students – Page 17 – Pernille Ripp

I seem to keep opening Pandora’s infamous box when it comes to the thoughts of my students. Spurred on by discussion in my every day about the ever increasing role standardized testing plays in our lives, I finally had the aha moment of asking my students how they felt about it. Armed with an article from Time For Kids that discusses the new wave of computerized testing, I asked my students how they felt. First they discussed and then they blogged, and boy, am I glad I asked.

We think we know how testing effects kids, and we do know part of it, but some of their answers surprised even me. Many of my students don’t get what it is they are being tested for. Many of my students, who otherwise love technology, hate being tested on the computer. They hate the strain on their eyes. They hate feeling that everyone can see their screen. They hate knowing that others have finished while they lumber on. They hate not being able to go back and check their answers. They kept asking me what will be on the test and when I said that I wasn’t quite sure because we are not privy to that information, they thought I was lying. Why would I not be able to tell them what they would be tested on? That didn’t make any sense to them or to me.

But here are their words for you to read, and if you feel like it, please leave them a comment on our Kidblog. It would mean the world to them.

I asked, “What Are your thoughts on testing?”

Buddy wrote:

I actually have mixed feelings about this, and here they are. Doing tests on the computer is better because technology makes learning easier for me. I’m not happy about doing tests because it takes too long. Sometimes if I answer enough questions correctly, I have to answer questions about what a passage from something means. Yes, answering what a certain passage means is easy. Would it be that easy if it were in French or Spanish? I like doing tests on paper because everyone gets the same test. It doesn’t bring you up to a level where it’s in a foreign language. In 2014 tests will all be on the computer. If the class doesn’t get good scores on the test, then the teacher could get fired. If your class dislikes you and they always go home every day and say to their parents “My teacher was so unfair today” then you could get fired for no reason. If your class just does a bad job on the tests because they don’t like you you could get fired. When you will do your test, it might affect your teacher’s job. I like doing tests on paper because it doesn’t hurt my eyes after a while, unlike when I do tests on the computer for an hour and a half. Usually I get headaches and my eyes hurt. The thing that bothers me is that someday everything will be replaced by technology. Someday your written tests that you do today could be valuable and put in museums someday. How do you feel about that?

Cecilie wrote:

They think when they test us that is all we know wrong we know things that they are not testing us. So they think that we don’t know anything when they are the ones having us test stuff we do not know. It is there fault we are getting bad scores.

Amber wrote:

I don’t and it makes me kind of nervous. My class read a article about we having to do more tests in middle school for next year. They will be harder as the year goes along. Also, the computer can glitch, but paper can’t. I feel like I can do more on paper.

Megan wrote:

I am not a fan of computer tests, like, at all. I get so nervous taking tests on computers, I am always shivering before them. In my opinion they don’t show what you know, because the tests don’t have everything. So pretend that somebody is like a genius in pan balances, it might not be on it and they got a low score, they might of gotten a higher score if it was on the test. We have had MAP test (on the computer) and WKCE tests (on paper) I feel like I can take my time on the WKCE because I don’t know who is finished or not. Also I really like the privacy folders on the WKCE, they make me feel less panicked and it seems like a regular test. Now in the MAP test a totally feel panicked! I am usually one of the last people taking it, and I can see who is done and who isn’t. The people that are done are reading books or playing on the computer, and there is no privacy folders for me to not see that. When I am one of the last people taking the test I feel panicked and rushed. I also hate the MAP test because I can’t go back to check my answers. I bet that the new computerized test would be a ton like the MAP, school in the 2014 would be horrifying!

Graham wrote:

1. Sometimes they don’t ask you the things that you are learning in school

2. People sometimes get tired or worried so they just guess

3. They can get really, really boring for most people, so they don’t pay attention

Standardized testing is one of the things I look forward not to doing.

Please go to their blogs and read their thoughts, as always, I am baffled that we leave students out of this debate. Ask you students how they feel and give them their voice back.

achievement, students

Just Practice It Again and Again and Again

March 25, 2013 Pernille Ripp

“You’re going to practice it again and again and again and again. . . so there’s a chance you can finally do that level of work.”

Words taken directly from the video “From the Page to the Classroom: Implementing the Common Core State Standards – English Language Arts and Literacy” Words that chill me to my bones. If you ever want a child to tune out of their education, you ask them to practice the same skill again and again in the same way. Not reading a lot, but reading one book over and over until it is mastered. Doing the same math problem over and over. We know that it is not just repetition that fosters understanding, but relevance, interest, and engagement as well. Students stay engaged when they are faced with problems that they can successfully master or can access different ways of getting through them. Students become successful when their curiosity is piqued. How does repetition of the same thing pique anyone’s curiosity?

I was awful at math in gymnasium, and yet I had chosen it as my line of study. I asked my teacher for help again and again, and over and over she showed me the same way to do the same problem, failing to understand that us being stuck in this track of help led us nowhere. I needed a new approach, someone else to explain it to me and so do our students; if a book is not helping them, then we must search for something else. If the approach that I take to explain something is not helpful then another way must be found.

Now I now some people will say that repetition is how we learn anything, and yes, thoughtful repetition does help us learn. Repetition in the type of problem we encounter, but not the actual problem itself. So forcing a child to read the same text whether it is accesible to them or not hoping that they will catch up to their peers is ludicrous to begin with and then having them re-read it over and over in the hopes that it will all of a sudden click, well that is just insanity.

So when we now all rush to implement the common core, will we be the ones telling our students to just do it again and again and again? Or will we be the ones that find a way to work with the standards, ensuring that our students’ curiosity for learning is protected? And has anyone stopped to ask the students how they want to learn? Or do their opinions not matter?

Be the change, change, students

Where Did the Year Go? It Is Not Too Late to Make Changes

March 22, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Today we go on spring break and as I keep telling my new teacher colleague, after spring break the yesar seems to speed up and disappear before our eyes. All of a sudden even the most experienced teacher starts to feel like they are not doing enough, have not gotten where they though they would, and we intensify our desire to teach more, do more, push more. Yet, the last few months of the year is not the time to get stuck in routines or expectations, for me it has always been the time to really explore, push my students, and create.

So it is not too late to

Start blogging with your students. Even 3 months of blogging is an incredible experience. This year with my maternity leave we didn’t start until mid-November and yet my students have taken our blogging to a new level amassing more than 1,600 comments. Look at my friend Rob Hunt’s class, they just started a few weeks ago and are already master bloggers. If you need help on why and how please see this page.
Get a class Twitter account. I admit it, I was a skeptic Even though I love Twitter, I didn’t see much point in my students as a class being on there as well. Perhaps it just seemed like too much. On a whim, I went against my own senses and did create them one @MrsRippsClass and it has been amazing to see what they have used it for. They have tweeted authors and received replies (!!!), They have asked for book recommendations, recommended great videos, and shared their live learning I am already excited about what else we can think to use Twitter for.
Do something hands-on. I know we tend to pull the reins tighter as students get more squirrly but I have found that if I give them even more autonomy choice, and freedom in our classroom they live up to the challenge. Now is the time to really push them.
Put it all together. I really start to focus more on themes in our learning and bridging it all during these last few months. One example is their dream city project currently happening; a fantastic exploration of scale, area, and models combining math, art, and science. The best part? The students don’t even know how much work their brains are doing.
Give them authentic responsibility. We love doing Mystery Skypes and have become pretty good at them, yet sometimes they just fall apart on us. The students have taken on the roles as discussion facilitators and teachers and have changed our process quite a bit. They are living up to the responsibility I am offering up to them and see the results directly in their work. I step out of the picture.
Start planning for Innovation Day. My students know this won’t happen until May but their wheels are already turning. They cannot wait to do this day of intense student-driven passion-led exploration day and I cannot wait to see what they will come up.
Incorporate Genius Hour. 20% Projects, Genius Hour, Hour of Power, whatever you choose to call it but look for opportunities within your curriculum to have students self-explore topics. The concept is simple; research, create, and deliver all within an hour of the week. We will be doing this in social studies after break.
Get involved globally. Whether through quad blogging, signing up for the Global Read Aloud (which won’t actually happen until October), or doing Projects by Jen; do something global. My students are currently working on a video introduction of our classroom for a 12th grade in Singapore, contact facilitated through Twitter. They love figuring out how to showcase our room in a positive manner and it is all student-led.

Now is the time to push your students, have a ton of fun, and let them be independent learners. Trust me you will not regret it.

Reading, students

This Is Why We Hate Reading

March 13, 2013 Pernille Ripp

“…Mommy, just one more book…’ Thea is yelling me from her bedroom after I have tucked her in, read her a book and handed her 3 more to “read.” The book lover in me shrugs …”Just one, then sleep.” I smile, we are a house of readers.

“…Mrs.Ripp, just 5 more minutes?” My students are giving me pleading eyes, they want 5 more minutes to read their books even though they know it is the end of the day and really we should be packing up. We are a class of readers,

And yet, the thought keeps nagging me. Why do kids start to hate reading? What will happen to Thea when she enters school, will she want just one more book, 5 more minutes? Or will she become like many students; reluctant to read, hesitant to dream about more books? Will my students lose their love when they go to middle school?

So I ask my students; what makes kids hate reading? Their first response fills my heart, “But we don’t hate reading, Mrs. Ripp, not this year.” So I prod and ask them why not? What do you think I could do to make you hate reading? What do you think happens in middle school where we seem to lose kids as readers. They journal about it and then ask to go back to their books.

Reading their responses, I am not surprised Kids do not want to be told what to read. They do not want books assigned. They do not want to sit in small groups and discuss a shared book. They want choice. They want freedom. But they also want a little bit of guidance. Many of my students write how it is important for teachers to read and know which books to recommend. Many of my kids realize that sometimes they will have to read things they do not want to but wonder whether it can be a short text rather than a guided book group..

One child journals about how teachers should always read the books first and then try to think how it will feel for a student to read it; to experience it the way they do. Then they bring up the time factor; give us time to read. We do sports, we want to spend time with our family and sometimes we are reading another book outside of school. Reduce our homework so that we can read. If you really believe in reading; invest in it as a class.

One student makes me smile with their answer; “Many teachers say they love reading but then their face is all gloomy when they teach it.” Yes, perhaps we as teachers love to read but forget to bring in that infectiousness to our classrooms. Bring in the passion, it’s contagious.

In the end, I was not surprised not too much anyway. We know how to make kids hate reading because it is the same things that make us hate reading as adults.

So take my students’ advice
Love reading yourself
Give them time to read
Know your books
Share your passion
and give them choice

Then see what happens.

Update; My students heard I had blogged about their responses and they wanted to add these two thoughts:

Don’t do reading logs. Ever. Trust them instead to read. The logs get falsified anyway and end up being homework for parents.
Reconsider the classics. we may have thought we know all the classics and that students should read them and yes, I have a love of classics as well, but add new ones to that list. The One and Only Ivan will be a classic one day just like Charlotte’s Web so why not include that one?

students, technology

My Students Are Not Digital Natives

March 3, 2013July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

My students are not digital natives. There I said it. They are digital consumers, much like the rest of us, but natives, not so much. I used to believe in the whole digital native myth and that if I just gave them a device they would be able to make it work and adapt it to their needs. Make it work; sure, adapt it; not really. Push themselves beyond their comfort level; very rarely unless they have an interest in all things technology. Yes, most of them are afraid of technology just like many adults. Most of them don’t want to just figure things out even when I encourage them to, they would rather just be told how to use it and then use it for that specific purpose only. So even though I tell them to just figure it out, my 5th graders would laugh if anyone called them digital natives, and then they would ask what that term even meant. So why do we persist with the pushing of the digital native persona?

Tonight I asked that question on Twitter, or rather I made a statement:

As always Twitter did not disappoint…

So what are our students? Do we really need to label them? I like to think of my students as kids who like technology a lot, but I have never called them that. Should I? Should anyone?

reflection, students

Should Teachers Ever Apologize for the Damage We Do?

February 17, 2013 Pernille Ripp

“…Peter*…What am I? Chopped liver?” And with these words the boy that changed me turns around and gives me a smile. It is the annual PTO carnival at my school and he has come back with a friend to see his old stomping grounds.

I stand there not quite knowing what to say, feeling like I should apologize and tell him how much having him in my classroom changed the way I teach. How I am sorry for not changing sooner, for realizing that punishment and rewards was not going to help motivate. For not giving up on homework he was not in a state of mind to complete For not treating him as a child and more like a product. I don’t know where to start and so I don’t.

“How are you?” I say
“Good…” and he smiles again.
“How is school?”
“Really good…”
And I smile.
“I am proud of you, do you know that?”I stammer out.
He smiles, shrugs and nods.
“Good to see you…” and I release him back to his friend.

The words left unspoken rattle me and I turn to a colleague, “If he only knew how much he means to me. How much having him changed everything for me.” Perhaps it is just not something you tell a middle school boy.

When do we as teachers apologize for the way we teach? When do we apologize to the students we failed to reach? Do we ever or is it part of the nature of teaching, that we wont be able to reach them all? Do we ever own up to our previous ways or do we just carry it with us hoping it will push us forward and never teach that way again?

Would Peter have cared if I apologized or simply shrugged and nodded as must middle school boys do? I don’t know.

*Name changed for obvious reasons