Pernille Ripp

Mathematics homework (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“….I worry about your students next year, I don’t think they will be ready…”. My heart is pounding so hard it sounds like a truck, I can feel my checks blazing, my hands are clenching. She worries? About my students? About those kids that I have poured everything into? Those kids that have set higher expectations for themselves than any other grade I have taught? Those kids that demand a better education, a deeper discussion, a better understanding of what we do and why we do it. This teacher worries about my kids? My ears fail to listen and I feel the need to explain myself, to defend and argue but instead I raise my gaze and ask simply, “Why?” The answer is swift, “You don’t have any homework…” I wait, what else, but there is just silence. Homework and not giving it once again the center of a discussion.

So what is it about homework and whether to assign it or not that becomes such a flashpoint in education? Both sides are passionate in their reasoning for or against but the discussion seems to happen more outside of our schools than in them, not amongst colleagues. This teacher had decided, without speaking to me, that since I did not assign homework, students were not held responsible for their learning. Students were not held accountable for showing what they knew and I had no idea of how to challenge them. This was not a fair assessment by any means but still the one that had been made. So when others are misinformed about what a “no homework” classroom really is like, is it up to us to reach out and educate? Or should we expect them to come to us to become informed before they pass their judgment?

We may have all of the answers ourselves but how do we communicate them to other staff? How do we make others realize that there is a way to still deeply teach something without assigning outside of school work? How do we help others realize that homework does not have to be an integral part of what school is and that children will still be prepared for what is to come? Are we only fooling ourselves when we do boast that we are still creating responsible, accountable, time managing students without the use of homework? Can we truly not prepare students for the “rigors” of school if we do not do what others around us do? Can my fifth graders still be succesful in middle school even though I did not expect them to do two hours of work every night? Have I fooled myself into thinking that I am helping them become deeper thinkers when all I am really doing is robbing them of their chance for success? Was that teacher right? Should I be worried about my students?

exploration, feedback, no homework, parents

Can We Prepare Students for Middle School If We Don’t Assign Homework?

June 25, 2012 Pernille Ripp

I wonder if my child will be overwhelmed in middle school by all of the homework since they have not had much with you… The comment stares me in the face and I immediately think up excuses; but we had homework, we just did it in class, but it is not my problem what happens in middle school, and why didn’t this parent bring it up before? And then I pause, re-read the comment, take away the personal insult I had added to it and see it as feedback, see it for what it truly is; a learning opportunity.

Homework, that integral part of going to school, that bastion of what afternoons should be consumed by, how school should look. We grew up with it, we survived, we learned the lessons and now our children should go through the same. I used to believe that home work taught a deeper lesson, that without it children would not learn lessons such as time management, responsibility, accountability. I used to believe that if a child did not do their homework then they were not taking school seriously, that the failure to complete their end of the deal exonerated me from any further responsibility. Really all I had to then was punish and move on, hope the kid got the homework done and understood the bigger lesson. And now I know how wrong I was in those beliefs. I know how homework became something expected but not contemplated. and yet how do you communicate that to those kids it affects? How do you effectively have parents place their faith in you when how you run your classroom is pretty different than what they ever tried?

So for next school year I will not just mention my homework policy. I will thoroughly explain it and also stress that it is not that my students do less work than the other fifth grade classes, it is just that they do it at school instead. It is just that they may not get worksheets but rather delve deeper into projects, dedicating class time to learn those same lessons of accountability, responsibility, and time management. I will leave the doors for discussion open and encourage the questions, not afraid of criticism but welcoming the process, carefully explaining why I make the choices I make and how the students will indeed be prepared for middle school.

And so I continue to read through the feedback and I stumble upon one that is just as unexpected, just as deep… “I wish I had had a teacher like you in school, I am sure I would have liked school more if I had…”. And I smile and I reflect and I am grateful for all those that took the time to tell me how they felt.

We only grow when we open up to the good and the bad, we only grow when we realize our own imperfection. We only grow when we reveal our vulnerability and then really listen, I would not want it any other way.

classroom expectations, safety, students

Yes, We May Be Shocked But Let’s Not Pretend to Be Surprised

June 22, 2012 Pernille Ripp

English: this is my own version of what bullying looks like (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After the video of Karen Klein, the bus monitor who was relentlessly bullied by middle schoolers, went viral, the world is shocked. How could these children treat another human being this way? How could these kids get away with it? And we show our outrage by donating money to give Karen a vacation, to get her away from her job, as a way to apologize for the torment she was subjected to at the hands of children. We show our outrage by sending death threats to the children involved, swearing that this time, it has to stop.

And sure I find myself shocked as well, shocked that children once again prove just how cruel they can be. Shocked at the level of bullying these kids stoop to. Shocked that they talk about stabbing her and gang up on her and never stop. But I am not surprised. And neither should anyone else be. This happens every day, on busses across our nation. Whether it is kids turning on each other other or turning on adults, this is our reality. We talk about bully prevention but forget that the minute our children are out of sight from us, they make their own decisions. As parents we hope that the decisions they make will make us proud, rather than mortified. We hope that we have raised them right, to be decent human beings that do not harm, that do not torment, that do not bully. And yet, the moment we send them out of our door, they make their own decisions, good or bad.

I see this with my 3 year old when I pick her up from daycare. How rather than solving a dispute she hits another child, and I stand there mortified. Shocked even, that my loving child, hit someone else when she didn’t get the toy she wanted. Yes, it is a stage, and yes, she is only 3, but still…we have raised her better. She knows she is not allowed to hit. She knows what the consequences are. She knows our expectations, and yet, her arm raised and slap, making the other child cry. Far cry from the bullying that happened to Karen Klein, but the same nonetheless. The hurting of another human being.

So what can we do? We talk about training against bullying. We talk about awareness of what makes a bully. We monitor our children, our students, we talk and talk and talk. We share videos, we enlist celebrities, we punish, and we talk some more. And yet it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Kids continue to be kids, and kids continue to bully. So let’s continue being outraged, but let’s not be surprised. Surprise means we are not aware and that is a luxury we no longer can hide behind.

Uncategorized

2 years of blogging

June 22, 2012July 24, 2013 Pernille Ripp

I remember grammar, læs og forstå, and always writing depressing essays.

By 13 it was poetry, long endless drones with every metaphor known to man. A child wanting attention so bad that drama was the way to do it.

Then back to writing for duty for the next 15 years, Essays, reflections, papers, and always hoping inspiration would strike so that I may find my lost voice.

Wanting to write more, looking for that elusive voice I had lost. Blogging became it; the essence recaptured, stories to be told, journeys to be dissected.

And now I feel like a writer again, that lost part of me returned, thankful and thankless, but of so needed. Thank you for reading the past 2 years.

Interview, new teacher

More Tips for Landing that Teacher Job

June 20, 2012 Pernille Ripp

I swear every summer without fail I end up on an interview committee, and this summer proved to be no different. I do it out of pleasure, out of passion, out of wanting to find that perfect person who is going to make our school stronger, make us all better, teach us all something. I do it so that I stay fresh in what my own responses would be, to be part of the process, to see all the amazing candidates out there. And I know it isn’t easy. I know how hard it is to even get on the phone with a principal, let alone make it to the final round. When I interviewed for my job I beat out more than 450 candidates; 450! And that number steadily climbs every year, so with today fresh in my mind, as well as all of the other experiences, here are just a couple of hints to help you land that job.

Be enthusiastic but stay true to your personality. If you are a naturally chipper person, let it shine through. Don’t pretend you are something other than you, believe me, that type of charade gets cumbersome to uphold.
Know your programs and abbreviations and admit when you don’t. You cannot fake your way through a discussion of Everyday Math if you don’t actually know the program, admit it, and then talk about how you are going to learn more about it and ultimately implement it.
Be passionate, but don’t scare me. Sometimes you can want something so bad that your passion just turns into something frightening. Scale back a little, go for the goal, but don’t overwhelm the team. As teachers we wonder how you will be with students when that happens and not in a positive way.
Elaborate just enough. Know when to add details, such as your own personal examples and then say just enough. Since knowing when to speak and when not to is a huge teacher quality and something we correlate to your classroom performance, proving in the interview that you can master it is a huge benefit.
Even if you are brand new believe you have something to add to the team. Discuss how you will overcome your obstacles, how you will be a part of the team and then also what you can add. You must have learned something in your education, life, and student teaching – share it.
Don’t use buzz words if you cannot explain them. This is a common trap I think many of us make; we use lingo without fully understanding what it entails. Just don’t. Know your stuff, do your research, but also know your limitations.
Know how to integrate technology. And this is not because I love my technology, even though I do, but I have sat through too many answers where the “integration” piece is projecting images on a SmartBoard or using netbooks for research. That is not integration, that is merely using the tools given to you. I can guarantee that something like that will pop up in most interview questions, it is a sign of the times after all, so do your research and be inventive. Reach out and see what others do, ask other teachers how they would answer the question.

So there you have it, just a few more tips that will hopefully help others get a step closer to their dream job. Being a teacher is a passion, so be passionate about it, bring your personality, and let t your enthusiasm shine through. Know your materials, do your research, but for goodness sake, don’t scare me.

advice, assumptions, Dream, students

A Child Reveals His Ambition and I Snort

June 18, 2012 Pernille Ripp

Basketball (Photo credit: mvongrue)

“…Awe but Mrs. Ripp, I won’t need to know how to do this because I am going to be a famous basketball player…”

I hold back a snort. Really? A famous basketball player? In my head, the statistics of this ever coming true run through at lightning speed, I am about to say something, and then I stop. Who am I to squash a dream, even if in my eyes it is an unrealistic one?

So I take a different approach. “Did you know that even famous basketball players have to go to high school, have to learn, have to go to college?” The boy stares at me. “Did you know that this will directly lead into more math that we are going to do and I have a feeling you are going think it is really fun? Did you know that to be a true role model you shouldn’t just be great at basketball but you should also show the world just how smart you are?” The boy nods, still unsure of what I am saying, but I walk away, dreams still in place, not squashed by this teacher.

As a teacher, I used to be the biggest realist I knew. I was quick to tell students what they could or could not do, the odds of something happening to them. I felt it was part of my job to set them up for “real life” with real expectations and real failure coming their way. Now I know better, there is no sense in destroying dreams, even if we know it may not happen. There is no sense in taking hope away from children. What we can do, though, is to show them everything else that is important; how an education fits into their dreams. How an education may be the ticket to get them where they need to be. Hoa an education is not a waste of their time, so don’t make it a waste of their time. Make it something they want to have, make school a place they want to go to. A lofty goal perhaps, but a necessary one.