Student – Page 5 – Pernille Ripp

being a teacher, change, education reform, Student

But Wait, I ‘m Only One Person

October 4, 2011 Pernille Ripp

As I am continually awed by the incredible educators I get to teach with not only in my school, but also in the world, I am renewed in my already strong belief that we are the change.

We are the change for all of those children whose lives have been determined by assumptions, circumstance, and test scores outside of their control.

We are the change for all of those teachers who don’t think they have a voice. You do. So although you may just be one person, there are so many things you can do to change the system. To bring the focus back on the kids, on improving teaching conditions, and keeping our students passionate and curious. So

Stand up for yourself.

Speak up – one voice joins the chorus and together we are louder.

Blog, write to the paper, get it out and spread the word. Change will come if we continue to fight for it.

Join together – enough of the us versus them debate. Enough with tearing other teachers down. Show me a perfect teacher and I will show you 10 people that disagree. We are not perfect nor should we ever think we are; embrace each other, and stand together, this is for the kids.

Tell them they matter.

Realize that you matter.

Try your ideas and then be proud if they work. Be proud if they fail, at least you tried something.

Believe in them, believe in you, and believe in your team.

Be the change. Be the change. Be the change.

You may be just one but think of how far one person’s words can go, the ripples they can start, the waves they can become.

being a teacher, community, Student, trust

Kids Shouldn’t Feel Like Tourists: How Every Classroom Should Be a Tribe

June 27, 2011July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Taken today – oh what a beautiful flag

“I feel like I belong.” My little brother turns to me as we walk through the Copenhagen aiport minutes after landing. We are indeed home, even if just for a short while, but I immidiately got what he meant. I belong to the same tribe he does; the Danes, and with that comes certain hidden knowledge, requirements and social norms that normal tourists simply will not be a part of. This is all unravled to us as we are raised; how to speak to elders, how to dress, how to survive in a culture which is very liberal but has heightened politeness and manners standards. The manual for being a Dane has not been written, and indeed, it changes as the population changes, and yet there is a “Daneness” that I recognize. We are indeed tribe members and not just by looks – in fact not all Danes are blonde like I am – but by culture and behavior. We are members because we know how to be and the society lets us be, with only a few perplexed comments on our Americanness (13 years abroad will do that for you).

This is much like our classrooms. We set them up to be inclusive and welcoming to our students but do we set them up as a tribe? (And I am not referring to the Tribes program here). A tribe would mean that every person involved in the classroom felt like they belong and understood the hidden language of the classroom. A tribe means safety for all of the people wherever they venture in the room and also that they will be protected by other students outside of our territory. A tribe is bigger than just being a class. All of this is certainly something I strive for every year so I mulled about this all day and reached the following conclusions. To be a tribe we must

Recognize that we are an entity, that yes we are part of something bigger in the school, but also see that we are our own unit contained within the walls of our classroom.
Realize that we are unique. There are other similar classrooms but this actual composition cannot be replicated anywhere else and this is something to celebrate.
Determine our culture. What do we value, what do we see as proper behavior and how do we act amongst each other? These are all vital for a tribe to feel togetherness and should not be set by the teacher. For real understanding, appreciation, and cooperation it has to be set up together. A tribe may have a leader but it is still a regular person who holds that position.
Determine our hidden language. Discuss the assumptions we bring into the classroom, set expectations and explore pitfalls. Unspoken assumptions in particular can be devastating for a classroom and need to be discussed openly so that all involved people have a real chance of ownership and understanding.
Allow change. A tribe should not stay the same all year, it should move and fluctuate as the classroom moves much like a country’s culture. What should remain though is the sense of belonging of understanding the classroom culture and being able to navigate it all successfully without feeling like a tourist.

Being a tribe is so much more than being just a classroom, even a really good one. It allows students to lose inhibitions (and the teacher too) and to revel in a meaningful learning environment. No longer just visiting for the year in the teacher’s classroom but actually building the foundation of it and then actively maintaining it throughout the year so that ever person who walks into the room can exclaim, “I belong.”

This goes beyond just building community and rightfully so and will therefore take top priority in the coming year for me. What about you?

being a teacher, New Adventure, Student, technology

So You Want to Integrate Technology – Now What?

June 25, 2011 Pernille Ripp

Technology Is Not Technology (Photo credit: lgb06)

I have been given a new label this year, I am now the “techy teacher.” This label brings many odd and interesting conversations with it, most often involving how to integrate technology into a classroom. So for all of those just getting started, who perhaps are ready to move beyond use computers as research engines and typewriters, here is a little advice from someone who has been there:

Decide on time. Ask yourself, and be honest, how much time do you really want to spend on technology in your day? If the answer is as little as possible then perhaps this is not the year. If the answer is some, then do read on.
Figure out the “Why.” What are you aiming to do with the technology? What are the goals for integration? Is it to connet with others then Skype or blogging might be a great thing to learn about. Is it to give students different project options then perhaps Animoto or Glogster are your venues. Is it to give yourself more professional development then Twitter is a must.
Do your research. Reach out to others (through Twitter perhaps) and ask them what they use. Google your needs, look at reviews, and then decide whether it is a good fit for you or not. There are so many websites and blogs out there that do all the work for you, Richard Byrne’s Free Technology for Teachers is a great place to begin!
Chose a few. While there are so many things out there technologically speaking it is best to choose a few to focus on. I thought I was going to integrate many things the last year and it honestly just got too time consuming. So align the technology with your goal (see number 2) and get ready to mess with it, and…
Play. Technology needs to be pretty self-explanatory and I better be able to figure it out within a short amount of time. If it is something I am showing/using with my students then I better have it figured out within 5 minutes or so. If it is for my own personal use, I give it 30 minutes but after that, no thanks. Play with it, walk through it as your students will and learn a little about it. Often this gets me more excited to use it.
Again – how will you use it? Now that you have decided on what to use, ask again whether this will work for your educational goal. I love the idea of VoiceThread but found it too cumbersome for the presentation format so I went a different route. Just because it is technology does not mean it is helpful.
Stick with it. The first couple of times I introduced new technology to my students I was a little bit apprehensive, after all, these were 4th graders I was asking to do the work. And yet, they got it. The beauty of technology integration also is that if one students gets it then they can also help you teach it to others.
Embrace failure. Go into this adventure knowing that things will break, signals will fail, and computers will crash. Have a back up plan in mind that still accomplishes the same goal. We have had missed Skype opportunities, blocked websites and overall disasters on our hands, but always managed to laugh about it and move on. Don’t waste your time lamenting lost technology.
Be courageous. So what if you are the only one at your school trying this out; be the one who tries new things. No one at my school was blogging before I started and now all of the 5th grade tried it as well. You never know who will be inspired by you trying something out.
Make it worthwhile. I do not believe in tech for tech’s sake. I only use it to further our learning goals and to broaden my students’ horizon, so use it in the right sense. Students will respond and be engaged if they understand and see the genuine purpose, they will quickly lose interest if it does not further your purpose. Remember technology is not always the answer to every lesson, sometimes whipping out paper and pen can produce the same (and sometimes better) results. So make sure you use it when it fits, not because you feel you have to.

alfie kohn, education, No grades, Student, Teacher

So You Want to Quit Letter Grades – A Practical Guide From Someone Who’s Done It and Survived

June 10, 2011 Pernille Ripp

Last year I made the decision to stop giving out letter grades as much as possible. This was not an easy decision or one that I made lightly. Only after research, deep reflection, and many conversations with peers did I decide that this was the best step for me within my educational philosophy. This post is not a debate of why I quit letter grades, but a how, so here goes.

Do your research. I knew that to do this right I had to have my philosophy and facts straight so I read Alfie Kohn’s work, as well as the numerous blogs, articles, and reflections on it available through a Google search. This strengthened my stance and gave me practical know-how.
Think it through. This is a bucking-the-system type of decision so you need to be clear on why you are doing this. Providing students with more meaningful feedback: yes. Less work and more free time: no.
Now think it through practically. What is this going to look like in your room? How will you take notes? How will you assess their learning? And then how will you compile that all into feedback, progress reports, and perhaps even a dictated grade on a district report card? This was my biggest hurdle this year and something that I need to refine next year.
Create your goals. All lessons have to have goals, otherwise you will have nothing to assess. Sometimes we are not totally sure of that what those goals are since a curriculum has been prescribed to us. Dig through it and find them or create your own within your standards and then make a list or some sort of report. I was able to quickly assess through verbal Q&A whether a student was secure in something or not and then check off that goal, moving that student on to something else.
Involve the higher ups. I didn’t have to alert my principal to what I was planning on doing but it made my life a lot easier when I did. Some districts will not support this without a proper discussion and it is important to have allies if someone questions your program or philosophy.
Explain it to your families, and particularly your students. The first few weeks we discussed what proper feedback was, what we could use it for, and how the feedback was just another step in our journey. This made my students start to focus on the feedback rather than pine for a grade to be done with it. Deadlines became more flexible and a product was seldom “done” but always a work in progress.
Involve your students. I had to still give letter grades on our report cards so I discussed with students what their grade should be. More time consuming, absolutely, but it was wonderful to see their knowledge of the subject and understanding of what they should know. Most of the time, their grades and mine lined up perfectly and in rare occasions were they much harder on themselves than I was. Either way we figured it out together, through conversation and reflection, and they started to own their learning more.
Plan for it. Meaningful assessment does not just happen, it is planned and somehow noted. If you think you are just going to remember, you are not. So every day I had my trusty clipboard that I took notes on, checked off progress and goals accomplished on, and added anything else useful to. This became my “grade book” and the days I didn’t use it, all of that information was lost.
Take Your Time. Letter grades will always be easier to do because they most often are compiled from a piece of paper or a one-time presentation. Deep feedback is not. This happens through conversations, assignments, and lots and lots of formative assessment. Give yourself time to take it all in, take your most important goals and give them enough time to be accomplished by your students, and then give yourself enough time to have the conversations. The conversations are the most important tool here.
Allow Yourself to Change. This means both allowing yourself to try out not giving letter grades and then figuring out if it works for you. This also means allowing yourself to know that this is a work in progress. There were absolutely missed opportunities in my room this year concerning feedback, but I know what to work on now. I also know what my goals are, how to engage students in meaningful conversation regarding their work, and also how to give better feedback. Just like our students, we too, are learning.
Most Importantly: Reach Out. Through my PLN I was able to engage in meaningful conversations and iron out hurdles with the help of Joe Bower, Jeremy MacDonald, and Chris Wejr. I even reached out to Alfie Kohn. There are people who have done this before you, there are people who have gone through it before you, use them, ask them questions, and know that you are not alone. I am always available to discuss this with anyone so reach out to me as well.

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