When I was a 5th grade teacher, my classroom was the very last one before the buses. Every day, all of the school’s students would pass by and inevitably some of those students and I would strike up a conversation. Day after day, a little kindergartener would tell me about his day, his shoes, his new fish, or whatever else popped into his mind. One day, he saw me and beamed,”Guess what, Mrs. Ripp!” “What?” I asked. “Peter was on yellow today!” He told this news as if it was the biggest gift, excitement spilling from his little body. Momentarily confused, because wasn’t this child’s name distinctly not Peter, it finally dawned on me; he was talking about another student. “Oh yeah?” I said. “Yes, Mrs. Ripp, it’s exciting, he hasn’t been on yellow all year…” It was November. My heart dropped.
Read more.
cross posted at http://pernillesripp.com/
Mass consumer of incredible books, Pernille Ripp helps students discover their superpower as a middle school teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin. She opens up her educational practices and beliefs to the world on her blog www.pernillesripp.com and is also the creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, a global literacy initiative that since 2010 has connected more than 1,00,000 students. Her book Passionate Learners - How to Engage and Empower Your Students is helping teachers change the way students feel about school. Her other book Empowered Schools, Empowered Students is meant to give others the courage to change. Follow her on Twitter @pernilleripp.
