Student dreams – Page 12

aha moment, Be the change, being a teacher, connect, Student, Student dreams

How Do We Know Who We Don’t Even Know?

December 15, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I think I teach 128 students this year but I haven’t done the math. There is a lot of them. I know all of their names, have since the first week. I know their writing styles, their book preferences, I know who will avoid me and who will seek me out. I teach 128 students but am not connected to 128 students. I have those that I am closer to. That I joke around with, that come to me asking for help, that leave me notes, that I have nicknames for. I have the ones I truly consider my kids, the ones I consider mine.

Call it the curse of teaching a lot of students, but no matter how much you try, not every kid will become connected to you. That is why I am thankful for my incredible team; I know how much they care about the kids we teach, I know they have “their” kids too that they feel close to.

And yet, in all of those connections, we know that there are kids that do not “belong” to anyone. That do not have a special relationship with a teacher. And by now those kids that we haven’t quite built a relationship with are starting to fall through the cracks.

So what do we do? How do we know who we don’t even know? How do we as a team, whether school-wide, grade-level or in some other configuration figure out who those kids are that nobody is seemingly connecting with? Well, there is a simple way to find out, and no, I did not come up with this idea but wanted to pass it on.

Put all of their names on a big piece of paper and hand every teacher a marker. Put a dot next to those kids who you feel you have a closer relationship to. Then stand back and look. Who has no dots? Who has just one? Discuss those kids. Pay special attention, make a list, and the next time you teach them, ask a question not related to school. Not related to the work. Not related to what you share already. Do it the next day, and the next day. Pick a few kids at a time if there are too many. Invest your time, and not in a forced way, but in a human way. don’t force a relationship, but dedicate time to giving one a chance.

As my brilliant colleague, Reidun Bures (follow her at @ReidunLee) pointed out today, “We don’t see our own patterns of who we speak to. We get comfortable and then wonder why some kids don’t respond to us as well.” And she is right; we all try to connect with all of our kids and don’t see the ones we haven’t quite connected with. Not seeking them out becomes a part of our pattern. But it doesn’t have to be that way. All kids should have at least one teacher that has their back, one teacher to fall back on. And the first step is to grab a marker and make a dot. And then do something with the result.

If you are looking for a great book club to join to re-energize you in January, consider the Passionate Learners book club on Facebook. We kick off January 10th.

assessment, authentic learning, being a teacher, collaboration, No grades, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, student voice

Ready to Re-Ignite Your Passion? Join the Passionate Learners Book Club

December 9, 2015December 29, 2015 Pernille Ripp

With the bustle of December and all of the year-end blog posts starting to be released, the end of the year is fast approaching. But with that end also comes an inevitable beginning; a January that calls for re-invention, renewed commitment, and also the energy to try new things. I do so adore January for all of its passion and courage.

It is therefore that I am pretty excited to share that the first ever official book club for Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students will kick off on January 10th.

Join this private Facebook group for a casual and fun exploration of the book, find a community of your own that is trying some of the ideas, or have already implemented them into their classrooms. There will be reflective questions, helpful resources, as well as ideas shared in the hopes to make this January the best one yet.

In the book club we will discuss how to

Build a working relationship with your students based on mutual trust, respect, and appreciation.
Be attentive to your students’ needs and share ownership of the classroom with them.
Break out of the vicious cycle of punishment and reward to control student behaviour.
Use innovative and creative lesson plans to get your students to become more engaged and intellectually-invested learners, while still meeting your state standards.
Limit homework and abandon traditional grading so that your students can make the most of their learning experiences without unnecessary stress.

So if you are looking for a way to re-ignite your passion, to meet new amazing educators, and find great ideas for how to engage and empower your students, join this book club. There is no commitment once you join, pop in when you can and share when you want.

When: January 10th – February 7th

Where: Online via a private, closed Facebook group

Cost: Free

Click here to join the Passionate Learners book club on Facebook. You will receive a notification from Facebook once you have been added to the group and you can then start posting. Please contact me with any questions. You can get your print or e-book copy of Passionate Learners here.

aha moment, being a student, being a teacher, being me, student choice, Student dreams

All The Things I Have Not Done

November 25, 2015 Pernille Ripp

It is time for me to make a confession. It is time for me to come clean. Because it is easy to speak about all of the things we do in our 7th grade classroom, it is easy to share ideas, to give advice, to hopefully help others engage students more. And yet…some of those things that I love the most we are not even doing.

We haven’t started blogging yet. This monumental cornerstone of our classroom has not found its hold. It lurks on the horizon, taunting me, reminding me of its presence, and yet, we are not bloggers. We haven’t had many discussions of how to change education, how to share our voice with the world, how to make a change so that the schools we go to become better with us in them. We have not been geniuses or innovators. Nor have we Skyped much. We have not taken the system apart only to put it back together. And I am ok with that. For now.

Because while we have not done all of those things, we have slowed down instead. We have gotten to know each other, we have read picture books, we have book shopped for half a class. We have written stories for our eyes only, the classroom so quiet I barely dare move. We have talked about what it means to be a reader, a writer, a human being. We have stopped when we needed to instead of forged on. And the ease at which we now operate in our classroom is profound. The conversations that slowing down has allowed me to have with my students are irreplaceable.

So while we are not global students. While we are not innovators. While we are not out there changing the world, I know that it is only a matter of time. That my students will get to experience those things when they fit into our day. When we feel the need to take our voices further than our own four walls. I know it will happen, it just has not happened yet. And I am ok with that.

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, being me, books, Literacy, student choice, Student dreams

I Was Born A Reader

November 19, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Some days I feel like I was born to read. To fall in love with stories. To think deeply about the books that I carry in my heart, to get so consumed by the tale of someone else’s life that there is nothing that can penetrate my wall of immersion. On other days, reading is the furthest thing from my mind as I watch my house fill up with dirty clothes, my children’s arms eagerly awaiting another hug, a song, some help. Reading moves further away when the to-do’s pile up, the stacks of paper start to scatter, and my brain cannot seem to slow down. That is when I am my most vulnerable as a reader. When the world is too busy and sitting down with a book seems to be too much of a luxury. I lose touch with the power of reading, but not for long, never for long.

So I continue to come back to books whenever I can. I get through the things that have to get done so my ears can hear my to-be-read pile calling. It is not hard for me to find book, it is hard for me to choose which one next. It is not hard for me to find a moment of quiet, where I don’t have to do anything but read, after all my kids go to bed early. My life has taught me that I am a reader, even if I am not reading. That I am a reader even when I abandon a book, struggle with its meaning,or have no idea what to read next. I am a reader because I have had so many amazing experiences with books that I cannot imagine my life without them.

Yet, how many of our students have that same experience? How many of the children we teach know in their core that they are readers? How many have experienced the freedom of choice in books that we have as adults? How many of them have experienced what it means to abandon a book simply because they wanted to? How many of them feel like finding time to read is an investment worth making because they know their soul will feel better?

It seems our classrooms are set up to cover curriculum, which in its simplest way makes sense, after all, we cannot be teachers if we do not teach. Yet, within that curriculum we need to create reading experiences that allow students to fall in love with reading. To read with wild abandonment because it is what they want to do, not just have to do.

We need to give them enough incredible experiences with books so that they can become readers at their core, and not just because their teacher told them so but because they know it will better their lives. We need to give them enough moments with books that they choose so that when their reading slows down, when they meet a text that does not entice them, they will not give up on reading but rather know that they are in a lull and that this too shall pass. That being a reader means that we don’t always read but we cannot imagine a life without it.

I was born a reader, or so it seems, because my mother never told me what book to read, my teachers never told me my level, and I was never ashamed to admit when I read slowly. The least I can do is offer my students the same thing.

aha moment, being me, MIEExpert15, Passion, Student dreams

A Thought on Perspective – The Fish Tank

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I sat there watching the fish swim in place, barely noticing Augustine’s excited screams. Amazing that a 19th month old toddler pointing, yelling, and even wanting so badly to hit the glass did not shake the fish. They barely moved. And Augustine stood in total awe, oblivious to the world around her.

The fish seemed content. They had clean water, a few rocks, a few fish friends and obviously enough to eat. And yet, they were clearly too large for their tank. There was nowhere to hide, no trees except for the fake ones painted on the back wall. No places to go except hovering right in the middle staring out at a retirement homes’ front entrance. A completely average life for most goldfish I presume.

What if our classrooms are much like that fish tank?

What if that is how we teach out students?

What if we give them enough to just thrive, to be complacent, to be just fine? What if we provide our students with just the necessities in our curriculum and care? We will surely see them grow. They will not wither away. But will we notice when they become too large for our tanks? When they long for more than the artificial experiences we are providing for them? Will we notice when their dreams outgrow the space that we share, the needs we fulfill? And not only will we notice, but what will we do with that knowledge? What will we do to tear down a wall? Give them the world so that the very tanks we keep them in don’t set them on a path toward creativity suffocation?

Sometimes I think that I am doing a just fine job, and I don’t take the time to step away from our room, from the tank to speak, and look at it from an outsiders perspective. It is hard to do when you are the caretaker of a classroom community because you think that you are doing everything you should be doing. Yet the dreams of our students are sometimes so big that we have to unleash them on the world, because if we don’t the dreams will die. We have to be able to create spaces where our students can continue to thrive, not just survive, not just hovering in the middle of the only space they have.

What of our students don’t know that there is more to the world than what we offer them? Then how can we ever expect them to want to change the world?

Who ever thought a too large goldfish would remind me of that?

If you like what you read here, consider reading my book Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students. The 2nd edition and actual book-book (not just e-book!) comes out September 22nd from Routledge.