students – Page 19 – Pernille Ripp

I am in the middle of a writing unit asking my students to be inspired Yup, just like that. Unfortunately it seems that most of the kids left their “I am inspired right in this moment” juice at home and I am struggling to get them to “live like writers” like Lucy is telling them to do. Oh Lucy Calkins, I love your ideas but sometimes you are just a little bit crazy.

So I take a deep breath and pull back a little. I tell them sometimes I get inspired when I am driving or falling asleep. Sometimes I get inspired walking down the hallway or gently rocking a child. Sometimes inspiration hits me and I don’t even realize it until a blogpost has written itself. But if I tell myself I have to blog and be inspired at that very moment I can almost guarantee it is not going to happen. Stunned silence and 20 pairs of eyes looking at me. A kid nervously blurts out, “You mean, you don’t just write when you have to?” I am at cross road; do I pretend I do or do I admit the truth?

I clear my throat…”Umm, no I don’t. In fact, sometimes writing is very hard for me too.” Two kids start to whisper and the silence pervades the room. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t try…”

So I tell the kids to take a deep breath and allow their thoughts to wander. They can write down whatever pops into their heads. They can go off on a tangent or just write statements. They can sit there and just think. They can wait for inspiration to strike but just promise me to notice when it does and capture those ideas. They can write naturally for once.

I don’t know if they will remember me admitting that I can’t always write but that isn’t the important part. The important part is me telling them that it is ok to think before they write. That I get it. That inspiration is not just something turned on even though we wish it were. It’s not so much that I hope THEY remember as that I remember. I have to remember what it feels like for my students. I have to remember that as much as I want them to be producers and super students, they are indeed humans with inspiration that strike sand inspiration that fades, and that is not a bad thing.

image from icanread

blogging, i, student blogging, students

Ideas for Integrating a Student Blog into Your Curriculum

October 15, 2012 Pernille Ripp

One thing I have loved about blogging and what it does for my students is how easily it has been to integrate it into our curriculum. I knew when we started that I didn’t want an extra layer of “stuff to do” because we already have too much “stuff to do.” So if I were to have my students blog, it had to be as authentic and as meaningful as possible, without it becoming another homework burden. With that in mind, here are some beginning ideas for integrating blogging into your classroom.

Those daily journal responses we have to do as part of writers and readers workshop, those go on our blog instead for those who choose it. Some students prefer to type, others relish the pencil and paper, I love that they have a choice.
Writing about our reading. I love when students write about the books that they read or give recommendations. When we blog about that it opens up a dialogue, rather than a static finished product. Here students can become experts on their books and connect with others that loved it (or hated it) just as much as they did.
Science detectives. I love adding video cameras and digital cameras to our lessons. They offer students a different way to document their learning and they always provide me with a much deeper insight of what students now versus a worksheet. So why not post it on our blog for others to see and learn with us. This is a great a way for parents to see what is happening, as well as for the kids to be questioned by other classes or scientists. This adds a whole other dimension to our experiments.
Editorials or just plain old opinions. I love when students use their blogs to form, discuss or expand on their ideas. Our blogs are used to comment on the happenings in the classroom. I ask the students to become reflective learners and process their role as a student. It never ceases to amaze me what I learn from students when they open up on their blog.
Deepening social studies. I believe in project based learning and social studies lends itself incredibly well to this. So I encourage students to expand their thinking about their project through their blogs, as well as to post finished products if “postable.”
Group writing. I love it when students write blog posts together, whether it be for a story or to share a common experience. Blogging as a team or group shows off their ability to conform to a common voice while adding individual flair.
Reporting on events. When we go anywhere or take a virtual field trip I ask students to share their experiences, show of their expertise, and give me their honest opinion. Field trips don’t end after you get back, they should be digested and discussed and blogging is a great medium for that.
Furthering their mathematical thinking. I used to have students do exit slips on which they explained something we learned in their own words and while I still use them once in a while, I love using our blog instead. I have students create a problem that fits into what we discussed and then solve it for, or explain their thinking behind the problem. We can then invite others into our math class and students get to share their knowledge.
Let me know how I am doing. While not part of our curriculum, this is a huge factor in the success of our classroom. Students have to have a mouthpiece in education and by voicing their opinions on our blogs we are able to engage other educators and students in the debate. Change starts with us, so we should be providing students with an outlet for their opinions.

These ideas are beginnings, there are so many things you can do with student blogs, you just have to jump in and look for the natural fits in your curriculum. Students don’t need more work, they need more authenticity in their educational experience. Blogs can help us do that.

students, testing

Just Put Them In A Small Room; Why State Test Accommodations Don’t Solve the Problem

October 5, 2012 Pernille Ripp

It is fall here in beautiful state of Wisconsin and for teachers that means one thing; WKCE is here or the state’s accountability test. This lovely little test will take hours and days from some grades out of our learning to once and for all prove what students know or do not know. So as I pondered this year’s test last night (that’s what happens when one is up at 3 AM), I also thought of the test accommodations that we are allowed to provide and just how ridiculous they are. Read on to see what I mean:

Accommodation: Small group setting.
Premise: Big rooms and more students provide more anxiety and thus taking the student and placing them either in one-on-one setting or a small group will relieve that anxiety.
Debunked: Most often the anxiety the student is experiencing does not come from the setting. In fact, I would argue that most of the time the classroom is the preferred setting if it is for anxiety purposes, after all, this is the room that should be a safe-haven for students in a community they know. Not so in the case of a random conference room or even small closet. Some then argue the small group setting is for the quiet so the student in question can think better, except that doesn’t hold up either since students are absolutely not allowed to make any noise during the test. In a “perfect” test environment the only thing you should hear is the rustling of pencils writing, that’s it.

Accommodation: Read the instructions aloud.
Premise: Student who struggle with reading will know what to do.
Debunked: Students who struggle with reading are not going to get much help from someone reading the instructions when they cannot proceed to fully read and comprehend the actual problems. While math problems are also allowed to be read aloud in some cases, it still boils down to comprehension. Chances are if that student has this accommodation they have had other accommodations in the classroom to be successful learners, none of which are allowed during the test. But read it aloud, that we will do so you have more time to sit and ponder what you do not know or do not understand.

Accommodation: Extended time.
Premise: Students that process more slowly or have anxiety should be allowed unlimited time.
Debunked: I love this one. Nothing like giving a frustrated student as much time as they want to take the test that they are frustrated by. I still think most of my students that have been given this accommodation end up taking the least amount of time. Not all but most. If you do not understand the test or the question unlimited time will most often do nothing for you. That is like being presented with a test in French except you don’t speak the language, but hey, you have unlimited time to figure it out!

Accommodation: Break the test up.
Premise: For students who cannot focus for long periods of time you can spread the test out.
Debunked: Again, why continue to torture a child by prolonging the frustration. When a child is not successful on the test it seldom has anything to do with how long they can focus but rather the content itself. When no other help is offered such as breaking the problems apart (that is not allowed) how are we really helping?

So in the end, we sit with accommodations that do nothing to solve the problem; the test itself. We speak often of tests and how destructive they can be to students, and yet, we band-aid the harm of the test by trying to set up better accommodations. In the end, they change very little; the test itself flies in the face of how we instruct and how children work through problems. The test will therefore never be an accurate measure of how much a child actually knows within a learning community but only a measure of who can focus the longest and regurgitate facts. And is that really worth testing?

assumptions, being me, Decisions, life choices, students

We Should All Be Surprised

October 3, 2012 Pernille Ripp

image from icanread

A teacher contacts me at the beginning of the year at their wits end; they have this one student, you know the one, the one that doesn’t listen, the one with the rap sheet miles long even though they are just in 5th grade. That student that smiles and laughs and then turns deadly the moment you turn your back. yeah that one is now in their room and this teacher tries everything. Throughout the year we share tips and ideas, what if’s and have you tried’s. Sometimes there are small victories but most often the honeymoon is over before it began. At the end of the year the teacher is exhausted and the student is about the same except maybe taller, faster, and even more hellbent on saying no and getting their way.

Over the summer I hear once more from the teacher, this time telling me that the student had been in trouble with police. Something minor but still a gateway to worse, a gateway to things we so diligently try to shield our kids from. What comes next floors me; “I’m not surprised, just thought it would happen later, that’s all…” The words form a rope around my neck and I feel myself at a loss for words. I don’t know how to answer that, not then, but now I do. You should be surprised! You should be shocked that any kid decides to go down that path. We should never lose our surprise when students, kids, make bad decisions. I don’t care what path they were on in our classrooms. I don’t care how destructive they may have come off as. We should be surprised when they make terrible decisions and not just say, “See, I knew it would happen…”

I know this may be idealistic and perhaps I have one foot in utopia, but yet, we have to be surprised when our students fail our expectations. We have to be surprised when they wander into dangerous territory and make poor decisions. Be surprised when all of our hard work, all of our efforts, don’t seem to make a difference. Someone has to keep believing in these kids, even the ones we think are lost. Even the ones that give us the hardest time, sometimes, because after all, they are the ones that need it the most. So stay surprised and keep believing.

behavior, classroom expectations, punishment, students

No School For You, Bully! But Did We Fix Anything?

June 30, 2012 Pernille Ripp

The news broke last night that the 4 middle schoolers who were caught on tape tormenting their bus monitor received a year’s suspension from riding the bus as well as school. A whole school year! (I should add they get to go to the district reengagement center, not just sit at home). So while many cheered at the justice being served, I shook my head and once again thought about how we dole out punishment in the American educational system.

I am not here to argue that what they did was in any way justifiable. I am not here to argue that they should not be punished. But a year’s suspension? Since when does any bullying incident result in a whole year away from school? This seems to be another case of media sensationalism leading to excessive punishment, without actually thinking about how these kids could be helped instead. Where is the repair? The discussion of what led to all of this? The plan for something like this to not happen again?

The sad thing is, we only know about this case because one kid foolishly published the video to Youtube, apparently proud of their achievement as bullies. The bus monitor didn’t report it, or at least we don’t know that she did. She also barely spoke up for herself throughout the ordeal, instead sitting their stoically taking whatever evil words they could fling at her. How often does that happen, those untold stories of bullying that we only discover after it is too late? How do school react to those stories where young children commit suicide due to the cruel nature of others? What about the every day bullying that happens in our hallways, in our lunch rooms, at our recesses, right underneath our noses? What punishment do those kids get? How often do we say it is just a part of growing up, it is just a part of school, it is just a part of life? How often do we come up with a repair plan but then don’t follow through? How often do we not believe the children that report the bullying? So when a case like this one, that seems so cut and dry, we jump on it, flaunt our muscles, blame the parents and then punish those kids with every thing we have. Those kids are going to pay. Those kids will be an example. Those kids will learn. And yet, we don’t actually fix the problem.

So I wonder what can we as a society do to prevent these situations from happening? And how can we serve justice in a way that makes sense, that makes children change their behaviors? How do we focus in on all bullying and not just those cases that make it into the media, that start an outcry? How do we teach children and adults, because adults are as much of a part of this as children, that bullying is vile and inhumane? They say kids learn best from examples set, well, how are we setting the example? What responsibility are we taking for all of this? And how do we truly show kids that bullying is not just “not ok” it is deplorable?

classroom expectations, safety, students

Yes, We May Be Shocked But Let’s Not Pretend to Be Surprised

June 22, 2012 Pernille Ripp

English: this is my own version of what bullying looks like (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After the video of Karen Klein, the bus monitor who was relentlessly bullied by middle schoolers, went viral, the world is shocked. How could these children treat another human being this way? How could these kids get away with it? And we show our outrage by donating money to give Karen a vacation, to get her away from her job, as a way to apologize for the torment she was subjected to at the hands of children. We show our outrage by sending death threats to the children involved, swearing that this time, it has to stop.

And sure I find myself shocked as well, shocked that children once again prove just how cruel they can be. Shocked at the level of bullying these kids stoop to. Shocked that they talk about stabbing her and gang up on her and never stop. But I am not surprised. And neither should anyone else be. This happens every day, on busses across our nation. Whether it is kids turning on each other other or turning on adults, this is our reality. We talk about bully prevention but forget that the minute our children are out of sight from us, they make their own decisions. As parents we hope that the decisions they make will make us proud, rather than mortified. We hope that we have raised them right, to be decent human beings that do not harm, that do not torment, that do not bully. And yet, the moment we send them out of our door, they make their own decisions, good or bad.

I see this with my 3 year old when I pick her up from daycare. How rather than solving a dispute she hits another child, and I stand there mortified. Shocked even, that my loving child, hit someone else when she didn’t get the toy she wanted. Yes, it is a stage, and yes, she is only 3, but still…we have raised her better. She knows she is not allowed to hit. She knows what the consequences are. She knows our expectations, and yet, her arm raised and slap, making the other child cry. Far cry from the bullying that happened to Karen Klein, but the same nonetheless. The hurting of another human being.

So what can we do? We talk about training against bullying. We talk about awareness of what makes a bully. We monitor our children, our students, we talk and talk and talk. We share videos, we enlist celebrities, we punish, and we talk some more. And yet it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Kids continue to be kids, and kids continue to bully. So let’s continue being outraged, but let’s not be surprised. Surprise means we are not aware and that is a luxury we no longer can hide behind.