Change Doesn't Have to be All or Nothing

I remember the first orientation day when I had to face parents and explain to them that their child would probably not have much homework in my classroom.  I remember the fear that almost made me choke on my words, the way I had to remind myself to look up, the way I held my breath waiting for a reaction.  Then I added that instead of letter grades students would get feedback and we would set goals, grades would only show up on trimester report cards and no where else.  By now I was breaking into a cold sweat, my stomach churning, hands were clammy.  Somebody had to react, and then...nothing.  No raised hands, no sour faces, just a quiet wait for what else I had to share. 

Big changes for sure coming from this sophomore teacher.  Big changes that I felt had been necessary for me to be a better teacher and to provide a better education for the students.  Big changes that I had decided to do all at once.  And yet, you don't have to.  Even though I speak passionately about how throwing out grades or limiting homework has been the best decision I have ever made, that is exactly it; it was my decision.  Something that I knew I had to do to restore my sanity, my passion for teaching.  And yet, that doesn't mean it is going to work for you.  Perhaps my ideas are too extreme, or just do not fit with your educational philosophy and that is perfectly fine.  But maybe, just maybe, you would be willing to try it for just one little assignment?

Perhaps you are curious but just not ready to go all out.  Perhaps the idea of limiting homework overall sounds insane but maybe it could be tried for a unit?  Perhaps rather than a letter grade, for one project, feedback could be given or students could assess themselves?  Perhaps just trying something different one time will work better for you?  Perhaps, you might like it, perhaps you wont, but perhaps one time will change your mind?

As a first year teacher, if someone had told me to limit homework, or to get rid of grades, I would have rolled my eyes and not listened.  I would have thought them radical, extreme, or totally clueless.  I was not ready for that type of teaching.  I was not ready to take my teaching in that direction.  That direction had to come from within me, the timing had to be right, as did the purpose.   And that is ok.  It is ok to not embrace what Alfie Kohn says.  It is ok to have faith in whatever one believes is the way to teach, there is room for us all in education.  But perhaps, we should all try something else, just once, and then see if that change is meant for us or not. 

Oh No, Not Another Change - Why Stay Skeptical When Curiosity is More Fun?

Image from icanread

A new curriculum is announced for next school year... again.  Every year since I have started something new has been introduced and so I find myself in the back of the group, murmuring about how once again something new is coming, more money being spent, more time needed to learn, to understand, to adapt.  Once again I have to rewrite everything.  Once again; change.  I go home and discuss it with Brandon who stops me in my tracks with a simple question; why not get excited about it?  And I think, yes, why not, indeed?

Why not replace my skepticism with curiosity?  Why not embrace the new like I do within my own classroom; try it out and then judge it.  Why am I, already, after only 4 years of changing turning into that teacher, you know, the one that is quick to judge.  The one that jumps to conclusions, the one that wants things to stay the same because they are not broken and do not need to be fixed, thank you very much.  I change things every year, I hardly ever use the same lessons, I change so it fits my kids, my mood and my goals.  I change because if I became static I would be bored out of my mind and few things are worse than a bored teacher  So why am I already so stuck in my teaching ways that I have to be the one adding negative thoughts to a new initiative?  I don't know how that happened so soon.

So I renew my vow of positivity.  I want to embrace the new, which does not mean going into it blind, but rather than I will stay open to it.  I will explore it, adapt it and make it work for me.  I will give things a change, suspend my judge.  Stay curious and not assume it will be awful.  I am much too young to be so stuck in my ways and that is a healthy lesson for me to learn.  Let's hope I don't forget it.

Related articles

• You Don't Have to Be A Technology Whiz But You Do Need to Be Fearless (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Surprise; The Biggest Obstacle in The Classroom Isn't Your Students (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• The Story of the Child that Changed Me (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• When Students Tell You They Are Bored Can We Blame the Students As Well? (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

Is Teaching Killing Student Self-Reliance?

"But mommy, I can't!!!!"  Thea is struggling to put two pieces together for a game, I look at her patiently and urge her to try again, try again.  As parents we are slightly bewildered by the "I can'ts" we hear every day; little things such as getting socks on, or big things seem an insurmountable challenge for our 3 year old turn into cries for help and yet with diligence we urge her to move on, to try again, and to figure it out.  We are trying to raise a self-reliant little girl that faces challenges with relish rather than hide from them.  We want her to have faith in herself, in her abilities, and to also have courage.

I go to school and see the same thing; "I don't get this..."  "I can't do this..." can be heard on a regular basis and I know I am not alone. So I made one of my goals to teach self-reliance, to teach courage, to teach willingness to try and fail.  To urge these students patiently on, to identify the problem and figure out how to solve it. Sure it would be easier if I would just do it for them, but what does that teach?

So I ponder, what if we as teacher removed ourselves from the equation?  Set up a problem or challenge for the class and then stepped back to see what would happen?  Since the beginning of the year this has played out in my classroom; here is the challenge, you have the skills, now solve it. While some may claim I do not do my full job then, I would say that I am preparing students to be independent thinkers.  To trust in themselves and their own abilities, to be problem-solvers, intuitive thinkers, and to not ever be afraid of something not working.  The result?  Students who try first and then turn to tools, to each other to figure something out. Students ho discuss solutions and challenges with themselves and each other.  Students who know it is ok to pull out a piece of scrap aper, try something, throw it out and try something else.

When we over-prescribe and over-explain, we rob students of the pleasure of accomplishment. Sure they will still get from point A to point B, but the satisfaction of true learning will be diminished. When I tell my students that I have a challenge for them, and yes that it may be difficult but not impossible, I get some trepidation, some wavering and then it turns to determination, to a "we can do this" moment.  That is what learning should look like.  My students have become more self-reliant, more courageous learners, more willing to take a risk and figure something out. Sure they still ask for my help, but it is with pointed questions and tried pathways.

So can you step back, can you let them try without giving out all of the steps?  Can you teach them overall skills on how to attack problems and then let them customize to each situation?  It takes guts and it takes courage, and it also takes an enormous belief in your students.  I think they deserve it.

Related articles

• Some Thoughts on Collaboration and Student Choice (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• It Takes One (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• 5 Steps to Letting Go and Learning More (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

It Takes One

"Here you go, you can have this one."  A little boy gives a train to Thea and she eagerly grabs it from him.

"You can also have this one," he says and once again happy fingers snag the train.

Another little boy approaches the train set and Thea turns to him, "Here you go, we're sharing."  And with that, 3 happy strangers each with their own train piece playing alongside each other.

It takes one child to start a behavior.  One child who shows others what to do or not to do.  One child to be the leader; right or wrong.  That child can choose to bully or that child can choose to lead.  A choice to think something is "cool" or not, a choice to accept or reject.  Sometimes the choice is made deliberately, other times it is matter of timing, comfort and perhaps even manners.  

It takes one adult to start a behavior, to set the precedent, to take their mood and view and influence others. It takes on adult to either welcome or dismiss ideas, new people, or even students.  One adult to show what to do so that others may follow.  Are you that adult?  And if yes, how do you lead?

Related articles

• All Hail the Rambunctious Girls - What Will Ever Come of Them? (coopcatalyst.wordpress.com)
• I Can Understand Those Parents (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Go On - Be Happy With Me (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

I Must Apologize Beforehand - A Serial Apologizer Apologizes

Image from here

I have to start out by saying I am sorry for what I am about to post.  It may offend, it may irk you a little, so thus the apology beforehand.  See there now you are disarmed and perhaps it wont really be so bad, after all, the apology has already been given.

I am serial apologizer.  Not for my life really but for the way I teach.  I don't flash the way I work in my classroom, which sounds ludicrous since I blog about it, but if you catch me in conversation, I am not one to tell you that what my kids do is pretty spectacular.  That the kind of community I am part sometimes makes me deliriously happy.  That I am so proud of all the work my students do, of the risks we take, and the mountains we climb.  I don't flaunt it because that would be too offensive.

And yet, for every time I hide what I do.  For every time I don't stand by the choices I have made in case I may offend someone, I chip away at my own desire as a teacher to be a world changer.  My own world, the world of my students, and perhaps even the greater world outside of my room.  For every time I wrap my teaching philosophy in apologies a little bit of it gets duller, less fantastic, until I wonder what I will be left with.

So why is it I feel the need to apologize?  Because I am different?  Because I have opinions?  Because I vehemently believe that the focus has to be on the needs of the students and not that of the teacher?  Because I believe in honest communication and not veiled lingo?  Because I believe that you have to fight for change from within in any way you can and give your students that voice?  Because I believe that we have to get the students involved in their own education so we don't lose them, after all education should not be done to them but with them?

I am not sure, I am sorry, I really don't know  But it is making me think that I need to stop.  I am starting to think that I need to stand by what I do a little taller, a little prouder and not diminish the choices I have made.  The choice to be different in an otherwise cookie-cutter educational system because it is what I believe in.  The choice to throw away punishment, lecturing, homework and grades as much as I can and instead focus on knowledge, exploration and the need to fail over and over again.  The choice to change, the choice to not do it the way I was taught, and the choice to take risks.  After all, it is working, I am sorry, but it is true.

Related articles

• You Don't Have to Be A Technology Whiz But You Do Need to Be Fearless (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Teachers Do More Than Teach - Why Technology Can Never Replace Them (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Yes It Is All About the Children But It Also Has To Be About the Teachers (mrspripp.blogspot.com)
• Some Thoughts on Collaboration and Student Choice (mrspripp.blogspot.com)

We Need More Courageous Conversations

I am wrong.  I made a mistake.  It didn't work.  These are all words I have had to say frequently in all of the years of my teaching career.  They are not easy to say, nor easy to swallow, and yet those words are what have made me the educator I am today; someone who reflects, someone who realizes they are human, someone who admits fault.

In education we often put ourselves on pedestals, assuming no wrong.  We have all of the answers because that is what we need to have.  We have the solutions, the right ways.  We are trained professionals after all.  Except we don't always have those answers, or the right way to do something.  Things may not always work and the students do not always get the best education.

We must learn to admit when we are wrong.  We must learn to reflect upon our mistakes and make ourselves better.  We must realize we are not perfect and that others don't expect us to be.  We must have these courageous conversations about our own teaching, our grade levels, our classroom, and our schools.  We must reflect, we must discuss, and we must learn.  If we all fall under the illusion of perfection we will never change the way we do teaching.  We will never change to be better.  Our students will never learn from s that mistakes are glorious occasions that move us forward.  Start the conversation with yourself and then spread it.  All it takes is one courageous person to set the example.

And right after I sent this out Chad Lehman reminded me that we need courageous actions.  He is so right; take your courageous conversations and turn them into action.

When Students Speak Do We Even Really Listen?

Get us out of our seats.  Less homework.  Not so many tests.  More projects, more hands-on, more fun.  All things students will tell you if you ask them how school should be.  All things we have heard for years and yet many of us have yet to react to them.  We chalk their statements up to students being lazy; they don't want to work, that is why they want less homework.  They don't know their curriculum so they don't want to be tested on it.  I have too much to cover so they have to listen and stay in their seats while I lecture.  We have a plan, a program, and students are just another piece to plan for and to fit into everything we need to cover.  They are obstacles to be conquered, to be molded and shaped until they fit perfectly into our round holes whether they started out square or triangular.

So as the education debate rages and more and more voices join the discussion, I wonder why we don't listen to the one that should carry the most weight; the student.  Where are the children at these meetings.  Where are the future generations?  Not even invited.  And I don't mean just the high school students but the young ones, the ones that have just started school that still like to come, that still like to be excited, the ones that haven't been burned by a system that progresses whether they are with it or not.   Those students should have a seat at the table and when they speak we should really listen.  We should stop with our excuses and our assumptions of why they say these things and want these changes.  We should listen to their message and then actually believe it.  Let them speak, let them be heard, and let us change.

It is possible to make school fun through projects and student choice.  It is possible to cut out homework and still cover everything you need to cover.  It is possible to not test and still know where your students are academically.  It is possible to stop talking and let them be the leaders, the guides, the teachers.  It is possible...if you believe in it.

Please Don't Mark It Wrong - How Our Society Raise Children Afraid to Fail

Another child stands by me asking for my help, 5 seconds after the assignment has been given, "But I just don't get it, Mrs. Ripp..."  And I ask, because this is the 3rd time today that this child has come up to me immediately into work time, "Well, did you try?"  She hasn't, she is scared, and she admits it readily;  "Please don't circle it.  Please don't mark it wrong."  So upset, she raises her voice, pleads with me as if my circle matters.  As if my marker holds the power.  And I am stumped because how does a 5th grader get that scared of failing?

The truth is we are doing this to kids, we, this society in pursuit of perfection is doing it to our kids, because it was done to us as well.  My daughter, who granted is only a wise two and a half year old is not afraid to fail.  She gets frustrated sure, but she tries and tries and then sometimes tries again.  We encourage this at home, urging her on, urging her to explore, to pick herself up.  Again, again, again.  Will she be the child in 8 years that stands petrified in front of me, asking for help because trying seems too daunting?

No teacher or parent tries to make their child afraid of failure.  Yet our practices in schools support this notion that failure is the worst thing that can happen.  An incorrect answer on a test pulls down your grade, you get enough, and you get an F for failure stamped across it for the world to see.  That F means nothing valid, nothing worth reading here, nothing worth.  Homework that is meant to be practice is tabulated, calculated, and spit out on our report cards.  The child who gets the answer right is heralded as smart, the child who gets it wrong is told to keep trying and maybe they will get it someday.

How we run our classrooms directly affect how students feel about themselves.  About how they feel about their own capabilities and their own intelligence.  I fail all the time in front my kids, not on purpose, I try stuff and it doesn't work and we talk about it.  And yet,  I am not perfect either.  I catch myself in using practice problems as assessment, where really they should be viewed just as practice.  I praise the kids that get it right and sometimes don't praise the ones that kept persisting but never reach a correct answer.  I don't alway have enough time to explore all of the options so I guide the kids toward success knowing that some venues will lead them to failure.  I shield them from it sometimes because I don't want to crush their spirits.

We have to stand up for our children and we have to turn this notion around that failure is the worst thing that can happen.  Failure is not the worst; not trying is.  We have to keep our kids believing in themselves and having enough confidence to try something.  If we don't we are raising kids that follow all of the rules, that never take risks, that never discover something new.   And that failure is too big to remedy.

An Easy Statement

You know what is easy to say? That our education system is broken. It is also easy to say that it is because of standardized tests, because of politicians, too much red tape and clueless administrators. We need more money, we need smaller class sizes, more time, more enthusiasm. I could go on listing all of the things we need.

And yet, at some point we must own up to our own responsibility. At some point we must change our statements and no longer just say that the system is broken. At some point we must say, I am part of the solution. That perhaps not everything in the system is broken but that there are flaws and we can do something about it.

Saying the system is broken is too easy. It removes responsibility. Take the responsibility, be the change, and then spread the word.