reflection

What Does It Mean to Be a Great Teacher?

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
image from icanread

Talk of being a great teacher surrounds us; in the news, in the corridors, in our own minds.  We all dream of being great and when we get our own classroom we strive for greatness.  Yet, being great can mean so many things today.

Does great mean high test scores?

Does great mean major student growth on their assessments?

Does great mean smiling students or many laughs?

Does it mean students who feel safe in your classroom?

Does great mean in-depth discussions, perfect spelling, or A+?

Does it mean you give as much of yourself as you expect the kids to give of them?

Does great mean that you cannot stop thinking about the kids you just said goodbye to even though they are legally not your to worry about anymore?

Or does great simply mean that you go in there and try your hardest every day, every minute?  That you pour your heart into it and give them all of you?

I know what it means to outsiders, but what does being a great teacher mean to you?

learning

Continue Your Summer Learning

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
I am thrilled to be doing 2 webinars for SimpleK12 this summer.  if you are unfamiliar with these webinars I can tell you they are pretty amazing.  First of all, they are free (!) and you get to ask the presenter as many questions as you want within the time limit.  I have taken part in several of these and love the 30 minute format, as well as how easy it is.

I get to discuss two things that are very near to my heart; no homework and student-led conferences.

To Homework or Not to Homework
An ongoing debate rages among many educators over whether or not homework is truly necessary in today’s classrooms. In this webinar, Pernille Ripp discusses her own journey away from homework the ups and downs of helping parents understand, as well as how to still promote time-management, responsibility, and practice. This webinar is meant for teachers who want to move away from homework or who are curious about the journey, as well as for parents who would like to support their student in their quest to be homework free.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013 @ 11:00:00 AM EDT

To sign up for this one, go here 

Promote Student Ownership of Goals and Learning with Student-led Conferences
How would you like your students to take ownership of their goals, their paths, and their learning? You can help them to accomplish this by doing student-led conferences. While it may sound scary to turn over ownership of this important time to students the results are in – student-led conferences promote ownership and lead to deeper learning conversations. In this webinar, join Pernille Ripp as she discusses why student-led conferences are beneficial and provides suggestions and tips for how to conduct them. Forms will be shared to help students prepare for them, and various modifications to their format will be discussed.

Tuesday, August 06, 2013 @ 10:00:00 AM EDT

To sign up for this one, go here

Can’t wait to see you there!
end of year, reflection, students

And So It Was Goodbye

Pernille Schmidt Ripp


Friday marked the end of an incredible year with my 5th graders.  They were ready to go on to summer, they were ready to go to middle school.  So we had a small and perfect graduation and these were my parting words to them…


Dear 5th graders,
I walked into your classroom on November 5th hoping that you would like me.  Hoping that we could build a community, hoping that you would be up for some of my craziness.  I had heard that you were an incredible class, I had heard that you were as sweet as can be, perhaps a little rambunctious, but definitely with your heart in the right place.  Little did I know just how quickly you would become my kids, part of my family, and how quickly the end of the year would come.


We have read many incredible books this year, we have laughed about them, cried about them (well I have any way), and definitely rushed to each other and said “You have to read this book!”  And think of everything we have learned…


Ivan taught us that words are to be treasured and used to make a difference in the world.


Harry taught us that friendships can make the difference between life and death.


Auggie taught us “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.“


Chu taught us that even the smallest gestures can have the biggest outcomes


Coraline taught us that even though we may think our parents are the most boring parents in the world, they are still the best parents for us.


Carly Rae Jepsen taught us that it’s always a good time.


But it was Jack’s words in Miss Stretchberry’s room 105 that left us with the biggest lesson of the year
Jack writes;  
September 13th
I don’t want to
because boys
don’t write poetry


Girls do.


September 21
I tried.
Can’t do it.
Brain’s empty.


September 27th
I don’t understand
the poem about
the red wheelbarrow
and the white chickens
and why so much
depends upon them.


If that is a poem
about the red wheelbarrow
and the white chickens
then any words
can be a poem.
You’ve just got to
make
short
lines.


Jack was right – any words can be poetry.  So I hope you leave 5th grade painting with your words, not shying away from stating your opinion, and above all choosing kind.


You have made me so proud, thank you for letting me be a part of your life, and remember; represent.

reflection, students

We Plant the Seeds

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
image from icanread

…Remember how you told me you were an angry child?  

Yeah…
Well, you’re not anymore, are you?
I guess not, Mrs. Ripp…. and he smiles
The power of the words we say to our students never ceasse to astound me.  We can plant seeds in our students with our words, we can build them up, make them believe that they are something bigger, better, brighter, or we can tear them down.
We can make a child believe that they can read any book some day.
We can make them believe that math comes natural to them and that they just need a little more practice.
We can make them believe that they have worth, that their words carry weight.
We can make them believe that they are smart, intuitive, and a natural leader.
We can make them believe that they have a talent, that they are good enough, that they have incredible things to offer to the world. 
We can make them believe that they are worthy of many friendships, that others will like them, and that the world is just waiting for them to burst into it.
We can tear away old labels and replace them with new ones.  Labels that build up instead of tear down.
Our words, even our every day ones, carry so much weight, do we even realize it?
reflection, students

A Child Tells Me How He Really Feels

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
image from icanread

There are those kids that don’t sneak into our hearts but instead kick the door down, scream for a while, and then try to leave again.  Those kids that make the most noise, that fight us the most, that make sure that we stay on our toes every single moment they are in our presence.  Those kids that you will miss the most even if they were the ones that kept you up the latest every night as you wondered how you would reach them, connect with them, support them as learners.

I have had many of these kids and this year is no different.  Tom (name changed of course) came into my life with the loudest of voices and the most hatred toward writing I have ever met in a child.  It wasn’t just that he didn’t know what to write, he simply didn’t want to write.  Ever.  Not even his name.  Or the date.  Or what his favorite thing was.  Tom hated writing and told me this repeatedly.  He would rather get kicked to the office, he would rather be yelled at by the principal, he would rather yell at me than write.  And yet, I kept at it, helping him, supporting him, pushing him each and every day, refusing to give give in, refusing to take the bait and yell.  But more importantly than me, he started believing in himself.  He started to write just a little, even if it was through lots of complaints.  He picked up his pencil and wrote just enough so that i would leave him alone, enough so he could show he got it.  So today he handed me this memoir to finish the year…
My worst day ever was when I met Mrs.Ripp it was so boring all we did was just talk about something I forgot. she was so bogus for noting. I didn’t even do anything she was just being mean I would hate to be Mrs.Ripps class next year I’m telling you the truth Mrs.Ripp. You were as mean as a pitbull.You can be so bogus sometimes and the worst teacher but sometimes she can be nice other times she mean in the morning she’s nice but in the afternoon she’s mean but I think she will be nice to her other students.She nice to be on the first day but the second day she was super mean and I was just minding my business doing me.I hope she nice to her other class.she even taking minutes off of the field trip and thats not fair that was bogus I got 10 minutes because I didn’t do my thing but dang just mean.
Some teacher may get upset.  Some teachers may think it is rude.  But I am not that teacher.  I love this writing.  I love his honesty, his use of periods, and the fact that he used a simile.  I love that he had me read it aloud to the class and that he smiled when he handed it in.  Look at how much he wrote!  Look at what he did.  He wrote and that to me is the biggest victory ever.
I will miss him a lot, every noise, every fight, every refusal or complaint.  My classroom will feel too quiet after he moves on.  And I think he might miss me a little too, even if I am the meanest teacher ever.

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