Be the change, grades, reflection

Rulebreaker

Pernille Ripp
I wasn’t born a rule breaker. In my hometown of Bjerringbro, Denmark, population 7,390, I did not strive to be a rebel without a cause.  In fact I was your average tomboy, a middle of the roader, a child deemed living below their potential.  I followed the rules set forth because that is what I was told to do.  Not specifically by people, but as a child, you just know what the rules are and what the expectations were.  Of course, there were small rebellions such as coming home just a few minutes late, or perhaps “forgetting” to do my spelling words (I knew them already so why did I have to write them out 5 times?).  So my childhood was not an adventurous one and my adult life seemed to be kind of middle of the road as well.  That is until I met my husband, Brandon.

Oh, the tales of love can inspire excitement or convulsions in people.  Mine usually gets giggles and aw shucks.  You see it was the classic tale of bartender meets bouncer and the rest they say is history.  And yet something fundamentally changed for me when I met Brandon. He asked me what I planned to do with my life, and although many had asked that same question before, including my dear mother, with him, I really wanted to impress.  I became a teacher, knowing I wanted to reach children, change them, inspire them, listen to them.  And yet, I followed the rules.  Good teachers graded.  Good teachers rewarded.  Good teachers told students that if their homework was not done then there would be consequences.  

In my gut, I knew something was wrong and yet these were the rules and by signing up to teach, I had signed up for the rules.  Never did I stop to question those rules, why should I?  They obviously worked, until they didn’t.  Last year, my class was a mixed bag of emotions.  Various big personalities that needed a lot of love and a lot of patience at times.  I learned more in that year of what type of a person I am, than I think I could have in any other profession.  I started the year the same way, detailing how to get an A.  How to earn a class party, how to get on the awesome board.  Basically, how to be the best student they could possibly be.  Or did I?  Really all I did was tell them the rules and then tell the punishment there would be for breaking those rules.  How is that for inspiring the youth of America?


So this summer, after having accepted the fantastic challenge of a combination classroom and joining Twitter searching for others, searching like me, I came upon a tweet from Jeremy (@MrMacnology) to Joe (@Joe_Bower).  I stopped because I was surprised.  They tweeted about perhaps not grading, perhaps not rewarding, perhaps breaking the rules.  I lurked on their conversations, wondering if they would not mind another person asking questions.  Finally I held my breath and wrote to Jeremy asking if I could ask him questions.  We have collaborated since on a regular basis and I am proud of knowing him.

Grading degrades.  It tells a student that no matter how hard they worked, if it does not fit into our rubric, our vision, our plan for them, then they may not get the success they so hoped for.  Grades tell students that even though their parents are violently fighting and they can’t do their homework because they are scared, they lose 10% off their grade and get a zero if I don’t get it in a week.  Grades tell students that even though they devour books, when they leave the title and author off on a book report, they must not be A+ readers.  Grading tells students that have way too much responsibility at the young age of 10, that I don’t care that they had to watch their 4 younger brothers and sisters instead of doing their homework.


We know this as educators.  We see the defeat in students’ eyes when they get that grade they did not hope for.  We see it in parent/teacher conferences when parents’ zero in on the bad grades rather than all the plusses we so meticulously planted on the report card.  You cannot blame the parents; after all, they were part of this system too.  We all are.  Well, I am not anymore.  Or at least I strive to break the rules on this one.  I strive to follow my instinct and speak to students about their successes. Listen when they tell me answers that they didn’t know how to spell right.  Think when they give me an unexpected explanation.  I may not have been born a rule breaker but I have certainly become one.  It is in the best interest of my students and myself that I break these rules.  There is a better way to teach, we just must not be afraid to try it.  Will you break the rules with me?
students

When Goodbye Comes too Soon

Pernille Ripp
Yesterday, it was decided that my combination room would cease to exist in 3 weeks.  While we would all not be erased from the school but instead be placed into other rooms, it still felt as a virtual erasing.  4th grade has simply become too overcroweded and the shcool board agreed to get us another teacher.  I then had the hard choice to go back to 4th and keep those students or move onto 5th and keep those students.  I chose my old grade level and team and therefore had to face 13 confused 5th graders today that did not understand why I did not choose them.

You see, most of those students were my old kids from last year.  My school does not have a split class philosophy but tends to bring it out in an emergency situation.  Last year was deemed such an emergency and I therefore volunteered to take this strange experiment on bringing 8 of my old students with me.  And although I was terrified for the year to start, I was also strangely elated.  I said I wanted a challenge and I got one.  But now that challenge is being taken away and we face our goodbyes much too soon.  While we usually have a year worth of memories to look back upon, this time we are only afforded 6 weeks.  So how do you say goodbye when you have only just begun?

I have to keep teaching.  As much as I want to revert to end of year celebrations and events; I cannot.  These students will have to keep going as if nothing happened, but the truth is they already know we have changed.  As one student said today, “But Mrs. Ripp, nobody asked us” and that’s exactly it; they were not asked because we think we know best.  And although classroom size does definitely make a huge difference in student academic success, sometimes we as adults need to relax a little bit and realize that although size matters; connection matters more.

Those 27 students of mine that kind of knew each other from before and then maybe not really, have become a class.  And not out of sheer luck or because they are that nice (they are that nice, by the way) but because we have worked hard on it.  We have discussed what type of community we wanted to be, we created our Animoto on our hopes and wishes for the year that now have been viewed more than 900 times.  We dreamed about the Global Read Aloud project and how we would be the home base for it.  All of these things pushed us tighter together.  We were different from the rest of the school, we knew it, and we celebrated it.

And now it is almost over.  I cried when the principal told me the decision even though I knew that the kids would get a better experience in social studies and science when their teacher only had to teach one grade level at a time.  I could have made it work, and more importantly, I would have made it work because we would have done it together.  And now I must pick up the pieces, those sad faces, and try to sell my classroom one more time to a new group of kids that will fill out our roster.  To a new group of parents that wished for smaller class sizes but not necessarily that their kids would be moved.  I must sell it to myself; once again build up the excitement, the anticipation, the urgency to teach and teach well.  To reach these students and to connect, knowing that those original 14 may be a little more wary this time connecting to others.

So what can we learn from these events?  The way of the future is bigger class sizes but fundamentally we must not change our determination to connect with our students. We must not be afraid to let each other in even if the future in uncertain.   I make the time every day to reach out to every one, and already I had somehow managed to help them create a home in our room.  I know I will cry on our last day together, I am by nature a softie, and yet I will pass them on to their new teacher with one simple message: believe in them, because they are truly the changers of the future, the movers of the world.  Do not be afraid to believe.

aha moment, Be the change, students

Embrace All Your Opportunities – Joan’s Aha Moment

Pernille Ripp
This week’s Aha Moment is shared by Joan Young, one of the first people to reach out to me on Twitter; I am thrilled and honored that she said yes to do this knowing how busy she is.  Joan writes that she is a teacher who feels like a “new teacher” again this year after changing grade levels and schools. She is passionate about viewing students from a “strengths perspective” and hopes to give her students a positive classroom experience where they will not only learn the “required curriculum” but also learn about themselves as learners. Joan teaches 4th grade in a wonderful small school in the San Francisco Bay Area. You can follow her  @flourishingkids on Twitter and also check out her book and CD, 25 Super Sight Word Songs here:  http://www.amazon.com/Super-Sight-Word-Songs-Mini-Books/dp/054510582X 



Aha moments: I’ve had my share. When Pernille asked me to write and share about one of them, I initially thought, “Wait, I’m way too busy to take on something else!” And then I realized:  I need to be writing, even during this busy beginning of school time. Writing helps me clarify, categorize and sort my endless rambling of ideas and creative ramblings. I wrote back a few hours later, still a bit shaky about my “Sure, why not?”  Now, nearly a week later, deadline looming on the horizon, I am in a panic, indecisively scanning the archives of this busy mind, trying to figure out which aha moment will be most entertaining, most inspiring or helpful for other educators out there.


This ramble leads me to the biggest “aha” of all. We never stop learning and growing when we embrace opportunities that cross our paths.  Each challenge that falls before us on this incredible journey of life presents us with the opportunity to stretch, grow and be molded into another higher version of ourselves.  We must remain open to the daily “aha” moment and somehow take the time to reflect on it, process it and act on it, so that we can grow. And on that theme I will share my top 5 aha moments that have led me to courageously move ahead on my own path of discovery.

1)      My “aha” moment that led me to be a teacher is one that always stands out in my memory.  I was sitting around that dreaded IEP meeting table, not as a teacher, but as a social worker, an advocate for a foster child on my caseload. As I listened to the condescending talk of the school psychologist, teacher, principal to the overwrought foster parent, who was hanging on by a shred of sanity, I realized something important. Teachers, though trained to “teach” often have not been trained to understand the psychological needs that impact learning. I realized that if I had 20-30 students each year who I could spend 6 hours a day with, and if I could work with teachers, and help them understand their 20-30 kids they spend their days with, then my desire to help could be achieved in a greater way than working with the kids on my caseload, visiting them once a week. Even though I had spent a great sum of money earning a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, I decided that going back to school for a teaching credential was the best way for me to help kids, my ultimate goal.

2)     Kids are eager to take on challenges and are not “lazy” as I’ve heard teachers call them. When we lower the stress and risk that comes with fear of failing, kids thrive and reach higher than we can even imagine. My post here describes a day when in kindergarten when I was feeling a bit helpless about working with my lowest reading group.

3)   Don’t predict a kid’s future. I am not that “shy” kid I once was and I am happiest when I am creating, sharing and putting this passion for learning into practice.  I always find it amusing to think about the reaction I would have had if someone had told me, that painfully shy 16 year old girl, that my future would involve standing in front of a group of people each day, captivating their attention. If someone had told me that I would one day stand in front of 150 teachers, singing with them and sharing ideas of classroom strategies, I would have said they were crazy! We must not categorize kids as being weak or strong in a certain skill or even a personality trait. Some children have not yet been in the optimal setting to bring about the manifestation of his/her strengths. Each child has his own time frame; the best gift we can give is to provide opportunities for kids to discover, develop and express their passions.


4)    Work does not burn you out when you do what you love! Although I am well aware that I need balance in my life, I must not heed others’ advice to “not think about teaching” on the weekend. When I am engaged in other “non-related” activities, like exercising, driving, talking with my husband,or cleaning I am often brainstorming how I can develop an idea into a lesson.  Do I really need to tell myself that there are only certain hours and days of the week when I am allowed to be creative?

5)    Reach out to others! Teachers are amazingly giving and willing to help out when you have a need. Check out all of the amazing advice when I was setting up my classroom. 


When you reflect on your years in the classroom, what are your most significant moments of self-discovery? Thanks so much Pernille for inviting me to share in this wonderful exploration. 
Be the change, new year, reflection

No, I Didn’t Survive the First Week of School

Pernille Ripp
This week, I saw a few posts on blogs talking about how they survived the first week of school.  As some of you may know, this bothers me greatly.  I did not survive my first week, I thrived in it.  Some may call me relentlessly optimistic or just plain annoying but the truth is that I love my job.  I have been planning all summer for this first “real” week of school and it did not let me down.  So here is what I “survived” this week:
  • A student with autism who mostly speaks repetitive sentences telling me he loved me.
  • A student, who was in my 4th grade class last year, returning to be in my combination room this year after having been in 2 other school already this year.
  • A 5th grader in my room who last year asked for help every 5 minutes, not asking for help, but instead trying it himself and lighting up at his success.
  • 27 students who didn’t really know each other create their own Animoto for their parents to see their hopes and wishes for my room.
  • 25 hands in the air all wanting to model the incorrect way of how to read to self.
  • A shy boy with little math success last year, raising his hand 3 times during math class and getting it right.
  • A 4th grade girl, who moved to our school after a person got shot on her block, subtracting 35 from 71 in her head.
  • 3 students telling me that so far I was not a disappointment and that I was their favorite teacher ever.
  • 2 parents emailing me that they do not care that I have 27 students in my room, they are not part of the petition to get another teacher added to my school to alleviate our high classroom sizes, since they believe in what I am doing.
  • Another student with autism letting me in a little by cracking his first joke to me.
  • Students letting down their guard and reaching out to new people even if they are not the same age.
  • Students asking me to please not tell their parents that Double Bubble Gum’s flavor only lasts 4 minutes, thus making it the worst investment when buying bubble gum.
  • The students getting so excited about the Global Read Aloud project and studying the maps that we will mark when we connect with someone.
So no I did not survive the first week of school, I lived it to the fullest, eagerly anticipating many more days with these incredible kids.  Did you?
global read aloud, students, technology

Why the Internet is like the Mall

Pernille Ripp
Today,  in anticipation of the Global Read Aloud Project, I started  my first lesson on internet safety.  And yes, students have been taught about internet safety before by my fabulous technology teacher, yet I wanted to cover all bases one more time.  So last night, when I was pondering my lesson, it came to me: compare the internet to the mall.

Today, I therefore told the students that going on the internet is like going to the mall without your parents’ supervision.  So what would they do to stay safe at the mall?  Some of the students answers were that they would not talk to strangers, give anyone their information, and they would also go straight to the place they were supposed to go without stopping at other stores.  Those lessons can be applied directly to the internet and the students got it!  I had so many light bulbs go off, I could barely contain myself.

By having the students provide the safety rules, taken from their own memory of rules drilled into their heads by their formidable parents, they connected real life danger with things that can happen on the internet.  Sometimes students think they are safe on the net, as we all know, and this brought the responsibility home for them.  So as we continue learning proper safety and etiquette, we will keep referring back to the mall analogy, for example, would you walk up to a friend and tell them their outfit was ugly when talking about how to comment?  Today was one of those moments where I was able to make students understand something they have to learn in this day and age.  A lesson not just meant for 4th graders or 5th graders but hopefully something they will keep in the back of their minds when they go on the internet themselves, or maybe even next time they go to the mall.  Once again today I realized how huge my responsibility is for these kids and how glad I am to be their teacher.  We are now one step closer to the global connections!

students

26 Kids and Counting…

Pernille Ripp
Sometimes I feel like the Duggars.  You know, that super huge family on TLC that keeps having children, just happy with whatever they get.  I am kind of like that except these are not my natural children, but “my kids,” those students I adopt every year since they are part of my classroom.  And just like a proud parent, I welcome them all, ever searching for their strengths, acknowledging their weaknesses and going through life together; one day at a time.

You see, that is what teachers do.  Those kids become our kids, or at least they do for me.  And so today when I got wind that an old student of mine was coming back and was being placed in the other 5th grade room, I asked for him in my room.  I am in a position this year where I teach a 4/5 combination class and therefore have quite a few of my old students.  He therefore belongs with me, someone who already knows his strengths and also what he needs help with the most.  More importantly in this situation, stability will aslo be a great benefit.  So although my class keeps expanding, so does my hopes for it.  Yes, one more student means more work, but it also means more learning opportunities, more friendships, more successes, and more happiness.  So when I waddle my kids down the hallway and I look back at them, we look like the never ending line of students and that is alright with me.

And yet, I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything, not even a smaller class size or an “easier” day.  As our class sizes grow (I may be getting another student as well), I hope that my kids are not taken away from me.  Even though we have only spent a week together, I am connecting and connected.  I want these students to trust me, trust each other, and trust themselves.  I want them to know that we are on a journey together and that none of them are expandable.

So while some teachers may joke that they are going to retire as class sizes increase or lament the prep time they just lost because they had to help with a student, me; I don’t mind it.  It means that I am with my students, helping them learn, which is, after all, my job.  The joke in my family is that I am like the Statue of Liberty sometimes, always beckoning lost souls to enter and find a home.  And perhaps it is true, maybe I do connect well with students, maybe I just happen to catch them at just the right time in their life.  Whatever the reason or circumstance; something clicks and more often than not, we become a family.  I believe in all of the kids I am trusted with and I believe more importantly theat they have tremendous potential, whether they want to believe it or not.  So go ahead, send me another student or two.  I promise to work hard to make them feel like one of my kids, to make them learn, to make them grow.  Because that is what teachers do.