Category: students

anger, hopes, love, students

Dear Arnold Once More

Pernille Ripp
Dear Arnold,

I haven’t heard anything for so long, and yet, there you are again, coming into my life but this time only through conversation.  It seems that my angry 4th grader only grew into an even angrier 6th grader.  Someone whom the system failed and who is now set to be expelled from not just another school, but an entire district.  The news is given to me nonchalantly like it is no big deal but just another update on an old student but they don’t know.  They don’t know how I worry about you still, how I carry your smile with me, how I reflect on what I could have done better.  My heart sinks, and the heaviness of this job gets to me.
My principal asks what happened to you back then?  We failed, that’s what happened.  We tried to get you help but the red tape was too much, it was too ever present, looming over us at every step of the way.  Those people just wouldn’t listen when we told them that we felt that this was it; this was your moment to choose your path, and we were so worried with the direction you were headed. So we just focused on getting you through that day, rather than giving you the chance of getting better, of getting help.  And now you pay the price for our failure.  You are the one who even an alternative school has failed because all of that anger inside of you just keeps on coming.  
So I try to reach out, to help from afar, but there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do.  Except I can’t just give up like others.  I can’t just let it go.  You may not see what I see in you, or even understand why this crazy white teacher keeps fighting for you, but you matter.  Demons like those you battle are not meant for children.   Kids your age should not be worried about the burdens you carry, real or perceived.  You should be playing soccer, or hanging with your friends, by now even checking out girls.  And instead the anger has fused into your spine as you carry yourself through those hallways, glancing at everyone as you prepare to fight. The world is not against you, even if it seems that way.
So Arnold, I know I can’t save you, but I say it again; I am here if you need me.  I am here to listen, to vent with, even if I will never understand why you are so angry.  Even if I will never live your life.  You are not alone, you are not a failure, you are kind, you have the greatest heart of any child I know, you matter.  Don’t let the world take that away from you.
Love,
Mrs. Ripp
From i can read
being a teacher, choices, inspiration, life choices, students

Choose Your Message

Pernille Ripp

With the waves of uncertainty surrounding us, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my students. I remain steadfast in my commitment to my family, to myself, and to my dream of positivity. To say that life is stressful would be an understatement. Personal life-changing issues abound, as well as professional ones, yet I remain steadfast in my dedication.

We choose what we portray. We choose the message that we bring. And although life may be very hard, we choose how we deal with it. This time has tested me to the core, and yet I choose to smile. I choose to exhibit hope and positivity, fore I choose to stay above water and not get pulled down. So ask yourself, what do you choose? What do you bring in with you when you show up at work or at home? What is it people will leave your conversations feeling like?

As teachers we affect more than just our students. We affect all the staff in our schools, and we affect how the children entrusted to us, go home and in turn affect their families. We have an immense opportunity and indeed responsibility to have a positive effect on all the paths we cross. So yes, I get how tough it is right now, and no, I am not a saint. I have bad days, I have horrible days, but I cannot focus on those. I have to remember why I am here in the first place; to make a difference, and not a bad one.

We speak of peer pressure as if it is a always a bad thing. I exert my peer pressure but use my powers for good rather than evil. I choose to continue to focus on a message of positivity, of challenging oneself to not be the pebble, and hope that I can influence others to do the same. Perhaps it will be cool again to smile? Perhaps laughing will become the new “it” thing to do. Who knows? I choose to remain dedicated.

being a teacher, education reform, hopes, students, testing

Being a Good Teacher Means

Pernille Ripp
It is no longer a secret that our nation is obsessed with the supposed battle between “good” and “bad” teachers.  Apparently, according to many, America has an epidemic of bad teachers on their hands and it is only through dismantling of the unions that these bad teachers can be disposed of.  So for the sake of research and help, I asked colleagues to finish this sentence “Being a good teacher means…”  So America, here to help you with the definition of a good teacher, as well as how to evealuate them, see my favorite answers below:

Being a good teachers means…

  • Being willing to reflect, change, and improve-looking for the best opportunities for student learning – @MrMacnology
  • Laughter, lots of laughter. Laughing with your students – @HeidiSiwak
  • Recognizing you are a learner, as well as a teacher and getting your students to understand that learning is for life -@henriettaMI
  • Listening more than you talk … Often kids have a better answer and you just have to hear it – @Polygirl68
  • Being open 2 our students drive their own learning in the classroom – @MollyBMom
  • Always feeling the lesson could’ve gone just a wee bit better – @Attipscast
  • Means u never stop learning and u always work to improve – @KTVee
  • Being a learner. being humble. being empathetic. being flexible. being knowledgeable. being driven. @RussGoerend
  • Always doing what’s right by the kids @Becky7274

So there you have it; what makes a teacher good.  In my words; passion, change, dedication, transparency, authenticity, knowing when to be quiet, and knowing when to fight.  No one said test scores, rigidity, or grades, so why do they seem to be the driving force behind what determines someones worth?

What is missing?

being a teacher, students, teaching

So I Work on the Weekends

Pernille Ripp
Today is Saturday, the second to last day of my spring break, the day my daughter smiles the biggest, runs the most, and my husband beckons for me to read, relax, live a little.  Instead I go to work.  Mind you I don’t have to, no one told me in my contract that I had hours to fulfill.  No one told me that I better get in there to check on everything, to plan, to prep, to clean.  And yet in I go, blissfully so.  So why do I work on the weekend?

I work on the weekend because there is not enough time in the week.  Of course, there would be plenty of time left over if all I did was teach out of the book and not do any assignments, so perhaps I just have myself to blame.  Perhaps when I decide to plan projects, extensions, and create opportunities for all of my kids to learn, I need more time.  Perhaps when I decide that teaching straight from the book just is not going to cut it, then I need more time.  I am not mad, or angry at the time I spend fore I know that I will get results back from the time invested.  So I work on the weekends because my students deserve it.

I work on the weekends because it is quiet.  I don’t turn on the music, the lights and I shut the door and let my thoughts roam.  I practice, I reflect, and I tinker with what I am going to teach.  I do this uninterrupted by students, coworkers, phone calls, needs for hugs, requests for lunch, mini meetings, or friendship counseling.   I relish the quiet as my thoughts paint pictures of the results I want to have in the coming week.

I work on the weekends because it makes me a better teacher.  By coming in, spending the time, and thinking once again about what I intend to do, I grow.  I question my intent, I question my goals, and I always, always, think about the students.  How do they want to learn about this?  How can I be quiet while my students explore?  How can this become memorable and not just another daily lesson?  So I work on the weekend not by force, but by choice, because I choose to attain greatness as a teacher so that my students can attain greatness as well.  I work on the weekends because my students deserve whatever extra time I can put in, they deserve that extra attention, they deserve the best.  So I work on the weekends.

being a teacher, being me, end of year, hopes, inspiration, students

What I Pass On

Pernille Ripp
When I decided to change things up in my room, I knew these students would only be mine for a year.  I knew that I had those 180 days to make an impression, to plant a seed and help them develop.  I knew that I had to let them go some day.  As spring break begins tomorrow, the letting go looms nearer and I wonder; what will I pass on?

I will pass on students that want to know what the goal of the assignment is, and not in a confrontational manner, but rather so they have clear expectations and a destination in mind.

I will pass on students who want to create.  They want a voice, not just a task.

I will pass on students that know where they work best, and yes some still choose desks, but most do not.

I will pass on students that take ownership of their learning.  Again they are partners, not just participants.

I will pass on students that will look for the global connection; that extra element that elevates a lesson.

I will pass on students that are not afraid of technology, its usage, and even know when not to use it.

I will pass on students who expect their voice to be heard and appreciated.

I will pass on students that are not just satisfied with a grade but would rather discuss what they need to change.

I will pass on students that believe in second chances, continued learning, and the power of a group.
I will pass on students who believe in their own self-worth, who believe they can make a difference and that their actions matter.

I will pass on students that have made me a better teacher, a more humble learner, a keener listener, and a kinder heart.

What will you pass on?

being a teacher, classroom expectations, students

So We Breathe

Pernille Ripp
We work hard in my room each and every day.  The students know that to be in a limited homework classroom, they are on the minute they get to school until they leave.  The pressure is on to stay on top of the learning, to be involved, and to grow, grow, grow.  So this week as we finished our dream project, as we inch closer to break, we breathe.  We release, we relax, and we rejuvenate.

As an educator I push my students, I make them reach for the things they are not sure they can touch, that is after all why I am there.  And yet you cannot continue to push kids to their utmost, day in, day out.  And so we breathe, we release, relax, refocus.

Academic rigor still stands, standards must be met, projects must be completed.  Yet our brains slow down, attempt to reconfigure all of this information.  We rewire our thoughts, we charge our spirits and we breathe.