Pernille Ripp

Those who have followed this blog for a while or have found it because you are searching for student blogging resources, know how deeply passionate I am about student blogging and global collaboration. I am therefore often asked what my settings are for Kidblog and for my students’ use of the site so I thought I would share these. I have found these settings to offer the safety needed for my students while still allowing them and the world to have a dialogue.

Posts Settings:

I find it incredibly important that anyone can read our posts and so far my school district has agreed. I do, however, give parents a way to opt their students out of blogging if they do not feel comfortable with their child doing it since it is so public. However, no student has ever been opted out. Safety is my main concern, as well as how these students represent themselves, so I do moderate all posts before they are published. I do not get an email but simply check every day. My students blog too much for me to be notified each time one of them writes a new post.

Comments Settings:

Again, we do not have password to leave comments on our site nor do you have to be an approved member. We blog to start conversations with others around the world and as long as I am moderating all comments, I feel we can do it safely. Every once in a while do I need to delete a comment before a student sees it but mostly because it is a spam one or a duplicate one. In the three years I have blogged with students, i think we have had 2 insensitive comments left. i deleted them – no harm done.

Finally, Student Settings:

This is where Kidblog keeps proving its brilliance and relevance; this year they added that students could edit their own profiles, thus customizing it to fit their needs. This has been a huge hit for my students because they feel more in control of their blog and the image they are presenting to the world. I also like that they can change their password since this is an important computer skill for them to be aware of. I can still access all of their accounts without knowing their password.

So there you have it, our settings for our classroom student blog, I hope it was helpful, as always if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. And no, I am not a paid spokesperson for Kidblog; I just love their blogging platform. If you happen to live in the Wisconsin, Illinois area, I will be presenting on student blogging at ICE on February 28th.

curriculum, reflection

Sshh, Students Reading and a Teacher Too

January 10, 2013 Pernille Ripp

image from icanread

I have always been a reader. Some of my earliest memories revolve around books and when that book stumbles back into my life the memories flood back. Sleeping Beauty was my first book that I read in English, not bad for a Danish 6 year old girl. I just offered that same copy to Thea as she turned 4 and she gleefully accepted, well-knowing that it had something to do with a princess. I always have a book going, sometimes more than one but I try to remain faithful. I read whenever I can and have even been known to sneak books to school for my recess and lunch time. Our home has many books and spend way too much money at bookstores and too much time at libraries.

So why is it, that I have always hated teaching reading? At least, until today.

Teaching reading is a different beast. After all, how do you teach that a book can feel like home? That a book can make you less lonely when you once again move to a new place. That a book will bring people back from the dead, if even for a short time. That it will transport and transform an otherwise humdrum train ride, afternoon, or even class if snuck into a desk properly. How do you teach that? Sure, you can talk about it but books have to seep into the lives of children for them to full understand.

I can teach reading, sure; how to read the words, how to sound them out, figure out their meaning, but I cannot seem to teach the falling in love. And yet, something has changed in my room this year; I have finally brought myself into the room as a reader.

I had never shared much of my reading life, sure I would tell the kids how much I read, but I didn’t share the stacks of books next to my bed, or the excitement over discovering a new book. I never rushed into school just to grab a book I forgot or excitedly handed a book to a kid, knowing that they would love it as much as I did, telling them to hurry up and read it so we could talk about it. I loved to read but my kids didin’t really know it.

This year our books take front and center. We read and we read a lot. We now share our books through Biblionasium and through conversation. We swap books, borrow books, and abandon books when needed. We keep our reading time sacred; not the first thing to be sacrificed in an otherwise hectic school day, but the last. We talk about us as readers and just how excited we are. I have finally brought myself into the room in all my glorious book nerddom and the students have embraced and cherished me as one of theirs; a fellow reader who happens to have a lot of books to share and sometimes have to share some lessons.

Sure, there are days where kids drag their feet. Sure, there are days where my lessons fall apart and the kids talk too much and we don’t get to what we need, but then we read. And when we read everything else seems to go back to being ok.

Today I watched in awe as 20 5th graders sat silently, not through threats, but through the power of books. They groaned when I told them it was time to pack up. They asked if they could read just one more minute and dragged their feet when the end was inevitable. They are readers. And I am a reading teacher.

Be the change

EdCamp is Coming, EdCamp is Coming!

January 5, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I have to shout it over the rooftops; EdCamp is coming to Madison, Wisconsin. And why is this such a big deal? Because when I attended my first EdCamp it opened up my eyes to what professional development should look like, it made me realize that others listen when we blog, and that there are more people out there like me.

So I jumped at the chance to be part of the planning team for the official #EdCampMadWi happening February 23rd at Sun Prairie High School. Registration opened 5 days ago and already we are at 50% capacity, so what are you waiting for? Join me and 250 other passionate educators in a free day of discussion, learning, and some really great food.

And if you want to help sponsor us, please email me!

Facebook page

What is EdCamp?

An old post that might help you prepare for EdCamp

reflection, students

My Epic Reading Challenge Met With Silence

January 5, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I thought I had them hooked. I thought they would be over the moon, buzzing with excitement, having one of those moments that we so often dream about in teaching. Those moments that will forever remind a student why 5th grade was their absolute favorite year in school, ever. It wasn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but maybe not so much as a buzz, rather than a quiet murmur. A couple of kids smiling, a couple of kids, nodding, not bad, but definitely not as epic as I had envisioned it.

I had just revealed our January book challenge.

A simple premise really; the class would set a goal of how many books we will read in January thus creating a sense of urgency and excitement. We will have until January 31st to reach it and if we do there would be a huge read-in celebration to toast our achievements with surprise treats and games. I thought is was a no-lose proposal. And like I said, they didn’t hate it, but the cheers of excitement I thought would be reverberating through my room with perhaps the addition of a chant of “Reading, reading, reading…” just didn’t happen.

Instead some kids wrote a normal goal; 4 books. Others stretched themselves with adding picture books; 10 books, while some did not hide their distate for reading; 1 book and even that would probably be a graphic novel. “You mean you want us to read more Mrs. Ripp?” I sighed and thought about what to say next.

“It is not just that. I don’t just want you to read more, I want you to be excited, to share your books and to grab them from each other. I want you to want to come to school to tell me what you have been reading, tell me what to read next, and to see our goal grow.” “Oh…”

They get it. They want to please me. And some of them are a little bit excited. Most though, they are still learning the magic of a book and a story that swallows you up. Some still struggle with what to read next. Some still struggle with focusing in on a book. But a couple of them get it, a couple of them ask me what to read next. A couple of them told me how they had read during snack time, turned off their computer, read to their little brother. Those kids are with me; the rest? I am still working on those and that’s ok, I am up for the challenge.

reflection

When We Cut Science and Social Studies

January 3, 2013 Pernille Ripp

Currently my district is proposing a new elementary schedule and while it has some great ideas in it, one things saddens me to no end; social studies and science would only get 30 minutes for one of them every day. So when I had the chance to tell the school board president how I felt about the proposal, this is what I wrote to her:

The sample schedule being proposed, while its intentions are noble, I believe it is detrimental to our students’ development as knowledgeable global citizens. As the world around us grows more test obsessed, our students have indeed become just numbers on a data wall. We no longer discuss their passions, we discuss their deficits and how we will test them some more to bring them up to speed. Yet the world does not create jobs for people who are only strong in reading and math, or even for students that are very good at taking tests. It creates lives for people who are curious and knowledgeable in many things, that want to be a part of something larger than themselves. Yes, reading and writing are foundations upon which we rest all of our other curriculum, but science is curiosity and social studies is awareness in its truest sense; knowing ones place and where one fits into the world. When we diminish our time in these subjects we are taking away the chance for students to discover themselves and their passion. We lose further sight of what school is intended to be; a place to cultivate ones interests, become well-rounded, and for learning to become a passion. We cannot selectively focus on things that will be tested at the expense of things that will not. I fear we will lose students interest and dedication if we go along with this schedule. There will not be much room to explore, discuss, or even question things that fall outside of our scripted math, reading, and writing programs. School continues then to be a necessary evil that all students must survive. And that will show up in our tests.

I have done my part, now I can only hope that they listen.

Be the change, reflection

The 4 Education Trends I Hope Stay in 2012

December 30, 2012 Pernille Ripp

2012 is coming to a close and along with it, I hope certain trends in education also fade out of our memories. While these may seem innocent enough, I think it is time we make a conscious effort to truly leave them behind.

Teacher bashing. While most people think teacher bashing only happens outside of education, I think it is time we admit how much teacher bashing happens within our own school walls. We have enough outside sources that fight us all, it is time we stop the in-fighting among ourselves.
Automatically viewing all changes negatively. While I know not all changes are created equal, I think it is important we give change a chance, or at least reserve our judgment until we have heard the full idea. Then we can form educated opinions and work from there.
Sharing just how overwhelmed we are at every chance. While venting is healthy, I think when it is all we are focused on it loses its helpfulness. Then we are not releasing our worries but just magnifying them. And yes, I know that being a teacher is super hard right now, I am right there with everyone, but I find when I talk about it all the time that is all I feel and what good does that do? Now sharing our frustrations in an effort to get help, new ideas, or work through – that I can stand behind.
And finally, and this is the one I have to work on in particular, thinking we cannot change anything because we are only teachers. We are stronger than we think and together we can make a difference not only for us as educators, but also for our students. I will continue to fight for the right kind of change every chance I get, I will continue to fight from within, I will continue to stand up to the testing obsessed system because my students deserve it.

If you had not had a chance to read George Couros’ post “3 Ideas That Will Not Change Schools” please do, this post was definitely inspired by that.