I try to instill this in my students every day; there is only one you with your only voice, but Neil Gaiman says it so much better. When asked by a student in Connecticut what she should say to people that tell her there are enough artists in the world so she should not become one, he answers…
Should Principals Have Term Limits?
Note: This post is me starting a conversation coming from a teacher’s perspective, hoping teachers and administrators will share their thoughts. This is not a solid opinion of mine but a question. This is also not in relation to my own principal, I hope that clarifies.
I was asked once where I thought this whole blogging thing was going, what was my destination? I had no answer so the questioner asked me whether I would ever become a principal. I quickly answered no and when pressed to explain I told them I was worried about losing my relevance after a few years, that I would not be able to stay current and soon my ideas would be as outdated as my outfits. See teaching every day keeps me in the know, in the moment with these kids, so every day I have to adapt, every day I have to figure out new situations. And even now just 5 years into my teaching career some of my original ideas are already outdated and have definitely lost their relevance to anyone but myself.
I bring this up because I cannot help but wonder whether principalships should have term limits of sort?
Should principals only be allowed to be one for 4 or 5 years before they are automatically kicked back to the classroom for a year? Then when the year has passed they can reapply for another principalship. And yes, this idea is completely cumbersome and a little bit crazy and I am not even saying it is the right idea, but how do we make sure principals stay relevant in their knowledge when sought out by teachers? After all, there are only so many conferences, articles, discussions you can experience and even those will never add up to more classroom experience. And perhaps it is not needed, perhaps principals stay current through their teachers but don’t they also need to rely on their own teaching experiences to help them guide kids and teachers alike? I don’t have the answer.
Since I am not a principal and I am genuinely curious, I would love your comments on this:
- Can principals give relevant advice after they have been out of the classroom for many years?
- Does it matter how many years they taught? Or does it only matter how they are as a leader?
- How do we feel as teachers when our principal has not been in the classroom for more than 10 years and still uses their own old experiences as their measuring stock for every question? Does it work?
I don’t have the answer, only this huge question that I cannot answer. I would love to hear your opinions on this.
I Get So Sick Of Being the Change
Sometimes I get sick of being the change, of leading the charge, of paving the way. I get sick of all the bumps and bruises from trying something new, from being honest and sharing it with whomever will read. I get sick of having to defend Twitter as something more than conceitedness or hobnobbing with people “that aren’t really my friends ” I get tired of explaining again why I don’t take recess, why I have a hard time bribing kids, and why grades – whether A’s or 4’s – really don’t belong in education.
I get so tired that I make myself believe that perhaps if I shut my mouth the path would get easier. That if I stopped blogging about it all perhaps no one would notice and I could just do my things, my way. That perhaps if I just swallowed a big dose of reality and learned that what is happening now in education is what will be for years to come and I better just get used to it, then my life would be easier.
But then I am told to share my story. A friendly stranger ask me why. Schools ask me to help them out as they struggle with the same things I do and I regain my faith in the change and being the change. I knew this path wouldn’t be easy. I knew this path would sometimes double back, twist and turn on itself, and lose me. Yet, I follow it because I see where the path leads; to change, the right kind. The kind many are hoping will come. I have to keep believing and I have to share my stories so that others will know it is ok to share theirs.
Clarification: This post is more a comment on trying to change how education is done in general, rather than people around me. I think it is tough for anyone out there trying to change the massive politically motivated education policy machine and that is what I was trying to address here.
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| image from icanread |
My Best Advice on Going No Grades
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of sharing my de-grading story with the wonderful teachers at
CISVA. Before I spoke to them (and lost my voice subsequently) I thought about what I would tell
them if I could only share five things. So why not share that with everyone else as well.
Find your purpose.
It is important for you to know the “why” of what you are doing, so take time to soul search to come up with your own words for why moving away from grades is important and then continue to reflect as you go. Coming up with your own narrative for the “why” will help you refine your process.
Stay true to you.
There are many ways to do no grades and you have to find the one that works best for you. Perhaps that means creating other types of rubrics or feedback forms, perhaps that means having students self assess with set guidelines. Whatever will work for you to make this process easier and manageable is great in my book.
Make it work for you.
Keep it simple; after all, you are the one that has to do all of the work. You know how your brain works for gathering feedback and artifacts to support student learning, so incorporate those methods into your process.
Involve students.
Students, even at an elementary level, know how to set up evaluations and are surprisingly tough on themselves. I love the rich discussions that come from asking what a finished product should look like and how we can decide whether we met those goals.
Explain, explain, and explain!
You will inevitably run into people who think you are nuts so have your facts and reasons ready. One way to involve parents is to be very honest in your reasoning as well as your methodology and engage in a meaningful conversation with them. I always am open to discuss all of my philosophies and actively solicit feedback about them throughout the year; this tends to diffuse any negative situations or misunderstandings that otherwise may occur.
And finally; reach out! Help each other, find someone who is working through it as well whether in your building or not. Ask questions of those who have gone before you and continue to reflect and refine to make the process work for you. I will gladly help as much as I can.
I Don’t Feel Inspired – Admitting the Truth to Students
I am in the middle of a writing unit asking my students to be inspired Yup, just like that. Unfortunately it seems that most of the kids left their “I am inspired right in this moment” juice at home and I am struggling to get them to “live like writers” like Lucy is telling them to do. Oh Lucy Calkins, I love your ideas but sometimes you are just a little bit crazy.
So I take a deep breath and pull back a little. I tell them sometimes I get inspired when I am driving or falling asleep. Sometimes I get inspired walking down the hallway or gently rocking a child. Sometimes inspiration hits me and I don’t even realize it until a blogpost has written itself. But if I tell myself I have to blog and be inspired at that very moment I can almost guarantee it is not going to happen. Stunned silence and 20 pairs of eyes looking at me. A kid nervously blurts out, “You mean, you don’t just write when you have to?” I am at cross road; do I pretend I do or do I admit the truth?
I clear my throat…”Umm, no I don’t. In fact, sometimes writing is very hard for me too.” Two kids start to whisper and the silence pervades the room. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t try…”
So I tell the kids to take a deep breath and allow their thoughts to wander. They can write down whatever pops into their heads. They can go off on a tangent or just write statements. They can sit there and just think. They can wait for inspiration to strike but just promise me to notice when it does and capture those ideas. They can write naturally for once.
I don’t know if they will remember me admitting that I can’t always write but that isn’t the important part. The important part is me telling them that it is ok to think before they write. That I get it. That inspiration is not just something turned on even though we wish it were. It’s not so much that I hope THEY remember as that I remember. I have to remember what it feels like for my students. I have to remember that as much as I want them to be producers and super students, they are indeed humans with inspiration that strike sand inspiration that fades, and that is not a bad thing.
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| image from icanread |
This Kid and His Big Dreams
So I have this kid that’s been blowing my mind. You know that kid that everybody says has “it” whatever “it is? Yeah, this kid has it. If you come into my room he will probably give you a smile, sometimes he is unfocused, most of the time he is not. This kid is the leader of my classroom, I don’t know if it is because of his size, don’t know if is just his personality, but the kids they look up to him and he knows it and he leads them like a gentle giant.
This kid works so hard to get where he needs to get in reading. He works so hard in math trying to figure out all of the crazy stuff we throw at him. He puts in extra time after school to get better at reading, and it shows, his scores are inching up, catching up to the others.
This kid wants to be a football player when he grows up and for the first time ever I think it might actually happen; he is that kind of kid. He has the size for sure, he has the skills, and for now, he has the dedication it takes to maybe reach that dream. If life doesn’t get in the way…
So this kid that’s been blowing my mind, this kid that has so many dreams, I want him to keep going for it. I want him to stay focused, to keep working hard, to not give up even if the math is really hard at times and reading and writing is tough too. I want him to keep believing in himself and that his dreams are attainable too.
So I wonder if someone can help me with this kid and his big dreams? Does anyone know someone that plays football for a college team or another higher level that will write him a note? This kid bleeds Bucky Badger red but I am not sure it even has to be from someone on the Badger team. Can someone help me get a note to him telling him how school is important and to not give up on his dreams even when life gets in the way? To keep working as hard as he has and surprising everyone along the way, to know that he has worth and that school will only help him get to where he wants to go?
Thank you for helping me help this kid and his big dreams.
Pernille Ripp 