of a teacher by telling them that for those 10 minutes I would only interrupt a few of them every day, but mostly they would be left to read. I have read the research, of course, that speaks of the power of 10 minutes. As a teacher I believe in it, but to have it come straight from the very students it effects? That is powerful. That is something worth sharing.

When we hope for a reading miracle, when we hope for the one thing that will make a child a reader, it seems like this is it. That independent reading of self-chosen books is truly what will help all of our readers, whether dormant, resistant, or already in love, develop into readers who will leave our classrooms knowing that books have a place in their life.

So as we teach the older students, those students that might not have the luxury of longer literacy blocks. Who may not have the luxury of reading work shop. Who may not have the luxury of choice. I implore you to please take my students’ advice to heart; give them time to read, even if only for 10 minutes. Give them time to read a book they choose. Make it the expectation and not just once in a while, but every single day. I promise it will make the biggest difference. At least it will, according to my students.

If you are wondering why there seems to be a common thread to so many of my posts as of late, it is because I am working on two separate literacy books. While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher. Those books will be published in 2017 hopefully, so until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

Be the change, being a student, being a teacher, being me, Personalized Learning, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement, student voice

You Cannot Buy Your Way to Personalized Learning

May 1, 2016 Pernille Ripp

When I decided to change the way I taught, I didn’t have a system. I had a lot of ideas, a lot of thoughts, a lot of failures to push me forward in my quest to be a better teacher. I had kids who hoped that school would be about them again. I had parents that hoped that their kids would like school when their year with me was done. I had dreams of something different, but I didn’t have a clear path, I didn’t have a curriculum to follow. If I would have, I don’t know where I would have ended up.

You see, when you choose to make learning more personal to the students, it is not about buying a curriculum. It is not about buying a solution. Or even reading a book and following the step-by-step directions to make it more personal. It is not about finding the new tool so that you can adapt and make it fit all of your learners. In fact, it may be just the opposite. It is about getting to know your students, getting to know yourself, and then finding as much inspiration you can to become a better teacher for all of your kids. So when I wrote my book, Passionate Learners, it wasn’t so that others could teach like me, but instead so others could start to question their own teaching as well. I didn’t want to give directions, but just ideas, questions, and things to reflect on. Because making learning about the kids again means that we have to be the ones to figure it out. Because they are our kids, in our schools, and no one can tell us better than what they need than them.

Personalized learning is not about a system. It is not about a box. It is not about a computer where students can self-pace as they work through a set curriculum. It is not about a checklist, nor learning in isolation. Personalizing learning is about what is right for the kid that is in front of you at that very moment. About helping them get to a place where they can figure out what they need and what they would like to accomplish. And yes, sometimes that kid doesn’t know what they need and then it becomes our job to help them figure it out. It is not about what you can do for the students to take control of their learning, it is about what they can do. Personalizing learning is indeed what great teaching is all about; knowing the students and helping them find ways to make all learning worth doing again.

So if someone tries to sell you or your school a personalized learning system, a personalized learning curriculum, or even a technology solution so that all students can work at their own pace, I would stop and think about that for a moment. How can they possibly promise you personalized when it is far from personal? How can someone who does not know your students, your school, your needs, deliver something that will fit all of those things?

Education is a business and we should never forget that. As much as we may think that every person who creates something for the education market is in it for the right reasons, we would be fools if we truly believed that. Much like every other educational buzzword, personalized learning will become the new cash cow until a new buzzword overtakes it. Don’t let companies ruin what kids need. Don’t fall for the sales pitches. Personalizing learning for students means the emphasis is on the personal and for the personal to happen, we have to know our kids and we have to listen to our kids. Not a company. Not a sales pitch. But the voices of the very students we teach. And that is free.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a student, being a teacher, end of year, student choice, student driven, Student Engagement

It Is Time to Remove the Scaffolds

April 27, 2016 Pernille Ripp

I think we have 25 or so days left of school. I may be wrong, I haven’t been counting. I don’t like to count down, I want to savor every moment, embrace every opportunity, teach until the last minute. I owe it to the kids. Yet with the inevitable end of year in sight, I feel the urge to release my students. To maybe even push them away a little as they need to stand on their own. To let go a little more, to have them try the exploration by themselves first and not rely so much on me. Because in 25 days or so, I won’t be there anymore. I won’t be there when they write, or when they discuss, or when they book shop. I won’t be there to support, to help, to push. So they need to find their own way; after all, fostering independent learners is one of our major goals in education.

Yet it seems we have created a paradox. Within our own eagerness to be the best teacher we can be, to provide everything for every child, I think we forget to let students go a little as well. We create so many scaffolds in our classrooms in an effort to help students learn more and then forget to remove them, wondering why students come to next year’s teachers seemingly ill prepared to be independent. And I am not alone in these thoughts as I am reminded of Bob Probst speaking at NCTE about how we teach kids in early years that NF stands for “Not fake” and then never correct that notion. Or Donalyn Miller, who wrote an incredibly wonderful book about creating wild readers; readers that would read outside of our classrooms, after they left us. It seems in our passion for teaching, we may be creating kids who lose sight of what education really is about and instead rely on our systems to pass from class to class.

So right now, as we slip toward the end, I think of all the ways my students must be released. To make sure that they know that the signposts that we find because of Notice and Note are not the point of reading, but are meant to deepen their experience. That a MEL-Con paragraph is not the task at hand, but instead just a way to remember that if you present any evidence when you write, you must analyze and explain it. That they must look inward to discover who they are as a reader so that they can select books using their own methods that do not revolve around what the teacher book-talked. And the list goes on.

At the beginning of the year, we are so focused on the routines we must set up for our learning communities. On the expectations that we create along with the students. We start programs, curriculum, and set our journey up for the most success. It is therefore only right that toward the end we start to unravel the same routines, the procedures, the scaffolds, so that students can leave us better, bigger, and more independent. So the students can leave us and not look back when they go, knowing they are ready for the next challenge.