being me, blogging

Don’t Tell Me You Read My Blog

Pernille Ripp

Today I was flustered.  Absolutely gobsmacked, probably would have turned bright red and almost tripped over a chair flustered.  My retiring principal was giving a building tour to a principal candidate and stopped by my room.  The candidate then told me that he reads my blog and had also seen my students’ webinar.  For some reason this stooped me in my teaching tracks.  The blogger Pernille would have had all sorts of scrupulous questions to ask about the candidate’s viewpoint of technology integration, global connections and student-centered learning.  The real Pernille didn’t know what to say other than, “Welcome, this is our room and these are my kids” and then pretty much went on her way.  Yikes.

The thing is, when I blog, I don’t really think anyone reads it, and yes I know how stupid that sounds, but perhaps if someone reads it they are really far away and I will never meet them.  It is much easier to imagine no audience or one very far away such as in Antarctica or somewhere else remote.  Somewhere where our paths will never cross.  Of course, this is stupid of me to think as I can see where people visit my blog from, but still, to meet a “reader” face to face left me believing that I am very much an introvert.  and definitely not as cool as the person who blogs here.

And yet, something I do take pride in is that I know that whatever that candidate has read on my blog, it is how I feel, it is how our classroom is, it is how I am as a teacher.  The qualities of utmost important to me on my blog are transparency, honesty, and realness.  There are things that are magical in my classroom but there are also many that are works in progress or that blow up in my face spectacularly.  There are days where we are in a groove and others where I feel like I am lecturing to a door.  Days where I feel I made a difference and days where I feel I had a negative impact on a child.  But I blog no matter what, I blog whether it makes me look good or not.  I put it out there for others to nod their heads and think they are not alone.  There is a filter but only when it serves a purpose otherwise I do really put it all out there.  

So if you ever happen to walk by my room, come on in, introduce yourself and feel me out.  Let me know you are in the neighborhood and really curious.  Let me know that my students sounded loud and engaged and you thought you would check it out.  But whatever you do, leave the blog out of it for now, don’t tell me yet so I can let my guard down, let us settle into a conversation, feel each other out and learn a little bit.  leave the blog out so I can share some of my secrets not thinking you already know them.

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classroom expectations, classroom management

I Have Managed

Pernille Ripp
Image from here

This year, I have managed

  • To go without rewards and still have students work hard
  • To go without punishment and still be respected by my students
  • To shift the focus from “what’s my grade?” to “what are we trying to learn?”
  • To have 23 responsible students that are learning to self-advocate
  • To not teach to the test, in fact, we really don’t do tests but show our knowledge in a  different way
  • To teach study skills without boring students to tears
  • To share responsibility for the room
  • To have hands-on learning and still cover all of the standards
  • To see growth in all of my students and even better to have them recognize it themselves
  • To have students groan at the end of the day because they don’t want to stop their work
  • To have students discuss without raising their hand
  • To not manage my students but have a classroom where we each know our part and responsibility
  • To expand my family by 23 students and change

What have you managed?  How can I help?

being a teacher, thank

Have You Told Them Thanks Yet?

Pernille Ripp
Image from here 

Today with 15 minutes left before the end of the day, as my students were packing their things, writing in their assignment notebook, I cleared my throat and told them I would like to make an announcement.  With 23 sets of eyes on me, all waiting for something cool to come out of my mouth, I stammered, “I would like to tell you something…”  Silence.  I kept going, “Every day, I tell my husband when he asks about my day about you.  Every day I tell my husband how I have the nicest kids, the kids that make me so proud.  I share the funny stories, the things you accomplish and the community we share.  Every day I tell him that.  But I don’t tell you and I should.  So thank you for being that class that I can tell people about.  Thank you for being that class where I can step out of the room for a moment and know that you continue to work without me there.  For helping each other, for staying engaged and focused and for thinking school is not boring.”    And then I stopped because I got emotional as pregnant women tend to do.  And the kids smiled and I told them it was time to go and so they did.

Have you taken the time to tell your students how they make you feel?

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being me, parents, teachers

Your Child’s Teacher; Who Cares What Parents Think?

Pernille Ripp
Image from here

Yesterday I fired my OB.  The uneasy feeling every time I saw him could not be dismissed and I figured now was better than later.  His lack of concern for my well-being, his nonchalant attitude about having twins, his lack of communication all led to this decision and after I made it, I was relieved.  Sure I have to start with a brand-new OB at 16 weeks, but I think it is worth it.  So why do I share this bit of info?  Because I couldn’t stop thinking about how much it had to do with the role a teacher plays in a child’s life.  In fact, a child’s teacher is one of the only things we have absolutely no say in as parents, one of the only areas in our life we are left without a voice.

In America, a child is assigned a classroom teacher at the elementary level and that teacher is the biggest educational influence that year.  Parents have usually no say in who that teacher is and have to place their faith in the hands of the previous grade level teachers and the principal.  Sure they can ask for a placement but I wonder how many principals actually honor it?  Now don’t get me wrong, I can understand why every single parent doesn’t get to pick their teacher -talk about a popularity contest – but still, shouldn’t there be room for some sort of input?  After all, that teacher can make or break the future of this child’s education and ultimate fulfillment in life.

Most of the time the placement of the child works seamlessly and there are no parent complaints, but sometimes it fails.  Sometimes the teacher’s style of teaching, of communicating, of caring for that child flies in the face of what the parent believes in and that uneasy feeling crops up.  Sometimes a principal is involved, sometimes, the parent just sucks it up and hopes for a better one next year.  But is this right?  Should parents have to wait a whole year to get to a new teacher?  Shouldn’t they be able to have a say in what type of teacher their child gets at the very least?  The type of nurturer and mind-shaper they think will benefit their child.

I think one of our downfalls in our schools is that we think we are the only child-experts.  That because we have taught for  amount of years we know what is best for children even if a parent doesn’t agree.  I think that needs to change.  We need to allow parent input in placement, ask them about communication style, about homework and classroom management, ask them what type of environment their child will flourish in and then place that child accordingly.  Don’t make it about the teacher; make it about the child and allow for choice in this sacred cow of the American school system.  I fired my OB, why can’t parents at least decide who gets hired for their child?

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being a teacher, classroom management, Student-centered

Surprise; The Biggest Obstacle in The Classroom Isn’t Your Students

Pernille Ripp
Image from here 

Nor is it what happens to them outside of the classroom… it is you.  Perhaps a simplistic view of the world but think about it for a moment; how much does our mood affect the moods of our students?  How much does our body movement, our choice of words and even our inflection affect those we are surrounded by?  And that doesn’t even mention the choices we make as far as how the classroom is run and what type of curriculum we teach.  So while there are many outside factors that do play a significant role in how a student performs in school, the one consistent factor is you and how you choose to be with your students.

Every day you have control over:

  • The expression on your face
  • The tone of your voice
  • The words you use
  • Your body  language and its hidden signals
  • Who you give attention to
  • How you give attention
  • How do you get attention
  • How much control you cling to
  • The respect you give
  • How you speak to other people in front of your students
  • How disruptions and unexpected events are handled
  • How curriculum is taught
  • How much choice your students have
  • How you handle students who fail to meet expectations
  • How you handle students who are distracted
  • Anything that has to do with the flow of your classroom

And the list could continue.  Think about all those choices.  Think about the effect each one of them can possibly have on a student and then think of what you can change.  We do have a lot of power.

being a teacher

Yes It Is All About the Children But It Also Has To Be About the Teachers

Pernille Ripp
reddogreport.com

I agree that education is all about the children, after all, they are the ones we serve, both as individuals and as communities.  Those children we send into our educational system, whether it be public, private or home schooled are indeed what a great education is about.  But at some point we gave up our dignity as educators.  We got so infatuated with believing that it is all for the children that we forgot that we need decent work environments to sustain us.  That we need to be a little bit about ourselves as well.

The quickest retort to any educator who stands up and fights for change is “You are against the children.”  We are not allowed as teachers to ask for better pay, because some believe that the money will then be taken away from the students.  We are not allowed to ask for respect in a profession that gives little otherwise, because teachers are public servants funded by the tax payers and we should just be happy that we have a job.  We are not allowed to point out that we do work more than 8 to 3 every day and most of us do not get the summers off because that doesn’t fit with the box that society has created for us as lazy, indulgent, and taking an easy job.  But most of all, we are not allowed to say that yes, indeed, it is about the children, but it is also about the teachers.

As teachers we cannot be all about the children if we do not have work environments that support and nurture us.  Communities that rally around us.  Governments willing to pay us a better wage.  If we fight for change we must not be for the children, but instead selfish and demanding.  However, those children that we all serve, deserve to have teachers that don’t need to work an extra job on top of the 60 hours many of us put in.  Teachers that do not spend their own money on extra supplies because otherwise the students will suffer.  Teachers that are respected because they do make it all about the children.  So yes, I agree, education is all about the children but it also about those teachers that prop them up to be the leaders of tomorrow.