As promised my students created their own vision of our classroom journey. I loved to see how many of them shared ideas and also how they worked together as a team. I can’t tell you how many times the word “family” was used when they discussed their vision.
Pass the Blame
In the education debate surrounding us a lot of blame gets passed around. Employers blame colleges for not teaching students workable skills. Colleges blame high schools for not preparing the students. High school blames middle school for not setting them up to be hard workers. Middle schools blame elementary for not setting the foundation right. And elementary, they blame the parents for not being engaged or involved, for not setting high enough standards.
It is time we stop the blame game. The time and energy consumed by it could be used to fix and change the system rather than just complain about it. Our world will never be perfect and neither will our classrooms. So let’s use that time, energy, and emotion put into playing the blame game and do something about it instead.
If you need someone to blame, blame me, I can take it. And then move on and focus on what is most important factor here; the kids.
Technology Does Not Make the Classroom Succesful- the Teacher Does
It appears that technology is sweeping the nation as the answer to the “broken” education system in America. Everywhere you turn school districts are touting their Interactive Whiteboards, their iPads, their one to one systems and anything else tech related. Since I am techie myself, most people assume that I think this is a good thing. Well, you’re wrong.
I love technology and more specifically integrating it into my curriculum. So my students blog to create writing portfolios, learn how to write for a specific audience, and document their learning. We also journal every day in a notebook using that great tool; pencils. My students create wordle’s on our computers to watch for main ideas or overused words. We videotape science experiments so we can post them for parents to ask us questions. We use computers to do our research. We participate in the Global Read Aloud so that we can share a book with classrooms around the world. We project videos that boost our understanding, and yes, we even have a SmartBoard. But the thing is, this doesn’t mean anything if I don’t know how to properly use the technology and then pass that on to your students.
You can stick a SmartBoard on any classroom teacher’s wall and then claim that they are 21st century. Well, guess what? They are not. Unless they know how to use the tools provided all you are doing is dressing up a dog and passing it as a circus horse. The race to be more 21st century seems to be clouding the judgment of districts everywhere. It is not about the tools, it is about the teachers. So yes, some technology is phenomenal and does help student learning, but all tech is not created equally. So it shouldn’t be judged equally.
So when test scores don’t rise even though a district is heavily tech integrated, people tend to blame the technology. “See it isn’t working.” And yet, the technology shouldn’t have been part of that equation really. I don’t care how many computers you stick in a room, if a teacher is not facilitating them properly, or the wireless is awful, or they are outdated etc then they wont make a lick of difference. The teacher is what will raise test scores, that is if we ever have enough time to actually teach in between all of the tests we have to give.
The truth is there is no simple answer to create a successful classroom. You need to have a teacher that is invested, students who know that their teachers care about them and that they are in a safe environment. You need administrators that actually trust their staff and engage them in discussion. You need parents that are invested in the classroom as well. And yes, computers make my classroom work better and I would say that classroom computers are a must-do investment. But everything else? It’s nice, but not absolutely necessary. So perhaps we should be investing in teachers, raise their salaries so they don’t have to work 2 jobs. Stop cutting their benefits so they don’t have to look for a new job. Rather than investing hundreds of thousands of dollars into technology that may or may not get used.
Students Share Why the Internet is Like the Mall
My students decided to share thier conversation on why they feel the internet is like the mall and how we can set safety rules to follow:
At the mall,
At the mall,
- We don’t talk to strangers because we don’t know them.
- Don’t go to random places because you don’t know what will happen there, it may be inappropriate, a virus, or dangerous.
- Don’t follow strangers even if they promise you candy. This means don’t click on pop up links.
- Don’t agree to meet strangers outside of the mall.
- Go where you are supposed to go.
- Don’t be fooled by how nice something looks.
- If you end up somewhere you shouldn’t, just leave. On the internet close out the window or hit the back button.Check out where you are going before you go there and make sure your teacher/parent approves.
- Don’t give out personal information, first name only and no address.
- Ask for permission before you go somewhere new.
- Don’t believe someone is a friend of a friend.
- Don’t share your password.
We hope that this helps you have the same conversation with your students.
My Secret To Success
I get asked quite often what my secret is. How I get them to listen. How I get them to behave. How I get them to like school, to blog, to share, to work hard. People ask me what ido that is s different, what is it that promise these kids so that they work so hard.
I guess it is time for me to share the truth; there is no secret. I don’t have a trick. (And it is not because I get the special class list with all the nice kids, although I happen to think all of my kids are nice.). But I believe in those kids. I believe in their desire to learn, in their ability to learn, and in the adventure of learning itself.
I believe it is their time to be in the spotlight, their time to talk, their time to discover. I believe it is my time for quiet, for planning, for guidance. My time to be excited with them, to be a little goofy, and to be sincere. It is not my time to fill these empty vessels because they are far from empty when they come to my room. They are not clay to be molded or slates to be written. They are children with dreams, ideas, and so much desire to explore that I have to step out of their way at times and just watch and learn.
So there is no secret, far from it indeed, what I do anyone else can do. The question is just whether they want to or not.
So What Do You Do on the First Day of School?
Friday it happened. That wonderful, magical, nightmare inducing first day with the kids. It went fast, in fact, besides the occasional hunger pang from not having lunch until 12:30, I didn’t notice the passing of the day much. Just a blur and then done.
So what does a teacher do on their first day? We laughed a lot. We also spoke a lot. I led some discussions but the kids did most of the talking, sharing, and deciding. We discussed rules but not in a traditional sense with me setting them, rather we discussed what they already knew. What types of rules are helpful for a classroom? Why do teachers set rules? Do we need them posted or do we know them by heart? In fact, I wrote a whole post on the rules discussion we missed.
But we also worked on clerical stuff like lunch magnets, popsicle sticks, pencil cup name tags and where in the world do you put your lunch box. The kids asked questions, dispelled myths about their teacher – for some reason they say I am fun and I don’t know where they have that from. They also tried to figure out what the 10 pictures below meant to their teacher. They all thought I liked to collect china and liked to kick rocks.
And then we connected, we opened up and we just came together. I shared how nervous I get before the first day of school. I shared how excited I was and how I couldn’t wait to learn with them. I shared how we have one word that shows us as a class and that word is represent. We live up to that word in whatever we do.
I challenged them in the Bloxes challenge, which if you haven’t tried this with your students, you should. We spent time with the other 5th grade classrooms because we believe that we are on this grade level and that all of the kids are our kids. And then the end of the day. How to dismiss, how to remember everything, and already sad to say goodbye. These kids snuck into my heart faster than I had thought possible and I am thankful for them. I get to be a part of their life this year; what a gift. One student said it best at the end of the day as I waved goodbye, “Thank you.” And I wanted to say, “No, thank you.”
Pernille Ripp 