new year

How To Make the New Year Easier – Year After Year

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
There are several things I do at the beginning of the year that saves me quite a bit of time during the year so I thought I would share.

  • Create skeleton sub plans.  These sub plans have all of our times and subjects on them as well as any pertinent information.  That way when I need a sub in the room all I do is plug in the specific information and presto – sub plans are done.  Here is an example.  These also come in handy in case you wake up super sick, which I have tried, at least you can email this to the school secretary.
  • Write a Dear Substitute Letter.  I have students with special needs in my room as well as kids that need extra care.  At the beginning of the year I write a brief letter to my subs explaining a little bit about my kids and their needs, without breaking confidentiality of  ourse, then I have it to give to each new sub.  Here is an example letter.
  • Lessonplanner.  I do not buy a lesson plan book because I end up spending a ton of time writing everything in it.  Instead I have tables set up and I make my own.  Every year I just have to tweak the times and change the subjects around, voila, my very own neat lesson planner.  As the year progresses I will also type in when some kids get pulled out, band lessons, etc.
  • Set up a parent email group.  I use this parent group all of the time and never have to worry about not including all of my parents.
  • Use Numbers instead of Names (on the boring stuff).  My students are all assigned numbers for things like their take home envelopes, their book boxes, and files that keep on them.  That way I don’t have to print out new name stickers year after year, they simply get a number assigned to this more boring stuff.
There are many more tips but these are the ones I always get done right away.  Happy year to you.
trust

Try It

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
I can’t…But then…What if…I don’t think….This won’t….All words used by educators as we try new things.  What if we just gave it a shot?

What if, instead of coming up with reasons of how it might fail, get messy, not work – we just tried it?

Then our words would actually speak the truth and not just our assumption.

being me

Passion for Fashion – My Secret Blog is Revealed

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Recently, in a “More than 140” interview my friend Matt made me reveal a little secret, something that those who know me face to face could have told you but that I rarely discuss in an education sense because it seems to not relate; I am obsessed with fashion.  And by obsessed I do mean a little unhealthy, a little obsessive, and a little time consuming.  And yet, it is a huge part of me.  So I figured I would come out with my secret; I have a fashion blog with outfit inspiration based on my own wardrobe.  No, don’t laugh at me here, it all is connected to being a teacher.

I think teachers have been placed in a box by the fashion industry of the world, or at least in America.  For some reason we don’t get featured very often as being fashionable or even well dressed and yet many teachers are.  But there are days when I get in a slump, or when the alarm goes off late, or when I am just not in the mood to figure anything out, so I started a blog to remind me of what to wear.  Now some of these outfits are not suited for school, but some of them are.  I try to keep things cheap because let’s face it I am on a very measly salary, and also fashion forward.  So here is my big reveal, my fashion blog, poor og rich.  Please don’t laugh at me.

www.poorogrich.posterous.com

being a teacher, power, word choice

A Lesson from "Awakened"

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Words.  Big, small, meaningful, meaningless, words.  Everywhere we go words bring power, attention, and direction and yet they are just words.  Words by themselves are powerless.  Words are just letters jumbled together in a recognizable pattern and yet words hurt, words incite, words sadden and uplift.  Words make us feel loved, respected, listened to.  Words make us doubt ourselves, as teachers, as human beings.  Words are power.

We give that power to words.  Angela Watson reminded me of that.  Words by themselves cannot hurt us, we allow them to.  We open up the possibility for anyone to criticize because of the strength we give their words.  If you remove the power from the words you will see that they are nothing without it.

Reclaim your words.

PS: If you want to experience this book for yourself, here’s your chance!

Giveaway

Giveaway: "Awakened – Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching"

Pernille Schmidt Ripp

I am very excited to host my first ever giveaway!  Angela Watson, who’s mindset is an inspiration to me, was kind enough to send me a copy of her new book “Awakened – Change Your mindset to Transform Your Teaching” to read.  I loved the book and its message of positivity and the choices we make in our minds so I knew I wanted to pass it on, so rather than just my local PLN benefitting, I thought “Why not pass it on to you guys?”

This book is a great read if you feel you have hit a slump in your mindset or even if you are on path to more positivity, Angela does a great job relating her own story and the realizations she made and then helping you transform your mindset as well.  I particularly enjoyed her small steps to overcoming negative self-doubt and how to take control of your feelings.  Another thing I enjoyed was how many of the situations I could relate to even though I am an optimist myself, there are still those moments where we get sucked in and carried down a path of doubt, low self-esteem and negativity.  Angela does not present her book as a surefire quick method but more of a journey with highs and lows along the way.  Her stories were relatable on so many level and the book was easy to read.  (One note: Angela does speak of her religious breakthrough and I am not religious but still believed in her message of taking control of oneself.  So you do not have to be religious to appreciate this book.)

The giveaway is easy; leave a comment (with your email or some way to contact you) giving me either your own mantra for positivity, a story, or a reason for why I should send the book to you.  I will end the giveaway on Sunday and then alert the lucky winner.   I am happy to share this fantastic book with other readers.

being a teacher, new year, promises

A Promise or Two for the New Year

Pernille Schmidt Ripp
Every year, I make promises to myself of what the year ahead will look like.  Every year I promise to take better care of myself as I get all consumed by the lives of my students.  I promise to get more sleep, eat healthier, stress less, worry less, and smile, smile smile.

What I do has a profound effect on the students I teach and this year I get to teach the lives of more than 70 students since my teammates and I will be switching the kids up for math and reading.  I know that what I choose to do with myself will be translated into action in the classroom.  So kids, I promise to be there.  I promise to smile and laugh because I just can’t help it.  I promise to be fair.

I promise to take the time to listen to you and not jump to conclusions.  I promise to make you feel safe and welcome.  I promise to not punish and still reward you with time and togetherness when it fits.  To let you speak and not be the sage on the stage.  I promise to learn with you, from you, and not just to you.

I promise to change my mind when it makes sense and to admit when I am wrong.  To get my sleep so that I am not crabby and to feel good about myself.  I promise to care about you and your life outside of school, taking an interest and remembering what you tell me.  I promise to keep learning at school as much as possible because you deserve time off as well.

I promise to give you my time, fully and undivided, and I promise to treat you like my children, because that is what you are 8 hours of the day – mine.  I promise to treat you with respect and dignity and not dismiss you as just another id.  Your voice matters as does your opinion and every year you get wiser.

I make these promises today but know they may be changed, however, my devotion to my job and to my kids will not.  I have the best job in the world and no one can take that from me.  I promise to make this year the best one yet.