authentic learning, being a teacher, discussion, Student-centered

An Opportunity for Discussion

Pernille Ripp

Friday is Op.Ed. day in my room and I savor this chance to ask my students some of the questions I discuss with fellow teachers. Yesterday’s was “Should students have a say in what they have to learn about.” To see all of their answers, head over to our kidblog. After 15 minutes of writing I asked students to share and this is where the magic happened. Several students shared and then someone blurted out a question. Nervously, they glanced at me to see if I would stop or reprimand them. I kept quiet. Question was answered by another student, and a new one came. Again glances were shot my way; I remained quiet. Well, that really got them going.

For ten minutes I sat back and let my students discuss. The kids got out of their seats, used arm gestures to underscore points, and formed smaller clusters of talking groups. Their enthusiasm was contagious and a huge smile spread across my face. This is what we try to teach our students; how to discuss, how to form opinions, and how to respond properly in a conversation. I did not teach them this, I only gave them the opportunity to engage one another.

As a teacher, I have to equip my students with life skills and those include how to have a proper discussion. I stopped the class only because they went back into kid territory of getting upset with each other. This, though, was also a learning opportunity; how do you politely disagree? How do you carry on a large group discussion? My students quickly realized that one major rule was to not interrupt each other, something I have asked for all year. And yet now they got it. They figured out the why themselves and that will always be my favorite way for them to learn.

Sometimes it is not about what we teach but the opportunities we provide. The opportunities are what matter.

learning, students, technology, tools

The Tools We Use (and Those We Don’t)

Pernille Ripp

                    Photo courtesy of I Can Read

As I get ready to write my second set of report cards, I realize 2/3’s of the year has passed and I have some very technology savvy 4th graders.  And by savvy I mean critical, knowledgeable, and demanding tech users.  So what has stood the test of time in our classroom and what has died a silent death:

Some Favorites:

  • Kidblog – hands down the most useful tool we have integrated this year.  Through this blogging platform we have reached out to more than 20 countries around the world, have had an intimate view of the revolution in Egypt and created an ongoing writing portfolio.  I cannot believe something like this is free.
  • Animoto – a tool favored by my students to present video or still pictures as a way to give an inside view of our days and of our doings.
  • Flip Camera’s – Our fantastic PTO donated 8 new cameras to our school through the Digital Wish buy 1 get 1 fee program and we have one permanently on loan in our room.  Students have created grammar videos, learning snapshots and just documented really cool things.  
  • Glogster – some of my students have the glogster bug, begging to create projects using this medium, and one even created his own glog Christmas contest.  They have gotten more creative, and better at citing through this site.
  • Google Suite – well duh, most might say, but my students have become very savvy Google users, taking initiative to search for life cycle of the crayfish when our crayfish exhibited some peculiar behaviors, as well as creating Google maps of students they speak to, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.  
  • Skype – oh yes, we skype and as the year progresses we do it more and more often.  From a quick check in with my husband (just to see what he is doing, they say) to classrooms around the world, we are bringing the world into our room.  Interested in skyping with us – let me know!
  • Wordle – ahh, yes we love our word cloud generator.  This tool has been used from everything to research, overused words, to poems about parents.  This free tool is pretty amazing.
  • Twitter – while my students are not on Twitter, this social phenomenon colors much of our every day learning.  From finding out about World Math Day to the Global Read Aloud Project, what I gain from Twitter is invaluable.
And some that seemed fun and then not so much:
  • Edmodo – this very cool social interaction site took off like wild fire and then died out with my students.  At first, they loved speaking to each other through the site from home and then they simply got bored.  Now, I think our last update was 2 weeks ago.
  • VoiceThread – I know of many educators that successfully implement this in their curriculum, but in my classroom, it wasn’t wort  it.  Perhaps it was because we didn’t have a paid for account and so it was rather limited usage or perhaps I didn’t give it enough of a chance, whatever the case, it has been months since we used it.
  • Voki – yes I know there is a Voki for education as well, and while my students loved creating avatars of their friends, saving and uploading them was cumbersome and time consuming.
  • ToonDoo – again, I do not have an educator account for this, which means I cannot provide the safe environment that I need for my students, however, students did do a test run and while some loved it, most found it ineffective and that they could do the same work by hand much easier.
What am I missing out on?  What do you love in your classroom?  What did you give up on?  Share, share, share.
being a teacher, being me, inspiration, listen, students, thank

Those Things We Carry

Pernille Ripp
The shuffled movement, the slight look possibly from the left, a small gesture to be noticed. “Ummm, Mrs. Ripp can I have lunch with you?”. Oh shoot, there goes that extra prep, but yes, absolutely yes, let’s have lunch. Over food the words come tumbling like a bottle with it’s cork pulled. Didn’t even have to ask a question, they just spill out and out, away from this student, this trusting student that needs someone to carry the weight of the world with them. It is not new, not shocking, but every day life, every day fears, every day needs of wanting bigger, better, more. And yet here, it means the world.

We carry those words.

Another morning, a moment, a need for a hug and then a drawing shown. “Do you think I can make it, Mrs. Ripp?.” “Of course, you can, just dream and work toward it,” is what I say but what I think tells more. Work hard, little child, don’t believe those people who will try to steal your dream. Don’t believe those people that tell you you are not smart, that you will not amount to anything. Don’t listen when they make you angry, or when they make you cry. Dream, dream on, dream strong.

We carry those dreams.

At the end of the day, a mad rush, backpacks on, cubbies emptied, and one last “Thank you for coming.” I mean it too, thank you for being here, for sharing your day with me. For sticking with me when my voice got tired, or my explanation made no sense. For listening when I should have been quiet, for raising your hand patiently and waiting your turn even though you were really, really excited. Thank you for laughing, for thinking, for creating, and trying. Thank you for believing and caring, for trusting and loving, because that’s what it is; trust and love and hope and hard work, every single day.

They carry those teachers; us.

authentic learning, being a teacher, feedback, lessons learned, students

Hold Your Tongue – Why Feedback has to be Time Appropriate

Pernille Ripp
    Today, as we practiced writing our weekend webs, the students had to focus on writing a catchy first sentence.  It all ties in with our major writing goals of better word choice and yet was still met with groans and eye rolls.  “But that’s hard, Mrs. Ripp” was expressed repeatedly.  “Absolutely,” I said, “And that is why we have to practice it.”  
 
After the 15 minutes of writing were up, I had students share just their opening sentence with the rest of the class.  As we went through each sentence, I stayed quiet beside the occasional “Nice” that slipped out.  These sentences were not created equal by any means.  Some were catchy, exciting, inviting and others were just ho-hum.  In the past, I would have given my honest opinion at each sentence, and yet today I held my tongue.  Instead of sharing my opinion to each individual, I asked the students whether they heard a difference in sentence quality.  All of them agreed and some even ventured that there were certain stories they would love to read right away.  A discussion then broke out as to the purpose of that first sentence.  Was it to explain everything such as “This Saturday, I went to the carnival” or was it to entice the reader?  This discussion would not have happened had I greeted each sentence with a comment.  Instead, I would have had some deflated students, unsure of what their next step should be.
Public criticism disguised as feedback is always something I avoid.  Not because I feel students should not be aware of what their goals are, in fact, we discuss this quite often in my classroom, but rather the public part of it.  Of course, there are times when public discussion does happen such as addressing inappropriate behaviors, or when the whole class is trying to learn from each other in a more deliberate way.  Just stating though that student’s work isn’t their best, is simply not doing them any good.  In this instance, I would not have had time to properly discuss ways to change their sentence, and I knew that some students would figure out theirs was not as strong if they simply heard the other ones that were.  So I am learning to be quiet, to be more deliberate in my delivery of learning, and to sometimes forgo it all together.
Feedback is one of our strongest tools but can also be one of our more damaging ones if handled inappropriately.  While you can easily build a child up by publicly praising their work, one misplaced comment can undo months of confidence as a writer, reader or student.  This goes for disingenuous praise as well; children will see right through it if you don’t mean it.  So as I continue to grow alongside my students I try to keep it simple, earnest, and meaningful.  Saying “good job” might work at that specific moment in time but the students learn nothing from it.  Just as saying “That wasn’t a great sentence” delivers no learning opportunity, we must be willful and deliberate in our words.  How do you handle feedback in your classroom?  What are you stopping doing?  Am I the only one on this word choice journey?
being a teacher, Critical thinking, thinking

Are You Just Being Critical?

Pernille Ripp

As heated debate continues not just in my state of Wisconsin, but across the United States on whether unions are great or not, I find myself intensely affected by how the debate is performed. The debate it seems has not become so much about discussing ones points but rather how to viscously take a dig at ones opponent in order to belittle them. Even the governor takes part in this as he continues to criticize and demonize the 14 democratic senators that fled the state. I have been on the receiving end of this as well and have therefore limited my real life dicussions as well as my online ones. And yet, those actively participating in the belittling seem to genuinely think that their methods for discussion is spurring healthy critical thinking and debate rather than seeing it for what it is; simply being critical.

Being critical is much easier than being engaged in critical thinking. Rather than debate anyone using facts or statistics, one can just dismiss the opposing opponent as being a communist or a thug. Rather than educate oneself on the actual issues at hand, one can just repeat the rhetoric being presented by whichever side. Being critical simply saves time, brain power, and energy. Why debate when one can simply destroy?

It is time for critical thinking to be used again. Education and then disseminating the information is a method for moving forward in any situation, whether it be political or not. How are we supposed to build a stronger society when all we do is tear each other down? This applies in every aspect of my life. Think of the regular education discussion with colleagues; are we thinking critical thoughts or are we using critical thinking skills? There is a massive difference. Are we open to new ideas, or do we dismiss them immediately? If we shut ourselves out simply because we do not like the person who is delivering the message, or prior experiences we have had with something similar, then we are not being reformers.

It is time to put the thinking back in critical thinking.

being a teacher

What Does it Feel Like to be the Enemy?

Pernille Ripp
I have been asked by many to write about what it feels like to be a teacher in Wisconsin these last couple of weeks.  What it feels like to be a union thug, a protester, a deserter of our children, the enemy.  I have held off because it is overwhelming.  It is all consuming.  It is making me lose my appetite, lose sleep, and lose my belief in kindness.  And yet again, it has also restored my faith in collaboration, in fighting for your rights, in peacefulness and discussion.  So I guess, this is how it feels.

When the news first broke, I was shocked.  While I was not surprised that the next target would be teachers’ unions; after all, has anyone heard of “Waiting for Superman?” the swiftness and ferocity of these attacks left me dazed.  Nervous chatter in my school led to anger, tears and deep, deep concern.  Not just financially but also over what our classrooms will end up looking like once this “reform” is complete.  I started the year with 27 students in my room, it was a tight squeeze, with no union bargaining rights, I have no doubt what will happen to class sizes.

So I wrote about my fears and placed my private thoughts out because that is what I do.  The response was immediate.  Lovers and haters abounded and the dialogue continued.  I debated my point many times but once the attacks started  to get vicious, personal, and irrelevant, I started to delete comments.  I have never before deleted comments.  Yet I could not provide a forum for people with so much hate in their words, so much desire to see me fired or even better, harmed in some way.  Is this what America has become?

This debate has destroyed friendships, torn families apart (mine included) and caused so much grief.  One thing is paying more for your benefits, and yes this amounts to about a $5,000 pay-cut for me (look up starting teaching salaries and you can see what I earn) but it is so much more than that.  By removing our bargaining privileges, we are saying yes to larger class sizes, to longer school days, to less collaboration, to firing without just cause or even a grievance process.  We are removing protection for those teachers that dare to speak up for the sake of their students.  That dare to try different things and challenge the status quo.  We are removing community and communication.  I fear for my own situation, but I fear more for the education of all the children of Wisconsin.

So the hate continues, the lies swell up and I am reduced to nothing more than a bad teacher.  Someone that others will cheer for when I get fired, someone others will clap at when I cannot pay my bills.  People say that teachers have not felt the recession and that it is our turn to share the pain.  They say this without knowing us or our situations; I am the sole provider for my family, the recession caused that, so do not tell me that I do not know or share the pain of others in this state.  Do not tell me that it is my time to pay.  Do not tell me that I am a thug who does not care about the children.  Do not insult me as a teacher. Do not insult me as a human being.   I care deeply about the children I teach, that is why I chose to be a teacher.  And that is why I fight.  For the sake of my own child, for the sake of my students.  For the sake of all the children of Wisconsin.