being a teacher, student voice

Hold Your Tongue

Pernille Ripp

He sits with his head slumped down.  Again.  Nothing in front of him.  Again.  Eyes are closed.   Again.  Arms crossed as he lays his head on the table.  Again.

To a person walking by he looks like he is asleep.

To me, he looks like he is mad.  Actively fighting me and what we are doing.  Again….

But I wait…ask him again if he is okay.  If he needs anything.

He doesn’t answer.

My patience runs thin, after all I have a class to get to.  To teach.  Why can’t he just answer?  I am trying to help after all.  Again.

He can tell probably that my answers are getting shorter.  Less calm in my voice.  And yet, he continues to refuse.  Tells me it’s not worth his time.  That he doesn’t want to do it.  Looks for the holes in my teacher armor and shoots to kill with every word he can think of.

I take it in, knowing now is not the time to fight, and yet it is so hard until I remember to walk away.

To hold my tongue and give some space.  To not guess at what is happening and draw the wrong conclusions, but instead just give time.  Not to try to solve.  Not to try to fix.  Not try to be right there actively problem-solving, trying to get to the bottom of it all.  Instead walking away before I forget what every kid needs; a shoulder, an ear, some time, some space.

And even though every ounce of my teacher mind tells me to come back to him, to try to fix it, to try again, I stay away.  I just watch, take no action, and wait…

And so five minutes later or perhaps even ten, I see his head is up.  He is reading, sort of, he is kind of working.  No longer shut down, but at least alert.  Is it perfect?  Nope.  Is it enough? Nope.  Is it a breakthrough?  Nope, not really, but it is a start, and sometimes that is all we need.

Tomorrow we try again, not stuck in a power struggle, but at least in a place of truce.  In a place where we can both exist and hopefully move an inch further forward toward something that looks like learning, like trust.

Once again, I am reminded of how powerful silence and space can be.  Especially when they expect us to do neither.  Again.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017.  This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block.  If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.      Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

 

 

being a teacher, Reading, Reading Identity, student voice

One More Time for the People in the Back

Pernille Ripp

I don’t think that I can yell any louder.

How many times that I have repeated myself on this blog.

How many times I have repeated the voices of those who speak the words loudly, of those who spoke the words long before I ever did.

I don’t think I can say it in other ways than I have, but I suppose one more time for good measure.  For the people in the back of the room, or for those who just showed up.

If we want to help kids like reading we need to surround them with books.

If we want to help kids like reading we need to give them time to actually read.

If we want to help kids like reading we need to create a community of readers.

If we want to help kids like reading we need to help them develop their reader identity.

We need to help them go beyond our help.

We need to help them go beyond their level.

Their Lexile.

Their data.

The computer program that tells them what they can do or not do as a reader.

We need them to see worth in what they are doing and worth in who reading helps them become.

We need to help them see that reading matters beyond the journal entry, beyond the project, beyond the thing we just made them do to prove that they are actually reading.

We need to speak books.

To share books.

To have books that show them who they are and also what others are.

To celebrate books and all types of reading so that within our classrooms and schools every child can see themselves as a kid who reads. As a kid whose reading matters.  As a kid who doesn’t read “easy” books, who doesn’t cheat in reading when they listen to audio books.  As a kid who might not just be a reader someday, completely dismissing that they are, indeed, already a reader.

And not just in their own eyes but in our eyes as well.

So I suppose I can say it one more time; what we do with the reading we do matters.

What we don’t do with the reading we do matters.

The identities we help create matter.

And the words our students share about what is killing their love of reading matters.  the least we can do is listen to them.

And we must bring back common sense reading practices to protect the very kids whose reading lives we were told to nurture, to protect, and to grow.

Perhaps you will join in the yelling and the powers that may be will one day hear us.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017.  This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block.  If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.      Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

Be the change, being a teacher, technology

One Week Into a Phone Free Classroom

Pernille Ripp

We went phone free in our classroom five days ago.  Five days of no phones allowed.  Five days of fewer distractions.  Five days of being conscious of when we pull out a device, and when we purposely put it away.  Over spring break, I had sent the following email to students and parents letting them know of the decision, worried about the top-down approach I was taking with this decision.  And yet, I felt like we had to try something new and now was the time for the change.

I hope your spring break has been nice!  Just a heads up that we will be going phone free for most of the 4th quarter in both literacy studies and informational studies in our classroom, as well as independent reading.  Students will be asked to leave their phones in their lockers on in a basket on our shelf as they enter the room.

There are a few reasons I have made this decision:

  • While there will be times we will use our phones and with the accessibility of Chromebooks, there are very few times where students need to BYOD anymore.
  • Students are given little privacy or room for risk/failure in our classrooms as other students are quick to pull out their phones and snap pictures or videos to share on social media.  Often they are faster than we are or do it on the sly, this leads to less risk-taking, and a heightened sense of anxiety when it comes to actually doing the learning.
  • One article here discusses how even having it nearby versus out of the room lessens your thinking.
  • Another article here discusses how the constant stimuli from phones are rewiring our brains to constantly seek stimuli rather than dive into the “zone of learning” 
  • And another article discusses the shortened attention spans 

If messages need to be sent to your students during our class together, they can be sent through the office.

While I didn’t know what the response would be, I was pleasantly surprised to see just how many parents/guardians loved the idea, how many wish we would go phone free as a class, how many were in favor.  And yet, how would the students themselves react?

Well, it turns out many of them read the email and already were onboard when they came.  A few had questions, but most agreed that it was nice.  So the week went on, the phones disappeared and we dug into our new learning  I noticed there was less scrambling to get to work.  Less distractions from the few kids that would pull them out to check throughout the class.  My phone was in my bag as well, sure, there were less pictures shared of our learning but not having it around was really not a big deal.  Today I asked them what they thought of the policy.  Boy, was I surprised…

I think it’s fair because we don’t need them.

I like it because I don’t get distracted.

It is nice to not have to think about them.

It’s no big deal.

I am grateful for it because I no longer have to worry about being filmed and it shared on Instagram.

Sure, a few voiced their complaints telling me they didn’t like to be without them, these were also some of the kids that were distracted by their phones the most playing fortnite or snapchatting in class, while a few voiced that they didn’t really need the policy because they already left them in their lockers.

What struck me though was how many students were positive about the change.  How many were grateful for the policy because they then didn’t need to police themselves.  It makes sense in a way too as we see just how addicted we, adults, are to our smartphones.  When they aren’t allowed to be around we naturally use them less and yet have a hard time putting them away ourselves.

One comment that did stand out though was that a child didn’t like being without their phone in case something bad happened at school.  Let’s just have that sink in for a moment…  In an age of school shootings, schools are no longer viewed as safe by the very kids we teach and cell phones are seen as a way to find out when they need to run or hide.

So this first week of no phones, it turns out that perhaps going without was not that big of a deal, once again making me wonder what we really needed them for in the first place.  It has been nice to have this one less thing in our classroom.  To see the students focus on each other, rather than on what is happening on their phone.  To see them be more present if even for a little bit.

I’ll keep sharing as the quarter goes on, but I have a feeling that going phone free is here to stay.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017.  This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block.  If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.      Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

being a teacher

How We Grow

Pernille Ripp

They tell me to speak less.

To give less reading time.

To give more reading time.

To do more fun stuff.

To do more hands-on activities.

To grow.

To remain the same.

I survey my students periodically.  Whether it surrounds their reading habits, their self-assessments, their view of our classroom, or even their attitudes, surveys are a part of our learning journey.  They have been for many years.  In fact, I owe most of my growth and this blog to the words of my students.

One of the teaching points for me is always that they must put their name on the survey, no anonymity in here, after all, even if they have harsh things to say, they need to find a way to say it without intentional hurt.  Their name on the survey provides me with a chance to follow up.  To thank them for their honesty.  To wonder aloud how can I make their experience better.  To brainstorm or simply connect dependent on their needs. I need to see how our classroom is perceived by individuals, rather than just the group.

So yesterday, after they filled in this attitude survey, one thing stood out above all; we want more hands-on activities.  No surprise there, “hands-on” seems to be the key term whenever I speak to students.  And yet, I try…  Along with my colleagues and the students themselves, we try to plan for movement, for less teacher talk, for activities that excite rather than just sit-and-get and yet; but at the end of the day I still wondered; how do we make reading and writing more hands-on, and what does that even mean?

So today, I asked again; what do you mean?  How can we make our class more hands-on, and the kids responded in kind; more talking, more group projects, more competition at times, even more project choice.  So not what I expected at all.  What they want is more student time, less teacher time.  More choice beyond the choices they already have.

Certainly, we can do that.

And that’s the thing, every single time I give a survey, I grow.  Every single time, I ask for feedback, our students point out the direction that they would like us to take.  They increase ownership and I get to be a more responsive teacher.  It is a win-win, even if at times, their surveys show dissatisfaction.  Show that they don’t love the class.  Show that there are still many things I can work on.  Bottom line though is that if we don’t ask, we won’t know.  If we don’t take a deep breath and hold on to the notion that we are not perfect teachers, then we cannot become better.  No PD opportunity will ever beat the opportunity of growth that our students provide.

So if you give a survey, and I so hope you do, don’t forget though to follow up.  Don’t guess at their answers.  Don’t guess at their reasoning.  Have them put their name on it and then ask them what they mean.  When we remove the assumptions from our classrooms, we only grow stronger as educators.  Once again, our students are here to teach us if only we give them a chance.

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017.  This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block.  If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.      Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

 

being a teacher, Reading, student choice

The 30-Second Book Talk

Pernille Ripp

Student book talks are one of the many ways that students share recommendations for each other.  Recommendations of books are a natural way to grow readers and they help immensely in the classroom when peers can hear from each other rather than just recommendations from me.

In the past, I would often ask kids if anyone had a book to recommend and yet it seemed that it was always the same awesome students who felt brave enough to recommend their books in front of the whole class.  There is just something about 7th grade that makes even the boldest kids shy.

So rather than limit the book talks or force kids, we created the 30-second book talk.  Yes, some kids still get nervous, but now they are prepared rather than feeling like they are coming up with something on the spot.

The idea is super simple.  Every student gets a notecard, on it, they write a brief recommendation of the book they want to share.  They can talk about the book and why it is a great read and who may like it as well.  Their names go on the book and then they hand the cards to me.

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Every day, when we remember, or sometimes just when we have a little bit of extra time, I pull a few cards from the stack as students enter.  I then have the book covers ready to be projected, I give the card back to the student as a way to let them know they will recommend today and then we are off after their independent reading time.  This gives the kids recommending a few minutes to read their book talk and adjust if needed.   Kids read off their cards if they want or they invent on the spot.  Their peers have their to-be-read lists out and add as they hear great titles shared.  The book cover is projected so everyone can see the title and author and the intimidation factor is lessened.

Because we have so many students, these cards usually take us at least two weeks to go through and then we can do another round if we choose to.

There you go, another simple idea to create more passionate readers.

PS:  You want to see some of our favorite books, go here

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017.  This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block.  If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.      Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.

 

being a teacher, being me

Who Keeps You In Line?

Pernille Ripp

On Friday, I stood on the stage at EARCOS in front of hundreds of passionate educators from all over Asia and told them my story of change.  The story of how my students have changed me. It was met with applause, with careful words shared after about how they felt inspired, moved, how what I had said mattered and how they wish more educators had been there to hear this powerful message.  I felt on top of the world.  As if I mattered, as if the words I spoke mattered, as if I had made a difference.  Like I had it all figured out.

IMG_3184.JPG

Today, some of my students reminded me that our class is boring, that what we are doing doesn’t matter much, and that no, they were not happy to be back after spring break, thank you very much.  Ah, the life of teaching 7th grade.

So much changes in a few days.; from high praise, hugs, and admiration from fellow educators to sometimes harsh words served up frankly from the very students I serve.

It seems that I am not the perfect teacher after all, but I knew that already, even before today, because I teach students who speak up.  Who sometimes forget to say the nice before they get straight to the point.  Who have no problem pointing out what they dislike, but still are working on how we can make things better together.  Who, yes, sometimes like our class, but often push me to be better, to try harder, to keep thinking.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In fact, if it weren’t for my own students, I wonder how much of the hype I would end up believing.  Probably all of it.  After all, it is hard not to believe someone when they tell you just how much you matter and how great of a teacher you seem.  And yet, it is easy to say someone is a great teacher, coach, administrator, fill in the blank, when you are not in their classroom or schools.

And so I wonder what happens when we don’t have the presence of those we serve to put us straight.  When we leave the classroom, or the school, or the job and no longer are in touch with those who our words affect the most.  When we only hear the good but don’t get a lot of bad?

What happens when our great ideas no longer really have to stand the test of time?  When our great ideas and “just do’s” don’t actually have to face the test of our own classrooms?

How do we keep ourselves in check if all we get is admiration?  Who brings us back down to Earth to remind us of how teaching continues to be a challenge, even when we think we have it all figured out.

I see it play out in social media all of the time.  From the inspirational tweets that seem more quippy the older I get.  From the followers that rush in to excuse any old statement someone makes because surely they didn’t mean to sound like an idiot, or condescending, or like a know it all.  To how we end up equating followers and likes with quality, with actual work, with some being “rockstars” or somehow better than “just” the regular educators.  How we constantly seek inspiration to be just like those who forget to share their failures, who somehow appear more than the rest of us.

I think it is a dangerous thing.  I think it is too easy to take oneself too seriously.  I think it is easy to write about only the good and not share the bad.  I think it is really easy to compose posts, tweets, or pictures that only tell half the story.  Yet, showing off flaws, off failures, off the not so great is what makes us all human.  Is what makes us actually relatable as educators.  I have never claimed to be a perfect teacher, nor will I ever, my students would tell you that there are great moments, and then there are boring ones, just like in most classroom.

And so for that, I am grateful.  For their honesty, I am thankful.  Because if it weren’t for my students, it would be easy to think that I was more than I am; just a teacher still trying to figure out how to become better.  Not someone who already knows it all.

So who keeps you in line?  And how do you grow from their words?

If you like what you read here, consider reading my newest book, Passionate Readers – The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child, out August 2017.  This book focuses on the five keys we can implement into any reading community to strengthen student reading experiences, even within the 45 minute English block.  If you are looking for solutions and ideas for how to re-engage all of your students consider reading my very first book  Passionate Learners – How to Engage and Empower Your Students.      Also, if you are wondering where I will be in the coming year or would like to have me speak, please see this page.