Category: students

students

When Goodbye Comes too Soon

Pernille Ripp
Yesterday, it was decided that my combination room would cease to exist in 3 weeks.  While we would all not be erased from the school but instead be placed into other rooms, it still felt as a virtual erasing.  4th grade has simply become too overcroweded and the shcool board agreed to get us another teacher.  I then had the hard choice to go back to 4th and keep those students or move onto 5th and keep those students.  I chose my old grade level and team and therefore had to face 13 confused 5th graders today that did not understand why I did not choose them.

You see, most of those students were my old kids from last year.  My school does not have a split class philosophy but tends to bring it out in an emergency situation.  Last year was deemed such an emergency and I therefore volunteered to take this strange experiment on bringing 8 of my old students with me.  And although I was terrified for the year to start, I was also strangely elated.  I said I wanted a challenge and I got one.  But now that challenge is being taken away and we face our goodbyes much too soon.  While we usually have a year worth of memories to look back upon, this time we are only afforded 6 weeks.  So how do you say goodbye when you have only just begun?

I have to keep teaching.  As much as I want to revert to end of year celebrations and events; I cannot.  These students will have to keep going as if nothing happened, but the truth is they already know we have changed.  As one student said today, “But Mrs. Ripp, nobody asked us” and that’s exactly it; they were not asked because we think we know best.  And although classroom size does definitely make a huge difference in student academic success, sometimes we as adults need to relax a little bit and realize that although size matters; connection matters more.

Those 27 students of mine that kind of knew each other from before and then maybe not really, have become a class.  And not out of sheer luck or because they are that nice (they are that nice, by the way) but because we have worked hard on it.  We have discussed what type of community we wanted to be, we created our Animoto on our hopes and wishes for the year that now have been viewed more than 900 times.  We dreamed about the Global Read Aloud project and how we would be the home base for it.  All of these things pushed us tighter together.  We were different from the rest of the school, we knew it, and we celebrated it.

And now it is almost over.  I cried when the principal told me the decision even though I knew that the kids would get a better experience in social studies and science when their teacher only had to teach one grade level at a time.  I could have made it work, and more importantly, I would have made it work because we would have done it together.  And now I must pick up the pieces, those sad faces, and try to sell my classroom one more time to a new group of kids that will fill out our roster.  To a new group of parents that wished for smaller class sizes but not necessarily that their kids would be moved.  I must sell it to myself; once again build up the excitement, the anticipation, the urgency to teach and teach well.  To reach these students and to connect, knowing that those original 14 may be a little more wary this time connecting to others.

So what can we learn from these events?  The way of the future is bigger class sizes but fundamentally we must not change our determination to connect with our students. We must not be afraid to let each other in even if the future in uncertain.   I make the time every day to reach out to every one, and already I had somehow managed to help them create a home in our room.  I know I will cry on our last day together, I am by nature a softie, and yet I will pass them on to their new teacher with one simple message: believe in them, because they are truly the changers of the future, the movers of the world.  Do not be afraid to believe.

aha moment, Be the change, students

Embrace All Your Opportunities – Joan’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
This week’s Aha Moment is shared by Joan Young, one of the first people to reach out to me on Twitter; I am thrilled and honored that she said yes to do this knowing how busy she is.  Joan writes that she is a teacher who feels like a “new teacher” again this year after changing grade levels and schools. She is passionate about viewing students from a “strengths perspective” and hopes to give her students a positive classroom experience where they will not only learn the “required curriculum” but also learn about themselves as learners. Joan teaches 4th grade in a wonderful small school in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow her  @flourishingkids on Twitter and also check out her book and CD, 25 Super Sight Word Songs here:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Sight-Word-Songs-Mini-Books/dp/054510582X 



Aha moments: I’ve had my share. When Pernille asked me to write and share about one of them, I initially thought, “Wait, I’m way too busy to take on something else!” And then I realized:  I need to be writing, even during this busy beginning of school time. Writing helps me clarify, categorize and sort my endless rambling of ideas and creative ramblings. I wrote back a few hours later, still a bit shaky about my “Sure, why not?”  Now, nearly a week later, deadline looming on the horizon, I am in a panic, indecisively scanning the archives of this busy mind, trying to figure out which aha moment will be most entertaining, most inspiring or helpful for other educators out there.


This ramble leads me to the biggest “aha” of all. We never stop learning and growing when we embrace opportunities that cross our paths.  Each challenge that falls before us on this incredible journey of life presents us with the opportunity to stretch, grow and be molded into another higher version of ourselves.  We must remain open to the daily “aha” moment and somehow take the time to reflect on it, process it and act on it, so that we can grow. And on that theme I will share my top 5 aha moments that have led me to courageously move ahead on my own path of discovery.

1)      My “aha” moment that led me to be a teacher is one that always stands out in my memory.  I was sitting around that dreaded IEP meeting table, not as a teacher, but as a social worker, an advocate for a foster child on my caseload. As I listened to the condescending talk of the school psychologist, teacher, principal to the overwrought foster parent, who was hanging on by a shred of sanity, I realized something important. Teachers, though trained to “teach” often have not been trained to understand the psychological needs that impact learning. I realized that if I had 20-30 students each year who I could spend 6 hours a day with, and if I could work with teachers, and help them understand their 20-30 kids they spend their days with, then my desire to help could be achieved in a greater way than working with the kids on my caseload, visiting them once a week. Even though I had spent a great sum of money earning a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, I decided that going back to school for a teaching credential was the best way for me to help kids, my ultimate goal.

2)     Kids are eager to take on challenges and are not “lazy” as I’ve heard teachers call them. When we lower the stress and risk that comes with fear of failing, kids thrive and reach higher than we can even imagine. My post here describes a day when in kindergarten when I was feeling a bit helpless about working with my lowest reading group.

3)   Don’t predict a kid’s future. I am not that “shy” kid I once was and I am happiest when I am creating, sharing and putting this passion for learning into practice.  I always find it amusing to think about the reaction I would have had if someone had told me, that painfully shy 16 year old girl, that my future would involve standing in front of a group of people each day, captivating their attention. If someone had told me that I would one day stand in front of 150 teachers, singing with them and sharing ideas of classroom strategies, I would have said they were crazy! We must not categorize kids as being weak or strong in a certain skill or even a personality trait. Some children have not yet been in the optimal setting to bring about the manifestation of his/her strengths. Each child has his own time frame; the best gift we can give is to provide opportunities for kids to discover, develop and express their passions.


4)    Work does not burn you out when you do what you love! Although I am well aware that I need balance in my life, I must not heed others’ advice to “not think about teaching” on the weekend. When I am engaged in other “non-related” activities, like exercising, driving, talking with my husband,or cleaning I am often brainstorming how I can develop an idea into a lesson.  Do I really need to tell myself that there are only certain hours and days of the week when I am allowed to be creative?

5)    Reach out to others! Teachers are amazingly giving and willing to help out when you have a need. Check out all of the amazing advice when I was setting up my classroom. 


When you reflect on your years in the classroom, what are your most significant moments of self-discovery? Thanks so much Pernille for inviting me to share in this wonderful exploration. 
global read aloud, students, technology

Why the Internet is like the Mall

Pernille Ripp
Today,  in anticipation of the Global Read Aloud Project, I started  my first lesson on internet safety.  And yes, students have been taught about internet safety before by my fabulous technology teacher, yet I wanted to cover all bases one more time.  So last night, when I was pondering my lesson, it came to me: compare the internet to the mall.

Today, I therefore told the students that going on the internet is like going to the mall without your parents’ supervision.  So what would they do to stay safe at the mall?  Some of the students answers were that they would not talk to strangers, give anyone their information, and they would also go straight to the place they were supposed to go without stopping at other stores.  Those lessons can be applied directly to the internet and the students got it!  I had so many light bulbs go off, I could barely contain myself.

By having the students provide the safety rules, taken from their own memory of rules drilled into their heads by their formidable parents, they connected real life danger with things that can happen on the internet.  Sometimes students think they are safe on the net, as we all know, and this brought the responsibility home for them.  So as we continue learning proper safety and etiquette, we will keep referring back to the mall analogy, for example, would you walk up to a friend and tell them their outfit was ugly when talking about how to comment?  Today was one of those moments where I was able to make students understand something they have to learn in this day and age.  A lesson not just meant for 4th graders or 5th graders but hopefully something they will keep in the back of their minds when they go on the internet themselves, or maybe even next time they go to the mall.  Once again today I realized how huge my responsibility is for these kids and how glad I am to be their teacher.  We are now one step closer to the global connections!

students

26 Kids and Counting…

Pernille Ripp
Sometimes I feel like the Duggars.  You know, that super huge family on TLC that keeps having children, just happy with whatever they get.  I am kind of like that except these are not my natural children, but “my kids,” those students I adopt every year since they are part of my classroom.  And just like a proud parent, I welcome them all, ever searching for their strengths, acknowledging their weaknesses and going through life together; one day at a time.

You see, that is what teachers do.  Those kids become our kids, or at least they do for me.  And so today when I got wind that an old student of mine was coming back and was being placed in the other 5th grade room, I asked for him in my room.  I am in a position this year where I teach a 4/5 combination class and therefore have quite a few of my old students.  He therefore belongs with me, someone who already knows his strengths and also what he needs help with the most.  More importantly in this situation, stability will aslo be a great benefit.  So although my class keeps expanding, so does my hopes for it.  Yes, one more student means more work, but it also means more learning opportunities, more friendships, more successes, and more happiness.  So when I waddle my kids down the hallway and I look back at them, we look like the never ending line of students and that is alright with me.

And yet, I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything, not even a smaller class size or an “easier” day.  As our class sizes grow (I may be getting another student as well), I hope that my kids are not taken away from me.  Even though we have only spent a week together, I am connecting and connected.  I want these students to trust me, trust each other, and trust themselves.  I want them to know that we are on a journey together and that none of them are expandable.

So while some teachers may joke that they are going to retire as class sizes increase or lament the prep time they just lost because they had to help with a student, me; I don’t mind it.  It means that I am with my students, helping them learn, which is, after all, my job.  The joke in my family is that I am like the Statue of Liberty sometimes, always beckoning lost souls to enter and find a home.  And perhaps it is true, maybe I do connect well with students, maybe I just happen to catch them at just the right time in their life.  Whatever the reason or circumstance; something clicks and more often than not, we become a family.  I believe in all of the kids I am trusted with and I believe more importantly theat they have tremendous potential, whether they want to believe it or not.  So go ahead, send me another student or two.  I promise to work hard to make them feel like one of my kids, to make them learn, to make them grow.  Because that is what teachers do.

aha moment, Be the change, students

Don’t React in Anger – Shelly’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp

This week’s Aha Moment is shared by one of my favorite inspirational teachers; Shelly Sanchez Terrell is an English teacher living in Germany who began teaching inner city kids and homeless children in Texas. She is also the co-organizer and co-creator of the educational projects, Edchat and The Reform Symposium Conference. Find more of her challenges on her education blog, Teacher Reboot Camp or in her free e-book, The 30 Goals Challenge. Find her on Twitter, @ShellTerrell.

Teaching in Rough Schools


Teaching in Texas I chose to teach the kids who many have labeled as trouble makers and stupid. Too often in my teaching career, I heard teachers, counselors, and administrators tell me, “Glad I don’t have to teach that kid,” “he/she is trouble,” “he/she won’t amount to anything,” and much worse. I worked as a high school English as a Second Language teacher and did creative writing and poetry programs for many inner city schools, homeless shelters, alternative schools, and juvenile detention centers. I will admit some of these schools were rough and if the teacher did not have a great relationship with the students it could be hell. I knew some teachers who had their tires slashed on a weekly basis and others who had purses, cell phones, and more stolen.

I don’t tell you this to scare you, but to prepare you. At a point in any educator’s career I believe the educator will have an encounter with a student that could escalate to violence. How an educator chooses to handle the situation makes a lasting impact on the future of that student. Ironically, this happened to me at one of the most prestigious schools I taught at and I learned a lot about the situation.

Let me premise this by saying I grew up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of the largest cities in the US. I knew what it was like to have difficult home situations. When I was in the first grade I would often come home from school with black eyes because I would pick fights with the boys and play rough sports. At the time I lived with a relative who was an alcoholic and the violence had a heavy impact on my behavior inspite of the fact I made straight A’s in elementary. My situation was quite tame to what my friends encountered and what later the kids I taught experienced. This is where my empathy for teaching students comes from and why I am so passionate about reaching them. Some day the kids I reach will become adults who can either contribute to their society or be locked in prisons, etc. How I choose to treat them can influence either situation. I take teaching very seriously.

He Threw A Chair At Me


We all get stressed and burdened by our schools. I remember one particularly stressful time when I slept 3 hours a day due to some extra work given to me by the school. Sound familiar? I let the stress impact my mood and this impacted the atmosphere of my classes. Xavier (Not his real name) was fooling around with another student as usual. Xavier had a boisterous personality so I was used to his behavior but that day I didn’t handle it well. I angrily told him to behave, that he was being disrespectful. Saying this in the tone I did in front of all the students made Xavier explode. He threw his desk over and threw a chair towards me. I don’t think he meant to hit me because really he would have hit me. The chair landed at my feet and with a red face I told him to go into the hallway. I played a movie for the rest of the class while I calmed down. I was red faced and angry at being disrespected.

I could have sent Xavier to the principal’s office immediately. He would have been expelled and possibly sent to alternative school. Throwing a chair at a teacher is a serious offense. However, I have worked at alternative schools and found that many of the prison like facilities and the strict discipline usually doesn’t reform the student. Instead, I believe that alternative schools get students used to jail cells. After calming down, I was able to reflect on the situation and realized what I did wrong. I started the events that lead to the escalation of Xavier’s explosion with my mood and also by getting angry with him. Anger is no way to deal with students prone to violent behavior and I was aware of Xavier’s behavior. I chose not to tell my principal and instead went outside and said something along the following lines, “I’m sorry for my behavior. I was stressed and I took it out on you and I apologize. I care about you and know you didn’t mean to react that way. I’m not saying what you did is right at all. You should never throw anything at an adult. What’s going on?”

Xavier then began to tell me about the situation with his father and the pressures he was receiving to either do well in this school or be sent to another one. His father was getting fed up with him. Here I was another adult getting fed up with Xavier as well. After I listened, I recommended Xavier talk with his father and told him I would talk with his dad and put in a good word about the work he was doing. Xavier had been doing well in some projects and I had not let his father know. From this point on, Xavier and I didn’t have anymore incidents. Later, I recieved a thank you e-mail from Xavier who was doing very well at a university. He could have very well sent me an e-mail from prison.

When dealing with student outbursts, what do you choose to do? Do you immediately send them to the principal’s office or do you try to find out what is bothering the student? I hope you try the last alternative, because this is what building relationships take. I believe that when we treat students like adults and talk with them they begin to respect us as adults. We can use these “teachable moments” to show them how to properly react. I think we are taught as educators to jump the gun on punishing students when the ones with the worst behavior problems are suffering with the most intolerable living situations.

Challenge:

Try not to send your students immediately to the principal or write them up. Instead, find a way to turn the situation into a teachable moment. Then blog about the outcome as an example for others.


Be the change, new year, reflection, students

Dear New Mrs. Ripp Student

Pernille Ripp
Tomorrow is our first day together and even though we teachers benefit from our vacation almost as much as you do, we also spend a lot of time preparing and waiting anxiously for you to come back to us.  This year was no different for me, except if at all possible, I was even more excited to have you come back.  You see, we are a combination classroom.  A bunch of 4th and 5th graders thrown together, it is now us against the world no matter our age or our grade; we belong.  And while others may look at us differently or ask you a lot of questions, know that I like that we are different.  I like that we have different ages in our room.  I like that we cannot be classified as just a regular classroom.  I like that I have to think about what I teach and not just say one grade level.  I really like that we have kids with a lot of different abilities and talents that will learn form each other. 


Just like you, I have to learn too and so this summer that is what I did.  I learned that Thea loves it when you read the same book over and over, especially the one about Fergus the dog.  I learned that my husband really likes it when I just sit and read next to him or when I recommend books for him.  I learned that my 95 year old grandfather in Denmark thinks that my daughter is just about the best thing that has ever happened to this family (I agree).  I learned that my little brother will be shipped to Afghanistan in January and that I worry about him now already.  I learned that a dog’s heavy breathing will indeed keep you up at night, especially when that dog is 100 pounds and tries to snuggle with you next to your bed.  I learned that books are not always good just because a  lot of people have read them.  Did you know it is okay to not finish a book – crazy, right?  I learned that thousands of educators are on Twitter just waiting for you to ask them a question.  I learned that blogging and writing about your thoughts can be a great way to inspire and learn from others.  I learned that Chinese food doesn’t have to taste bad.  I also learned that Madison is one of the best cities for little kids; oh the adventures we have had.   I learned that no elementary student should be given an F because as long as they are learning they are not failing.  I learned that technology can both give you time and steal it away.  I learned that no matter how many times you do an orientation day you will always have jitters, nerves and never feel prepared enough.  I also learned that the excitement for the first day of school only builds, never diminishes.  I learned that i have many more things to learn.

So whether you have had me before or have no idea who this crazy teacher is; welcome, I am so excited you are here.  I hope we will learn together.