being a student, being a teacher, Personalized Learning, student choice, Student dreams, student driven, Student Engagement

Who Are We Really Doing This For?

Pernille Ripp

Traveling this summer seems to have offered me a lot of time for reflection.  There is something about sitting on an airplane, getting nervous about the days ahead and thinking of how did one ever up there?  I realize time and time again that there are certain truths that guide everything I do and that if I ever stray from those truths then I hope I have the spine to admit it.  Because as I travel, I realize more and more that this is not about me, about Pernille the teacher, but instead about the very kids I teach.  About the kids we all teach and yet we seem to so easily forget that as we make decisions in our schools, in our classrooms.

So I realize once again that while I may think I have all of the answers, I won’t ever know unless I ask my students.  That my job is not to foresee and problem solve every little thing, but instead to let them explore and to create alongside me.

That when we go out and share what our students are doing, we need to recognize that this is not about us, but about them.  That it is their education at stake, not our own, and that is why this mission is so very urgent.

We are losing kids every single day in our classrooms.  We are losing them when we remove control over even the slightest things.  We treat them in a way we would not want to be treated ourselves, and then expect them to just be ok with it because that is a part of childhood.  We dictate bathroom breaks, where they sit, who they work with, and even how they share, sometimes allowing very little autonomy in the process.  And then at the end of the day we wonder why they are exhausted and cannot wait to get on with their “real” life?

What if every decision we made was centered on what is best for students?  I know we say that that is what drives us, but is it really?  When we decide on curriculum do we pick it because it is easy for the adults to implement or because it will inspire the children?  When we seek out learning opportunities do we do it for the right reasons or because it is another thing to check off our to do list?

When we control our classrooms so that we can function, do we ever wonder who those we teach will react to the perimeters we set up?

So we can talk about personalizing learning, or whatever other buzz term we are all infatuated with at the moment, or we can talk about good teaching.  About creating learning opportunities that center on the student, on the child, and not the adult needs.  We can remove the “alizing” and just focus on the person instead.

Change may seem hard, but it gets easier as we go.  Think of the small things that already communicate to students that what they need is not as important as what we need.  Think of all the little rules we have in our classrooms that do not benefit them nearly as much as they benefit us.  And then do something about it.

When I ask my students what they wish every teacher would do it is not to give them less work, to give them less tests, or even to speak less – we teachers, do love to talk – it is to let them choose where they sit.  Almost every time.  If that doesn’t speak volumes about how powerless students feel in their education, I am not sure what will.

So this summer, or winter depending on where you are, whenever a new decision needs to be made, don’t think of what you need.  Think of what kids might need, and if you are not sure; ask them.  They are ready to tell us if we only ask.

I am currently working on two separate literacy books.  While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher.  The first book titled Reimaging Literacy Through Global Collaboration is scheduled for release November, 2016 by Solution Tree.  The second, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge.  So until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my 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

6 Years Ago Today

Pernille Ripp

Six years ago today, I had one child, she was 1 1/2, just starting to talk, discovering the world.  She still napped and the house would get so quiet, I was never quite sure what to do with myself.  6 years ago today, I was a 4th grade teacher, hoping that my next year would not be the year that I quit teaching.  Hoping that these ideas I had to possibly be a better teacher would actually work out and maybe, just maybe, my students would hate school less.  6 years ago today, I googled how to start a blog and then wrote my very first post.  It was all about how I was going to blog and I was excited but had no idea what I was really going to write about.

6 years ago today is just like today.  I still don’t know what my next post will be about until the words hit me and I know I have to write them.  I look back over the years and am so proud of all of the words that my students have allowed me to share.  Of all of the stories, yes even of failure, and how they possibly have made the smallest difference not just to me, but perhaps to another educator.

6 years ago today, I felt crazy, like I was certainly alone with these thoughts and ideas.  That I would probably lose my job if I didn’t quit first.  Now, 6 years later, my life is fuller than I ever thought it would be and I know that I am not alone; there are many fighting for change in education, just like me.  That our students voices can change and shape the way we teach, if only we start listening to them and then doing something about what they tell us.

I have never had a long-term plan when it came to this little blog.  It continues to be my truth-o-meter, my way of releasing the thoughts that keep my up at night.  My way of reminding myself that I am not perfect, but merely human, and that it is okay to not strive for perfection, but strive for connections instead.  This blog keeps me honest so that I actually teach the way I write, and not just concoct fanciful notions of what great teachers do with fictitious students.

6 years of posts means that there are too many to count, too many to remember. But this one, Dear Arnold, is the one that I will never forget writing because it was the first time I cried as I wrote.  The first time I thought I had no business sharing these thoughts yet had to get them out before my heart broke even more.  It started me on a path of absolute honesty, even if it meant not painting myself in a good light.  I am so glad Arnold pushed me that way.

6 years ago today I had no idea how changed my life would be.  How a small summer idea, as always prompted by my husband, would lead me down a different path than the one I had set out on.  I am so grateful to this space, to the small act of courage it took for me to hit publish.  Not because it might have made a difference to others, but because it made the biggest difference to me.

PS:  I sometimes get asked about the significance of the name behind the blog.  I am here to unfortunately say that it was not because I had thought of how it would allude to time, representing the journey I was about to begin.  That would have been so wonderful it it was the truth.  The real story is rather boring because it simply alluded to the fact  that I was a 4th grade teacher at the time, thus “Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension” it was.

 

being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams

The Reading Rules We Would Never Follow as Adult Readers

Pernille Ripp

Why is it all right to impose rules on children's reading lives that we would never follow as adults?

Choice.

The number one thing all the students I have polled through the years want the most when it comes to reading.  No matter how I phrase the question, this answer in all of its versions is always at the top.  Sometimes pleading, sometimes demanding, sometimes just stated as a matter of fact; please let us choose the books we want to read.

Yet, how often is this a reality for the students we teach?  How often, in our eagerness to be great teachers, do we remove or disallow the very things students yearn for to have meaningful literacy experiences?  How many of the things we do to students would we never put up with ourselves?  In our quest to create lifelong readers, we seem to be missing some very basic truths about what makes a reader.  So what are the rules we would probably not always follow ourselves?

Removing choice.   I have to start with the most obvious; removing choice in reading (and even in writing).   We know that choice matters, we know as adult readers we revel in the sheer experience of being able to choose what we want to read.  We take it for granted and will even rebel in small ways when someone says we have to read something.  Choice is the cornerstone of our own literacy life, yet it is one of the first things we tend to remove for children, especially fragile or developing readers.  And I get it, we think we know better when students repeatedly choose wrong, yet, it is in the selection process that students can uncover who they are as readers, if we give them time to discuss, reflect, and yes, even try the things they choose that may not be a great fit.

Forced reflection.  We seem to be reflecting kids to death with our requirements to write a little bit about every book they read.  Or having them keep a reading journal or having them write about the signposts or whatever else they are finding when they independently read.  It is not that we shouldn’t have students reflect when they read, it is that we make these one-size-fits-all requirements where students cannot discover how they would like to digest their reading.  How often do we as adults write a paragraph every time we finish a book?  Or summarize it?  Or make a diorama, (which yes, I made my students do)?  While I know adults that would love to do all of those things, I also know many that would not.  In fact, many adult readers I know would slow down their reading or hide their reading if they had to do all of that “work.”  When I teach the signposts (from the excellent book Notice and NoteNotice and Note) I tell my students that they are not expected to find them when they are reading at home, but that they are meant to be able to find them when asked.  There is a big difference in the way they feel about the task because it is not something they have to do all of the time.

Forced tracking.  Oh reading logs, I am looking at you here.  Yes, as an adult I track my reading on my Goodreads account.  I even write reviews sometimes.  But I don’t track my pages (unless I have a bigger purpose in mind and then it is for short amount of time), or time how long I read for, or even have my husband sign for me.  I make time to read because I love reading.  And while we can say that reading logs foster more reading because it is a check up system, it also kills reading for many.  If you want to see if the kids are reading, have them read in class and pay attention to what they are reading.  Allow students to track in a way that is meaningful to them; Goodreads, notebook page, poster, pictures of books on their phone, or even through conversations.  There is no one system that fits all and if a system we have in place is even killing the love of reading for one child, then we need to rethink it.

Points and competition.  Yes, AR, you have it coming.  Plus all of the other initiatives that we put in place to urge students to read.  And I get it; we desperately want students to become readers and to keep reading, yet this short-term solution can actually have a long-term consequence; kids who do not read for reading’s sake but for the prizes or honors attached to it.  We know what the research says regarding motivation and reading and how it can actually have adverse effects, and yet, we continue to concoct programs to try to get them reading.  How many adults though would read more because we then could take a computerized test that would give us points?  How many adults would be okay with their reading lives on display for the world to see?  Some would, while others would hate for the world to know something that they see as a personal discovery.  Why do we assume that what might work for one child will work for all?

Limited abandonment.  As an adult reader I practice wild book abandonment, passing books on when I know they are not right for me, yet as teachers, we often have rules for when students are allowed to abandon a book.  I used to subscribe to the 50 page rule myself.  Why?  If a child wants to abandon a book, they are on their way to knowing themselves better as a reader.  This is something to celebrate, not something to limit.  If a child is a serial book abandoner, and yes, I have a few of those, then we should be asking them why, rather than just stopping them.  What did they not like about this book?  What do they need to look for instead?  Help them explore their reading identity so that they can develop it rather than have them mimic yours.

Inane bookshopping rules.  My students used to be allowed to bookshop on Fridays.  That was it.  Yet, as an adult reader I bookshop all of the time.  I am constantly on the prowl for the next great read and my to-be-read list is ever expanding.  I get that book shopping or browsing sometimes becomes an escape for a child when they do not want to read, but then we work with that one child, rather than impose limits for all.  My students know that book shopping can happen anytime during our independent reading time, or even if they have completed other tasks.  I would rather want children that want to look at books, than those who abhor it.

When my students started telling me their reading truths, I drove home in shame; how many of the very things they told me had killed their love of reading where things that I had done myself as a teacher?  How many of the things was I still doing?  Yet, within the words of my students, I found the biggest truth of all; different children need different reading experiences and so that means now is I try to create a passionate reading environment, where there is room and scaffold for all of my readers.  Not just those that can work in one system concocted by me.  I know that sometimes large things are out of our control, yet, there are so many small things that are.  Think of what made you a reader or what stopped you from becoming one and then use that reflection to shape the way reading is taught and practiced in your own learning environment.  Being a teacher means that we learn from our mistakes, I have made many, and it means that we continue to strive for better.  We cannot do that if we don’t listen to the students.  And you know what; don’t take my word for it; ask your own students.  Then listen. Then do something about it.

PS:  Today I pondered out loud on Twitter how many educators tell students to read at home or over the summer and never read themselves.  Being a reading role model should be a requirement for all teachers of reading, it makes a huge difference.

If you are wondering why there seems to be a common thread to so many of my posts as of late, it is because I am working on two separate literacy books.  While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher.  The first book tentatively titled The Global Literacy Classroom is scheduled for release November, 2016 by Solution Tree.  The second, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge.  So until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my 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

I Don’t Do It All

Pernille Ripp

This week someone called me Superwoman.   Teaching full-time, writing books, speaking, and then returning home to try to be the best mother that I can be for my 4 (still) young children.  How do I do it all?  How do I find the time?   I am here to burst that illusion.  I am not Superwoman, nor do I ever want to be.  Because Superwoman was alone in her endeavor, mostly relying on her own skills to save the world.   Only once in a while, reaching out to others for help when the problem seemed insurmountable.  She thrived by herself; eager for the next challenge.

But behind me stands a very strong man, a man who saw more in me than I ever did.  A man who told me that I could not change the students, but I could change the way I taught.  I married Brandon 11 years ago and 11 years ago we decided to have a child.  It took us almost 3 years to fulfill that dream, but for the last 8 years I have watched as the man I love, has become an incredible father.

So when people ask me how I do it all, I quickly tell them that I don’t.  That I am not alone in this crazy adventure.  That at home I have the biggest supporter, the biggest motivator, the guy with the biggest heart, even if his sometimes quiet exterior doesn’t show it.  He shapes me, he shapes our children and I am so grateful that he said yes so many years ago to be a part of this crazy adventure.

I asked Oskar, this morning why he loves his Dad and Oskar answered, “Because he is so good.”  I asked him what he was good at.  Oskar answered, “At pouring lemonade…”  Not quite the answer I had expected, and yet perfect in my eyes.  Because that’s it, isn’t it?  It’s not just that Brandon is great at all of the big things, like taking care of us, or fixing things, or all of those other big things that dad’s are supposed to master.  It’s that he is great at the little things too; at putting band-aids on scrapes, reading aloud every night, singing along to Emily Arrow, and yes, at pouring lemonade.  Because those are the things that matter, maybe not to others, but to me, to our children.  Those are the reasons why I am so lucky.

So to the man who gave me the most important job in the world; thank you for seeing something in me when you agreed that perhaps having kids was after all in our future.  That perhaps raising a family together was a dream we should pursue.  That perhaps it was okay if our life got a little crazy, because at least it would mean that our house would be filled with love.  There is no one else I would want to share this journey with.  Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there that get to pour the lemonade.

 

 

being a student, being a teacher, Literacy, Reading, Reading Identity, student choice, Student dreams, student driven

The Leveled Library; When Is It Time to Remove the Scaffold?

Pernille Ripp

Levels were never meant to confine a child's reading choices or life, they were meant to help them on their way. pernille ripp

When I was a 5th grade teacher, I was told to level my library, or at least a part of it.  When I asked why, I was told that it needed to be done so that students could find the right fit books.  Yet, in our classroom, this was already happening.  I was a 5th grade teacher after all and most students had many different ways of determining whether a book would be the right fit for them or not.  This was something we had developed throughout the year.  Just like when they went to our school library, the students knew to pick up books, flip through the pages and determine whether they wanted to read a book by reading a few pages and so on.

When I present, I often discuss levels and our seemingly obsession with the boxes they create for us.  We love when we can quickly point a child in the right direction.  We love when we can hand a kid a stack of books without having read them and say; these are for you because their level told me so.  Whether Lexile, Fountas & Pinnell, AR score, or another contrived measuring form; levels seems to have permeated our educational experience.  And it makes sense, after all, with our obsession with data and standardized testing, we love when we can break something complicated down to something tangible.  But reading identity was never meant to be broken down like this.

Levels are not meant to be a child’s label, but a teacher’s tool to quote Fountas & Pinnell.  They were never meant to be hindrances to children exploring books, nor were they meant to be the focal point of how we know a reader.  They were meant for guiding us, the teachers, as we planned our instruction in order to help students succeed at the reading strategies we were teaching.  And yet, I have seen entire classroom libraries designated by letters, even whole school ones.  I have heard from librarians that were told that they had to police their book check outs to make sure a child had picked the correct books.  From teachers who have seen children stop reading because they were only allowed to pick from certain boxes.  Levels have even shown up in our book order magazines in order to help parents guide their child’s decision.

I cannot be the only one that is horrified at what this is doing to our readers?

You see, levels, much like a child’s reading level, is meant to be a scaffold.  We start our early readers by guiding them using every tool that we have, including the reading level they are at, as we try to help them figure out how to pick books by themselves.  Having a level or a letter helps them on their beginning journeys as readers.  So does the five-finger rule.  Yet at some point, our conversation needs to move beyond the letter, or whatever other designator we have.  We need to shift the exploration of reader identity past the easy and into the hard.  We need to start asking students what draws them to books and what keeps them there.  How do they know when a book will be successful for them?  How do they book shop?  How do they keep track of what they want to read next?  It has to be more than just because the level said it would work for them.  Those conversations take time, they take energy, and they take us knowing our students in a deeper way than just their supposed reading ability.  It also takes investment from our readers, which again, takes time within our curriculum.  If our goal is to create reading experiences where students will leave our classrooms and school knowing who they are as a reader, then our conversation has to extend beyond the level.

So before we level our entire library, or even tell a child what level they are at, remember that depending on our students, it may be not only unnecessary, but also damaging to their future reading life.   As educators our main goal is to create independent learners, yet the very levels we use to help students reach independence means that they are not.  Moving beyond a level, a label, or whatever else we have decided will break down a child for us must be a priority as teachers of reading.  We must ensure that their reading identity does not hinge on an outside indicator, but instead on their own understanding of themselves as readers.  That takes time, and while time seems to be something we have very little of in school, it is an investment into their future life as adult readers.

Levels were never meant to confine a child’s reading choices or life, they were meant to help them on their way.  Much like we remove training wheels from a bike when a child is old enough, we must remove the levels as well.  We owe it to the future adults we teach.

PS:  I love this post from Kylene Beers “A Kid is Not an “H””

If you are wondering why there seems to be a common thread to so many of my posts as of late, it is because I am working on two separate literacy books.  While the task is daunting and intimidating, it is incredible to once again get to share the phenomenal words of my students as they push me to be a better teacher.  The first book tentatively titled The Global Literacy Classroom is scheduled for release November, 2016 by Solution Tree.  The second, which I am still writing, is tentatively Passionate Readers and will be published in the summer of 2017 by Routledge.  So until then if you like what you read here, consider reading my 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

The Book All Leaders Should Read

Pernille Ripp

I have been lucky to call Joe Sanfelippo and Tony Sinanis friends for a few years now.  I have watched as they have taken their amazing ideas from theirs schools and districts and amplified them into the world.  I have seen how their words and through leading by example have helped others become more human in their leadership, more adept at navigating what it means to be a leader for all, and not just some.

So when I was sent a copy of their new book, Hacking Leadership, I knew I wanted to read it….at some point.  But a leadership book?  What did I really need that for?  On Sunday night, as I flew to North Dakota, I decided to glance at it, to get a feel for the book so to speak.  2 hours later, I was done with the book.  Mesmerized by the amazing ideas that unfolded in its pages, I was live tweeting quotes from the book, not because they had asked me too, but because these words resonated so deeply with me that I had to share them with others.  The next night I added one of their quotes to the reading presentation I was giving, ending with their words rather than my own.  I am not sure how else to put this; but this book?  This book will change education if we let it.

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What Tony and Joe have done is taken some very common problems in our schools, that seem to cross boundary lines, socioeconomic lines, and any other lines that may distinguish our schools from one another, and given us tangible solutions.  Ideas that we can not only implement starting tomorrow, but also a blueprint for long-term change.  They make no excuses for the roles of leaders within these problems, which as a teacher I found refreshing, and yet they do not blame, they merely point out the obvious and then offer up solutions right away.  And these solutions are not long-winded plans that will be forgotten after the first day, but small “hacks” that will have an immediate effect.

Sending positive notes home to a teacher’s family and support network thanking them for their support because it truly takes a village to change the world, yes please.  Making 100 phone calls home to parents on the 100th day of school to highlight awesome work, yes please.  Having students share the news from their school so they can shape the narrative, having students and parents as part of hiring committees even in elementary, asking for feedback more than once a year, yes please.  Trusting teachers to develop learning opportunities, knowing that for many it will allow them relevant PD , but also knowing that some will still abuse the system but not letting that hinder you, YES PLEASE!

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The book may say that there are 10 hacks in it, but there are so many more.  From the small and seemingly insignificant like making sure you speak to all staff members by keeping a checklist, to the truly groundbreaking way that Tony and Joe have empowered students, staff, and their community to be a part of their schools; this book should be required reading for all people in a leadership position, no matter their philosophy, no matter their experience.  In fact, if I were a superintendent, I would order a copy of this book for all of my leaders and make it their summer read.

I recommend many books as I speak, but hardly ever any PD books.  It takes a lot for me to really feel like a book is worth telling others about when it comes to how they should grow as an educator, grow as a practitioner.  The Book Whisperer and Book Love are really the two books that I recommend the most, but now they have been joined by Hacking Leadership.  A book I wasn’t really sure that I needed to read, but now can’t stop raving about.

Read this book, pass it on, or better yet get everyone you know a copy and then try the ideas.  Change small.  Change big.  Create a school community where every child, every adult feels that their voice matters.  Follow the words of advice from Tony and Joe that I loved so much I took a picture of them to remind myself.  “Not too many people wake up in the morning and say that they can’t wait to be average today.”  Don’t be average, hack your leadership and see the difference.  I am so grateful that this book is out there for all of us to learn from, even if we didn’t think we had much growing to do in the first place.