Pernille Ripp

I asked my students, all 114 of them, to show off their typical day in school. Then I asked the world to join in. Yesterday more than 3,000 students did the #studentlife challenge. Images shared through the hashtag, blog posts, or any other social media platform all to let the world in to what happens when you are a student.

I was not surprised when I saw all of the sitting. Students learning by listening rather than doing. I was not surprised when I saw many teachers teaching, standing at the front of the room handing out information. I was not surprised when I heard students tell us how tired they were. How many hours of homework they had. How every day was the same; monotony rules their world. We know this, I have been fighting that type of school for the last 5 years.

I was surprised though, when I saw how many of my students said these things. How many of my students told me they sat down, that they wished for more movement. That they wished for more breaks, longer lunch, more doing, less listening. That they wished for more freedom in their own school.

I was surprised because in many of the classrooms around my school, they do move. They do speak. They do rather than just sit. And yet few mentioned any of this. Few mentioned how hard their teachers work to try to make lessons interactive, engaging, and worthwhile. Few mentioned how little homework they have. How little we ask them to do outside of school. How much choice they do have in a day. My students sounded like all other students; like school was a punishment they had to suffer through every day until their real life starts.

Disheartened, I wonder if students will ever notice, or whether it even matters? Will students ever see how hard their teachers are working to change their educational experience? Will students ever realize that the way many are teaching now is not the traditional way of teaching anymore? Will students ever realize that they do have a say in their education but that they need to speak up for us to change?

There seems to be two lenses of education; the one shared by students and the one shared by teachers. And they don’t seem to mesh up at all. You ask a teacher what their classroom is like and they will show you pictures of happy students doing learning. You ask a student what their day is like and they will show you a picture of textbooks and teachers standing at the front speaking. Where is our educational narrative not matching up?

I will never stop tying to engage my students. I will never stop trying to make their days active. To give them choice. To give them voice. I will never stop trying to make school a place of curiosity and fun, rather than mandatory listening. I wonder if I am being too optimistic that students would notice all of this? Does it matter whether students recognize what we do?

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA but originally from Denmark, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Join our Passionate Learners community on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

books, collaboration, education, Passion, Personalized Learning, Reading, student choice, student voice

How to Do Book Clubs in the Middle School Classroom

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I knew when I moved to 7th grade that book clubs would be one of the things that moved with me. That shared reading experience where students would get to just read and discuss is something I have loved having in the classroom the past few years. I knew it would be a different experience in the middle school classroom, after all their maturity would push their thinking, what I had not accounted for was also how my whole approach to the purpose of it would need to change to cater to a more critical mindset. So what do book clubs in the middle school classroom need to be successful?

An honest conversation. I would not have gotten student buy in if I had not had an honest conversation with them beforehand. They needed a chance to vent all of their frustrations with book clubs in order to see how this time around they might be different. They needed to know that their thoughts and yes, feelings, were validated and considered. While most would have invested themselves in the process simply because it was expected, I didn’t want that type of buy-in, I wanted a genuine desire to use this for good, to enjoy the 4 weeks or so it would last.

Choice in books. I know it is easier to have a small amount of pre-selected books for students to choose from so we can help facilitate the conversations, but with more than 100 students to cater to I knew I needed choice and lots of it. With the help of my amazing library team, bonus points from Scholastic, and the phenomenal Books4school, I was able to present the students with more than 50 different choices for titles. This way no group needed to share books and all students should be able to find something to agree on. I also told them that if they couldn’t find anything, to let me know, we would find the right book for them.

Choice in rules. While I may have an idea for how a book club should function, I needed student ownership over the reading, as well as how their discussions would unfold. All groups decided their own rules and posted them on the wall. It has been powerful to see them guide their conversations, and yes, also dole out consequences to members within their groups that have not read or are not participating.

Students self-made rules hang as a reminder on our wall

Choice in speed. All of my groups read at different paces, so they determine how many pages a night they need to read as well as when they would like to have the book finished by within our 4 week time frame. One group, in fact, has already finished a book.

Choice in conversation. Book clubs should not function around the teacher, in fact, I have noticed that when I do listen in to an otherwise lively conversation the students immediately get timid in most cases. I have learned to listen from a distance and only offer up solid small ideas to push their conversation further when they really needed it. Too often our mere presence will hijack a group and students don’t learn to trust their own opinions and analysis. Removing yourself from the process means students have to figure it out. For those groups that struggle we talk about in our private mini-lesson.

Choice in abandonment. I do not want students stuck with a book they hate, so some groups chose to abandon their books within a week and made a better choice. Rather than think of it as lost reading time, I cheered over the fact that my students know themselves as readers. All of my students are now reading a book that they at the very least like and that is an accomplishment in my eyes.

Choice in length and meeting time. Students are allotted time every other day to meet in their book clubs and have 28 minutes to discuss and read some more. While I have told student to try to push their conversations, I have also urged them to keep them under 10 minutes unless they are having a great discussion. Students vary the length of their book clubs depending on what their self-chosen topic of discussion is and figure out how their group works best in the process.

Choice in final product. While our true purpose of having book clubs is to have a shared reading experience, I am also asking the students to do a book talk of some sort when they finish. There are two reasons behind this; to assess the standards we are covering in the quarter but also for them to develop their critical thinking skills. If the book they read is not suited for future book clubs then I need to know why. I don’t want students to have a lengthy project because that is not what book clubs are about.

While my method for integrating book clubs may seem loose at best, I have found incredible buy-in from the students. They have been excited to read their books, they have been excited to share their thoughts, and the accountability that they feel toward one another is something I would not be able to produce through force. Middle schoolers need a framework to grow within, they need our purposes to be authentic as much as possible, and they need to have a voice in how things function within our classroom. Book clubs offer us a way to have these moments in reading that abound with deep reading conversations that I may not be able to have as a whole group, they allow even the quietest student to have a voice. They allow students to feel validated in their thoughts and they allow them to share their knowledge with each other. What have you done to create successful book clubs?

being me, Passion, students

The One Thing We Forget to Plan For

February 1, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Today I added a column to my electronic lesson planner, a column I should have added at the beginning of the year but realized that now is better than never. It is not more work for me, nor is it something I was told to do, I added it because I had to, the urgency haunted me in my sleep; a column labeled “Fun.” While right now the column is mostly empty as I plan my days ahead it serves as an important reminder; that fun is not a four-letter word in education and that learning should be filled with joy.

We plan for the standards. We plan for our students needs. We plan for progress. We plan for assessment. But when do we take the time to plan for fun, to make schools places of joy where students are encouraged to have fun? We seem to be too busy getting through all the things we need to get through that fun is the furthest things from our minds. Yet, fun is exactly what we need to have more of in schools.

Learning should be fun. Curiosity should have a place in our classrooms. Laughter should happen on a regular basis. Smiling should be a classroom rule. Fun should be one of the many pillars that supports all of the learning that we do. It should be embraced, discussed, worked on and celebrated. Schools should be filled with fun.

So while I find it sad that I have to plan for it, I recognize that I often get too caught up in all that we have to do that it simply slips my mind. That I worry more about whether students get something than whether they like coming to school. Than whether they laughed today. Yet, that is exactly what I should be worrying about. We lose kids when they disconnect from school. Making school fun again should be on all of our priority lists. So next time you plan; ask yourself; is this fun? Is this something the students will enjoy working with or will it be yet another thing they just have to do? Push your thinking, ask the students, plan for moments of joy. We have lost too many students because school had no joy, but it is not too late to change the way we teach. The first step is to change the way we plan.

To see actual ideas for how to create more joy-filled moments, go here

aha moment, being a student, being a teacher, being me, change, education, Passion, student voice

When A Student Stops Asking Questions, Who’s to Blame?

January 30, 2015 Pernille Ripp

I pulled her aside, wondering how I could help as we face another half a year of 7th grade. Carefully I asked why she was with me, what had held her back from understanding what I had planned out. What stood in her way of not completing her work. I searched for clues to be a better teacher for her and hoped she would she some light on why she never asked the questions I am sure she had.

“Do you get what the assignments ask you to do?” I asked searching for a place to start.

“No.” She answered matter of fact.

“Well, why don’t you ask me questions about them then?” A classic follow up question.

“A teacher once told me I asked too many questions. Whenever I raised my hand he would say, “Oh here comes another question…” and so I stopped. I figured I didn’t want to upset my teachers. I figured they didn’t want to hear it.”

The weight of that statement swallowed me for a moment, the enormity of a child telling me they had stopped questions, so I looked her and said the only thing I could.

“You have our permission to ask as many questions as you need. You have our permission to ask even after you have asked and you still don’t understand. Don’t ever let someone stop you from asking a question. Part of my job as a teacher is to answer your questions, don’t forget that.”

I think of what I have probably said in the past when I have been in a hurry. When I have been annoyed that a student asked that question. When I felt sure that they just hadn’t listened and so they didn’t really deserve for me to answer their question. I shudder at the permanent damage I may have caused from my own terrible judgment. I shudder at the things I have taught students just because of my own impatience.

The thing is with teaching that I sometimes forget; part of our job is to answer questions, not judge them with our answers. Not judge them with our veiled contempt at yet another question. Part of our job is to create classrooms where students feel safe to ask. Safe to ask again. Safe to ask in a different way. Our job is to teach all of the kids. Even the ones who don’t understand. Even the ones who ask us question upon question. Our job is not to teach students that they should never ask a question. Think of the damage our words may cause. Think of what we truly teach children with our words.

being a teacher, collaboration, global, Passion, student choice, student voice, technology

On February 5th Do the #StudentLife Challenge – Show the World What A Day in the Life of A Student Looks LIke

January 29, 2015 Pernille Ripp

Have you signed up to be a part of the #studentlife challenge on February 5th? If not, why not? This simple global collaboration is all about having students take pictures throughout the day and then share them using the hashtag #studentlife. So far more than 30 different schools in 6 different countries are taking part.

Details

On February 5th, I invite students across the world to share pictures from their regular day using the hashtag #studentlife. Students (or teachers if students are too young) can use Twitter, Instagram, or whatever social network site they choose to share these slices of their life. What I hope for is a wide variety of images with or without commentary that will allow us educators to see what happens in our students’ days, not just what we think happens. If you feel like it, you can also have students do this before February 5th and compile their answers into something that can be shared. This is what I will do using our blogs.

How can you participate?

Share this challenge with your students and invite them to join, remind them to use the hashtag #studentlife.

Add your information in the form below or in a comment so that I can share your students’ slices with the rest of the world.

Tune in on February 5th through Twitter or Instagram to hopefully see what our students’ days look like.

Help me spread the word on this please, I think it could be really powerful for all of us to see what students really go through in a day in our schools.

If you have signed up, please fill out the form with your email address so I can send you the details!

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA, who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade. Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now. Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

being a teacher, being me, Passion

The Secret To A Happier Teacher, Perhaps

January 28, 2015 Pernille Ripp

These last few days since publishing my post “There is No Such Thing As Balance” I have been floating around in a relaxed state. There is something incredibly lethargic about getting it out, pointing out your flaws for the whole world to see and then moving on. Perhaps we sometimes dwell on things even more than we know. Perhaps airing our imperfections is not so bad after all, I guess I should know, I have been writing about them for the past 5 years, However, that has not been the only reason for my better state of mind. I swear I have found the key to happiness. A simple one indeed…

Stop volunteering yourself.

Stop saying yes because you feel you should. Stop saying yes to every single thing that needs someone to say yes to it. Stop jumping at every single chance you get. Let others have the chance at doing something, share the opportunities, and save some sanity for yourself.

In the past two days I have stopped saying yes all of the time and my world didn’t crash down on me. I didn’t become a terrible person, nor did I lose friends. I stopped saying yes to every single thing that was presented to me, every single opportunity presented. I stopped saying yes as the very first person because that is what I felt I should and instead said yes to the things I really cared about. Not a perfect system by any means but one that has saved me a lot of stress.

So say yes when you really want to. Say yes when you know that it will mean something to you and to others. Don’t say yes because you feel you have to. Don’t say yes because it might work out for you. Save you yes’es for when it really matters. Save your yes for when it should be followed by an “Absolutely!” and give yourself a break. You deserve it, in fact, we all do.