being a teacher, community, school staff

I am Nothing Special – Why Are Teachers Afraid to Share their Successes?

Pernille Ripp
Even in the staunchest of schools, teachers celebrate their students.  Whether it is through formal rewards, which I am not a fan of, or informal recognition, which is more my style.  We celebrate achievements, goals, and recognize our students for the incredible minds, people, and human beings they are.  Teacher brag about their students in the lounge, and to their families.  We are quick to share the funny things they and highlight the amazing ideas they concoct.  We blog, we film, and we sing their praises to those that will listen because we think they deserve it.

So why is it that within teaching, if a fellow teacher or a teaching team receives recognition we have a harder time celebrating it?  Why is it that we often see other’s achievements as a knockdown to our own abilities?  Why is the competition so fierce among teachers to be the one recognized that we cannot celebrate the successes we all have?

I work in a school with incredibly talented people, who have amazing successes every day.  You walk through our hallways and you will see the excitement in classrooms, you will see innovation wherever you go and teachers striving to do everything possible to reach each and every child.  I have often written about the incredible people I work with.  And I wish we celebrated it.  I wish people were recognized just as much as we recognize our students.

So administrators and fellow teachers; what do you do in your building to celebrate everyone, and not by handing out awards?  How do you recognize the achievements of all of your staff?  Where do you start your celebrations?  It is time we stand together and and decide that one person’s success is a whole school’s success and that we are only as strong as our team.  Educators should not be afraid to share the great things they do, they should be yelling them from the rooftops.

Student-centered, testing

How Often?

Pernille Ripp
In the time of rush, rush, rush, we often forget that the kids need time to breathe.  As we spectacularly plan our days to make sure we cover every single last bit of information, we often forget to ask whether the kids are with us or not.  So when it comes to learning goals we expect the kids to all know on our set day for checking, except they don’t, and then we wonder how we failed.

Yet kids learn at different paces, and often one child may be ready while the other is ready the following week.  How often do we take the time to spiral back and double-check whether something is secure later?  After the test?  After the project is handed in?

How often do we ask that child whether they actually know it now, or even knew it then and just couldn’t find the words?

blogging, kidblog, letter, student blogging, students

Student Blogging Resources to Get You Started

Pernille Ripp
I love that I get asked a lot about student blogging because it is something I am passionate about.  I often find myself sharing various posts, letters, and lessons that I have created, which means I have to find them first.  So to make my life easier, and perhaps even yours, here are my best resources on the why, the how, and the do on student blogging.

I am sure I forgot something, so if I did, please let me know.  I hope this is useful to you.

being a teacher, power, students

Know Your Place

Pernille Ripp
I once was told to know my place.  And much like our students are asked to conform, fall in line, sit down and be quiet so we can fill these empty vessels with our knowledge, I was so hurt that it took months to recover. Funny now really, because I do know my place.

Sometimes it is that of an expert, most of the time it is of one who soaks up knowledge from the incredible people I learn with.  My place is in a team that is not afraid to speak its mind but does it with kindness and honesty.  My place is among the students because it is created by the students, for the students, and about the students.  My place is where dreamers dream and believers continue to believe.  It is one of positivity, humility, and passion.  Change, vigor, and failure.  My place is ever evolving, sometimes it goes in a straight line and other times it spirals back.  I would not want to change the way my place shapes me.

So when someone tells you to know your place, tell them that you do.  It is wherever we can teach and learn the best.  Wherever our dreams take us and wherever our imaginations go.  I know my place; do you know yours?

twitter

Um So Like OK – Twitter Can Be Kinda Like High School But Then Not Really

Pernille Ripp
I’ll admit it, when I first joined Twitter as an educator, meaning to connect with other teachers and not stalk celebrities, I was terrified.  Thoughts of “Will they like me?” “Will they be  my friend” “Will they ask me to join the conversation?” haunted my days as I tried to maneuver through the Twitter world.  People just seemed to know each other, to have inside jokes, and ongoing conversations that just seemed, well, closed to people like me.

Flash back to the one year I did in an American high school, super geeky awkward me trying desperately to fit in with all the cool kids hoping that being foreign would at least give me some street cred.  Yeah not so much when you look like a boy with a penchant for hawaiian shirts and bowl cuts.  Fast forward to joining Twitter and terrible clichés of standing in the lunch room holding my tray hoping someone would take pity over me and you can see where I am going with this blog post.

Except, I am not.  Twitter isn’t like high school but it certainly would be convenient if it were.  If this were high school I could whine about people not talking to me or being unpopular because in high school it did really seem like it was out my control.  But on Twitter, not so much.

You see Twitter is what you make it.  If you want to join a conversation, jump in.  No one has to invite you, no one has to scoot over to make room for you, just start tweeting.    If you want to join a group, ask to join, no more initiation or introductions needed from a cool kid.  And if you can’t find a group that fits you; start your own.

Twitter doesn’t care if you are having a bad hair day, which I happen to have a lot of.  Twitter doesn’t care if you have stains all over your shirt from your 2 year old daughter giving you hugs.  Twitter doesn’t care who you are friends with or all the geeky obsessions you may have.  Twitter doesn’t care.  And neither do the people you connect with, except perhaps in a good way.

So from this awkward ex teen to the next, don’t be fooled into thinking that Twitter is like high school.  That is just too easy to say.  Instead jump in, sit down to someone and start a conversation and be patient.  We are all just trying to help each other out.