being a teacher, new teacher

The Things I Said – Cringeworthy Statements From a New Teacher

Pernille Ripp

This summer the memories of my first year of teaching comes floating back and more specifically the insane things you would have heard me say.  So had you been a fly on my wall, here are some of most cringe-worthy….

Put your name on the board!

One more check mark and we are calling your parents.

You will have to stay in for recess since you did not return your test.

I am sorry your mother did not sign it, you will lose a recess and bring it back tomorrow.

I do not think he deserves to be in the talent show since he does not do his homework.

What do you mean you didn’t have time?  It was homework!

Sit in your chair and listen.

Wake up!

Put that chair down.  Put that table down.  DO NOT SLAM MY DOOR!

Stop sharpening that pencil.

Don’t you have your own school supplies?

Do you see these zeroes?  That means you are failing 4th grade.

I am doing this for your own good.

The goal?  Well for you to do this assignment.

Ah yes, the plight of a first year teacher.  I barely recognize myself in them and yet I know who that person was because if I didn’t then I wouldn’t know who this teacher is today.  We all have our journeys as teachers, mine took me far away from this, and for that I am thankful.  Where does your journey lead you?

being a teacher

Hey It’s Ok!

Pernille Ripp

Hey it’s ok!
…to smile widely on the first day of school

…to spend your summer vacation getting excited about the upcoming school year

…for your brain to keep thinking about teacher stuff even when it shouldn’t

…to sing, dance, and goof off with your students

…to make mistakes and discuss them

…to think students need to have a voice in education and give it to them

…to not be worried about grades but rather about learning

…to not have rules posted

…to be the techy teacher and still not know how a computer works really

…to think teaching is the best job, even if it is grossly underpaid and underrated

…to love your life even when it is not working out the way you thought it would

What else is ok?

Thanks Glamour for the inspiration

being me, connections

Too Much of a Good Thing – I Am Over-Connected

Pernille Ripp

I am over-connected.  This weekend I added Google + to my ever expanding social media use and I can tell that it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.  While I absolutely love the concept of it, I just cannot connect this much.  I cannot share my life and thoughts in 3 different places and have a normal life.  I now feel obligated to be witty and helpful on Twitter, sarcastic and joyous on Facebook, and smart and non-repetitive on Google+.  This introvert just cannot muster all of that.  Alas, it is not the mediums fault.  I love social media; social media, particularly Twitter has absolutely changed my life for the better.  I wish I could blame the products but I cannot, I can only blame myself.

In a typical day I wake up and check all of my networks right away.  Being the creator of the Global Read Aloud means I have quite a few emails to answer as we gear up for the next attempt in September.  Some get answered right away, others before I go to bed.  Then on to Twitter to thank for rt’s and mentions, and say something smart and pass something on.  There are always people to speak to and things to read.  Facebook allows me to see where my friends are at, how my brother in Afghanistan is doing (he is ready to come home) and put something about Thea on there.  Now onto Google +; who has added me, what have people shared that I haven’t already seen and do I have anything to share.  This is an hour of work at least.  Throughout the day I continue my quest to connect.  I check in with them all to see what have happened.  I have a smartphone so that I can stay connected while at the park with my daughter or even while stopped at a light.  My poor husband communicates more with me through instant messaging than in real life sometimes.  I blog as well, which I would never give up, and yet that takes time away too.  As we speak my daughter is sitting next to me waiting for me to finish.

It is taking a toll on me.  Life is becoming about connections with people that I have yet to meet, and even though I would love to meet everyone that I have connected with, I have to start facing the connections I already have here in Madison.  If I devoted at least one hour to connect with my colleagues on a day-to-day basis, can you imagine what we could accomplish?  We tend to push the face-to-face connections aside because they take more time, and then we say we do not have the time to pursue them.  Well, we do, because we choose to invest the time somewhere else, so I am re-evaluating my time spent connecting for the upcoming year.

Now I am not one to be extreme, I don’t plan on unplugging or going connection free but I am aware of it.  I am aware of the choices that I make about the time that I spend on my computer every day.  I am aware now of what is worth it and what does not pay off in the end.  And that is what is important here.  We have to find the balance and not let the people in our lives suffer because of our choices.  There is such a thing as being over-connected, let’s face it, and let’s own it.  I am grateful that my husband has not complained of me being so into it all, yet, however, I wouldn’t blame him if he did.  I wouldn’t want to be married to me when I am in work mode (which I am most of the time).  Beth Still wrote a great post on what being so connected does to our relationships and she is right, they do harm and it is something to be taken serious.  We have to rebalance and refocus on making strong connections globally but also locally.

education reform

My School – A Dream to Work With

Pernille Ripp

We all talk about “If I was in charge…” or “If I could decide…” then this is what school would be like.  Well, here are my ideas, unfinished, a lot of wishful thinking and yet powerful in their simplicity.

My school would have less walls, more carpets for laying down and many nooks and crannies for self-reflection.

My school would have less bells, more time to explore and not so set schedules of when one class ends and another begins.

It would have farmers connected to teach students about food and to celebrate where food comes from and teachers would be given the time to collaborate and even teach each other’s classes because they are all our children.

My school would have windows that could be opened and fields that beckoned for exploration.  There would be desks of course, but also stand up tables, shelves, couches and beanbags for students to choose from.

Curriculum dreams would come true meaning standards would be followed but not shoved down our throats and we would have enough time to update our learning quests.

Questions would be posed from the students and then time given to find the answers.

Engagement would be evident, as would loudness and excitement.  And that is just talking about the teachers not to mention the students.

There would be real accountability, urgency, and a shared goal for progress.  Results would be discussed and reflected upon, not just noted and scored.
Collaboration between grades and level would be expected as would the sharing of resources.

Students would be heard as equals and parents would be brought in to discuss change and direction and actually be listened to.

There would be no grades, just progress and feedback.  No homework other than meaningful projects and punishment would not be integrated either.  We would have to to build community and discuss behavior.

My school would be for all students and students with special needs would be given the resources they need.  Teachers who work with them would be given the time to do so right.

Technology would be used to connect with the world and strengthen students voices, but books would also have a home as would pen and paper.  There is no need for either or at my school.

We would be flexible but firm and have a clear vision.  A vision that we all created together and that never became stagnant.

My school would be a place where everyone knew they could learn, where no one was just passed through the system, where students actually were listened to as were teachers.

My school may only exist in my imagination, but many ideas I can implement into my classroom already.  I cannot wait.

education reform, Student-centered

Ask the Children

Pernille Ripp

There are many experts in education.  Government that seems to know best, education secretaries that certainly have the solution, districts that mandate, standards to be followed, and teachers that always know best.  Yet in many conversations surrounding education we seem to leave someone important out; the students.  No one seems to be bothered to ask what they think of the state of the American educational system.  No one seems to care how they feel about Race to the Top, college tuition, or even day-to-day curriculum.  No one seems to care because we do education to them.  

Students are not seen as the experts that they truly are.  Students are not included in the debates, in the decision making and yet all of our decisions impact them the greatest.   This year, I ran my classroom with one word in mind: ours!  This classroom does not belong to me, I am not there to “do” anything, I am there to educate along with my students.  And believe me, they want to be heard.  When I provided them with the opportunity to speak either through conversation or blogging, it was like a floodgate had been opened.  These 4th graders already knew how they learned best, they knew how to be the best students they could possible be, except no one had ever asked them.

We claim to be experts yet forget to ask those we are experts on.  How can this failed social experiment continue to function?  How can we do education to all of these children without ever asking them how they feel about it.  Ask the children!  Hear their voice and then change!  It changed my life when I let my students speak, don’t continue to support the silence.