students – Page 21 – Pernille Ripp

Summer Reading Programs for Students

May 17, 2012 Pernille Ripp

As many of the students continue to cherish their books this summer, I thought I would highlight a few summer reading programs which can give them free books or other incentives since they are already reading.

The public library always has a great summer reading program. We do get to have a presentation next week on what they have to offer, but otherwise check out their website for more information. Often students can earn books or participate in book events throughout summer.
Barnes & Noble are offering up their summer reading program as well. This program runs between May 24th and September 6th and any child can sign up. With a kick off event here in Madison on June 2nd, students can pick up their logs and then earn books throughout the summer.
Half Price books also offers a program from June 1st to July 31st. This program called Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program offers students a $5 gift card to use at Half Price Books if they read 300 pages.
Scholastic has a program they call the Summer Challenge. Either educators or parents can register kids and then they can log their minutes of reading. They can then enter to win prizes or do challenges on the Scholastic website.
Amazon runs a 4-for-3 program where you can purchase 4 books and get the lowest one for free. While this isn’t an incentive program it is nice way to get more books.
The blog, My Frugal Adventures, also has a list of a variety of other reading incentive programs being offered if you are interested.

I hope this is helpful for this summer; happy reading!

students

Just Kids

May 16, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

We worked hard today and at the end we stood with 10 minutes of unscheduled time, 10 minutes of free, no work to get started, and everyone longingly looking at the sunlight.

So we ran outside, free for those last 10 minutes and as I watched them all unfold I remembered; they are just kids.

Just kids who although they look so big and so tall still have hearts that belong to their childhood.

Just kids with their fragile dreams.

Just kids who truly believe they can be anything they want to be, they just have to figure it out first.

Kids who will include everyone when no one is looking and pretend to be tough when they can.

Kids that want to please but do it their way and who still need a hug just once in a while.

Just kids who play it tough when asked about middle school but then come to you with their secret concerns.

Kids who draw hearts on their notebooks and bring you flowers just because they think you would like them.

Kids who although they may think they are adults, really are just kids.

I am so glad they are mine even if just for a couple more weeks.

being a teacher, failure, mistakes, students

When We Admit Our Faults Or When Math Blows Up in Your Face

May 14, 2012 Pernille Ripp

I admit it; math today was a mess. I had done my preparation, I had created my lesson, I had everything ready and then in the middle of it; breakdown. The kids were getting antsy, my explanation didn’t work, and finally it dawned on me ; I was not making sense. Mortification, terror, and just a little bit of embarresement. You see, I hadn’t taken the time to fully understand the concept being taught. I had prepared, sure, but I hadn’t figured it out on my own. I had just follwoed the prompts of the books and copied the words thinking that I understood when in reality I didn’t. In fact, I wasn’t even close.

So when students started asking questions, there I stood with a choice to make; do I admit my faults or do I pretend that I know what i am talking about. I swallowed my pride and admitted it,”Sorry, but I have to figure this out first before I teach it to you.” The kids went quiet. “I don’t want to teach it to you because I will teach it wrong, so let’s get back to it tomorrow when I have had some time.” Then the kids sighed in relief. “Good Mrs. Ripp, because I was really confused…” and the energy immediately returned to the room.

After school today, I sought out a colleague and I asked them to walk me through it and explain it like they did to the students since the book just wasn’t clicking for me. And as he patiently explained it, I realized once again how our students must feel when something doesn’t make sense. I realized how important it is for us to figure our curriculum out before we teach it to students. I realized how crucial it is for us to admit when we simply don’t know.

Sure my lesson tomorrow just a got a little more crowded, but in the end, it is worth it. I didn’t wing it, I didn’t fake it, I presented it as a true learning moment in which the teacher didn’t know, and then I figured out how I would learn it myself. In the end, when I admitted my fault, I learned more, and that lesson is something worth passing on.

being me, students

It’s Time to Appreciate the Teacher

May 3, 2012 Pernille Ripp

Next week marks a curious phenomena in America; Teacher Appreciation Week. The one week where we are are supposed to sit back and bask in all of the adulation and admiration that the word appreciation entails. And yet, I can’t help but think, why the need for a holiday? Shouldn’t we be appreciating teachers all of the time? And while many will simply say, “…But of course,” think about how teachers have been portrayed as of late in the media and in general conversations. Our every move is scrutinized, our student test scores are used as measures to assess us, we are told we are overpaid, and should consider ourselves lucky to even have a job. Gulp. Not much appreciation there.

And yet, when I turn to look at my classroom, I see the appreciation. The kind gestures from parents who support all of the ideas we have. The students who so eagerly jump into projects and just in general are unafraid to try something new. Administration that gives us enough leeway to try something new, knowing that it will probably benefit our kids, and husbands that are willing to listen to every single inane idea I have and flesh out the meat from them. Yes, I am appreciated.

So while the extra attention next week certainly will be appreciated, I don’t know if it is even necessary. I feel appreciated every single day by those kids that come into our room and hand over their hopes their fears, and dreams. By those kids that entrust me with their secrets, with their inner most thoughts, and that even share some of them on our blog. By those kids that believe in what we have built, in what we have yet to accomplish, and in what they can be, who have let me be a part of their journey. Those kids appreciate me and they show it every day, perhaps it is time we have a student appreciation week?

achievement, being a teacher, students, testing

So This Is How A Teacher Breakdown Starts

April 25, 2012 Pernille Ripp

My students are doing their spring assessments as we prepare to wrap up the year and send them on their way. An innocent computer check-in that takes less than an hour, nothing to be worried abot really. The kids know it is not a big deal, to do their best, that this is only a snapshot of their skills on that particular day, at that particular time.

And yet….the dread is rising in me. How will they do? How will they feel about the test? Will the test know that they are excited about the talent show results? That they are hungry? That they have had a high intensity day and their brains may be just a little zonked? Of course it won’t, and why should it, the test doesn’t care one iota about my students.

But I do and that is my problem. With every point they gain or lose, my anxiety soars. How will it affect me as a teacher if a child lost 4 points, whatever that means. What did I do wrong since they didn’t make momentous gains on this test while in class they have blown me away with their increased participation, their inferences, and their overall depth of knowledge? Why can’t the test understand that all of these kids have grown, whether they wanted to or not? Why can’t the test prove that?

So I take a deep breath and let the results stand. The tests are done, the points have been given and I am trying to piece together what I need to change. What I need to salvage, what I need to challenge myself in. And I breathe a little more, realizing that much like I told my students, I also need to believe that this is just a snapshot. This is just a moment in their life, this moment in time where they are performing at this set level. That this does not determine their future success, their future growth, or even their future. Perhaps it will determine mine, but that I need to worry about another day.

assumptions, students, technology

Some Say They Are Too Young, I Say, "Trust Them…"

April 24, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

My kids being kids

Even though my fifth graders may beg to differ, they are just kids. Wonderful, young, impressionable things, eager to change the world, kids that have lived a little and still have much to learn. They are young, indeed, but passionate, open, and never ever afraid of a challenge. And yet most just see their age, their made by date, and definitely their grade level. So should I be surprised when critics claim they are too young for more advanced technology? That serious use of technology shouldn’t really start until middle school, that fifth grade is just too early?

I suppose I could be upset at statements that try to limit what my students are capable of. I suppose I should fire back with witty sarcasm or scathing words. I suppose I should bring that anger home and fume over peoples’ assumptions. But I don’t, at least not anymore. Instead I plot and plan, I reach out to those who have great ideas and I get really really stubborn. We shall show them after all.

So when some think Prezi is too hard for ten year olds we prove it is not. Or when people are not sure that my students should blog because what could they possibly have to share, we become role models for others. Flip video cameras may have been killed off but in our classroom the students grab them whenever they get a chance to document their learning. PowerPoint becomes an entry point into creation with other possibilities beckoning us further.

They may be young my students, but they are not afraid. So tell us we cannot do something, or even better, tell us that we are really too young to figure it out, and I will show you 22 students that disagree. I will show you 22 students that cannot wait to prove you wrong, after all, you wouldn’t be the first.