Category: students

end of year, reflection, students

And So It Was Goodbye

Pernille Ripp


Friday marked the end of an incredible year with my 5th graders.  They were ready to go on to summer, they were ready to go to middle school.  So we had a small and perfect graduation and these were my parting words to them…


Dear 5th graders,
I walked into your classroom on November 5th hoping that you would like me.  Hoping that we could build a community, hoping that you would be up for some of my craziness.  I had heard that you were an incredible class, I had heard that you were as sweet as can be, perhaps a little rambunctious, but definitely with your heart in the right place.  Little did I know just how quickly you would become my kids, part of my family, and how quickly the end of the year would come.


We have read many incredible books this year, we have laughed about them, cried about them (well I have any way), and definitely rushed to each other and said “You have to read this book!”  And think of everything we have learned…


Ivan taught us that words are to be treasured and used to make a difference in the world.


Harry taught us that friendships can make the difference between life and death.


Auggie taught us “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.“


Chu taught us that even the smallest gestures can have the biggest outcomes


Coraline taught us that even though we may think our parents are the most boring parents in the world, they are still the best parents for us.


Carly Rae Jepsen taught us that it’s always a good time.


But it was Jack’s words in Miss Stretchberry’s room 105 that left us with the biggest lesson of the year
Jack writes;  
September 13th
I don’t want to
because boys
don’t write poetry


Girls do.


September 21
I tried.
Can’t do it.
Brain’s empty.


September 27th
I don’t understand
the poem about
the red wheelbarrow
and the white chickens
and why so much
depends upon them.


If that is a poem
about the red wheelbarrow
and the white chickens
then any words
can be a poem.
You’ve just got to
make
short
lines.


Jack was right – any words can be poetry.  So I hope you leave 5th grade painting with your words, not shying away from stating your opinion, and above all choosing kind.


You have made me so proud, thank you for letting me be a part of your life, and remember; represent.

reflection, students

We Plant the Seeds

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

…Remember how you told me you were an angry child?  

Yeah…
Well, you’re not anymore, are you?
I guess not, Mrs. Ripp…. and he smiles
The power of the words we say to our students never ceasse to astound me.  We can plant seeds in our students with our words, we can build them up, make them believe that they are something bigger, better, brighter, or we can tear them down.
We can make a child believe that they can read any book some day.
We can make them believe that math comes natural to them and that they just need a little more practice.
We can make them believe that they have worth, that their words carry weight.
We can make them believe that they are smart, intuitive, and a natural leader.
We can make them believe that they have a talent, that they are good enough, that they have incredible things to offer to the world. 
We can make them believe that they are worthy of many friendships, that others will like them, and that the world is just waiting for them to burst into it.
We can tear away old labels and replace them with new ones.  Labels that build up instead of tear down.
Our words, even our every day ones, carry so much weight, do we even realize it?
reflection, students

A Child Tells Me How He Really Feels

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

There are those kids that don’t sneak into our hearts but instead kick the door down, scream for a while, and then try to leave again.  Those kids that make the most noise, that fight us the most, that make sure that we stay on our toes every single moment they are in our presence.  Those kids that you will miss the most even if they were the ones that kept you up the latest every night as you wondered how you would reach them, connect with them, support them as learners.

I have had many of these kids and this year is no different.  Tom (name changed of course) came into my life with the loudest of voices and the most hatred toward writing I have ever met in a child.  It wasn’t just that he didn’t know what to write, he simply didn’t want to write.  Ever.  Not even his name.  Or the date.  Or what his favorite thing was.  Tom hated writing and told me this repeatedly.  He would rather get kicked to the office, he would rather be yelled at by the principal, he would rather yell at me than write.  And yet, I kept at it, helping him, supporting him, pushing him each and every day, refusing to give give in, refusing to take the bait and yell.  But more importantly than me, he started believing in himself.  He started to write just a little, even if it was through lots of complaints.  He picked up his pencil and wrote just enough so that i would leave him alone, enough so he could show he got it.  So today he handed me this memoir to finish the year…
My worst day ever was when I met Mrs.Ripp it was so boring all we did was just talk about something I forgot. she was so bogus for noting. I didn’t even do anything she was just being mean I would hate to be Mrs.Ripps class next year I’m telling you the truth Mrs.Ripp. You were as mean as a pitbull.You can be so bogus sometimes and the worst teacher but sometimes she can be nice other times she mean in the morning she’s nice but in the afternoon she’s mean but I think she will be nice to her other students.She nice to be on the first day but the second day she was super mean and I was just minding my business doing me.I hope she nice to her other class.she even taking minutes off of the field trip and thats not fair that was bogus I got 10 minutes because I didn’t do my thing but dang just mean.
Some teacher may get upset.  Some teachers may think it is rude.  But I am not that teacher.  I love this writing.  I love his honesty, his use of periods, and the fact that he used a simile.  I love that he had me read it aloud to the class and that he smiled when he handed it in.  Look at how much he wrote!  Look at what he did.  He wrote and that to me is the biggest victory ever.
I will miss him a lot, every noise, every fight, every refusal or complaint.  My classroom will feel too quiet after he moves on.  And I think he might miss me a little too, even if I am the meanest teacher ever.

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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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end of year, projects, students

The Learning Doesn’t Stop – Ideas for Maximizing Those Last Few Weeks of School

Pernille Ripp
I don’t do end of year countdowns, I actually dread the last day of school because it means these amazing kids are not going to be mine any longer.  And yet, being in 5th grade means that graduation is near, middle school looms, and the kids know that our time is limited.  So they started asking me what we would be doing these last few weeks after math is done, memoir is done, all that stuff we had to get through is done (I never tell them that we are never done even if we aren’t).  And voila; a list of ideas for the remaining weeks.

  • The teapot project.  After we finish our math journals I don’t want math to end, so thank you Aviva for choosing us to receive your teapot.  This means that the last two weeks of school we will be busy researching, designing  and building our own packing material for the teapot that will go back to another classroom in Canada.  Math journals may have stopped  but the math certainly doesn’t
  • Our reading recommendation list.  My students love to read; they breathe books and many kids have already expressed fear that they will not know what to read over the summer.  We therefore decided to ask strangers for recommendations and will also be compiling our own.  In the end we will create Animotos showcasing our favorites reads, a list for students to access for recommendations, and probably a massive wish list of books for me for next year.
  • Book bins of our favorite books.  This was a great idea from a teacher at my school; have your students create personalized book bins for the incoming class.  My students will each create one with a favorite 5th grade book, a favorite series book, a book they never thought they would like, and a book that was too hard for them to read at the beginning of the year but now they have mastered.  What a wonderful way to get the next set of students ready to read.
  • Our favorite memories.  Students become movie producers as they sort of how to film students favorite memories of 5th grade.  This is a great extension of our memoir unit and also allows the kids to tell me what they loved.  A committee usually takes care of the actual filming and producing.
  • What I like about….I love this simple video project where every student is tasked with complimenting three other students.  Again a committee takes care of the filming and editing.
  • A thank you letter for all those other people.  I try to teach my students the power of a thank you letter and so we end the year compiling letters to all of those people that have made the school year wonderful; our specials teachers, our custodians, our lunch ladies and anyone else the students want to thank.  Since they are 5th graders they often ask if they can write thank you notes to their old teachers as well.  A committee take scare of the binding of the books but this is a great way to once again discuss letter writing.
  • Precepts for the new 5th grade students.  Anyone who has read Wonder knows what I mean by precepts but in essence they are words to live by.  I will therefore be asking my students to write precepts for my new students that I can use for my welcome display.  This is their chance to give them words to live by in 5th grade and it will be nice to have these reminders on the first day of school where I tend to miss those old students a lot.
  • Innovation Day.  We just had Innovation Day as a whole grade level on Wednesday and I cannot tell you how incredible it is for 60 students to just engage in their very own project for a whole day.  If you don’t know what Innovation Day it is not too late to do it at your school.
  • Dear Future Mrs. Ripp’s Kids.  Letters from my old students to the new ones offering them tips, getting them excited about the year to come, and of course trying to answer any questions they may have.  I hand these to my new students to read and discuss and then I take them back after that.  I save every year’s letters as a reminder of just how many kids I have been privileged to teach.
  • We also blog up until the last few days, do a government simulation, read one more book aloud, do an end of the year survey, present our biome projects, weed through our library, figure out how the classroom should be set up next year and just have a really great time with each other.  So yeah, I don’t do a countdown – we simply have too much to still do!
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.