C4T #3

     Pernille Ripp is a fourth grade teacher, and the first post I read by here was What Have I Done? In this post she voices her concern for teaching students how to think critically. In her classroom she encourages students to speak up and places value on each individuals voice, but she also understands that this is very different from the mainstream classroom. She is encouraging students to talk and think while other teachers are simply throwing information at the class, and she'e concerned how this will affect her students in those other settings.
     I replied and told her what she was doing was great. I believe students need that, so the challenge for us a teachers becomes not how to teach kids how to think critically (they can do that amazingly if we just let them), but how do we teach them to walk in both worlds. In her classroom critical thinking is encouraged, yet in others it's not, but that doesn't mean students shouldn't think critically in those environments. It's a challenge to bridge that gap, and often I think we'll find ourselves wondering the same thing as Mrs. Ripp. Asking if we are really doing the right thing, but I believe that we are.

     The second post by Mrs. Ripp talked about using a child's name when trying to discipline them. During class if a student is not paying attention or off track then most teachers tend to use the students name. "John sit up," or "Ellen quite drawing," are pretty common in our classrooms, but Mrs. Ripp explains how this can be harmful. By using a students name, now the whole class knows exactly who is not doing what. Suddenly all of the attention is focused on that one student, and for some, this can be a crippling embarrassing moment.
     I commented back agreeing with her. She offers multiple alternatives, but what I commented on was how she related the class back to her students. She stumbled across the idea from a student who, during a class assignment, told her that being called out in class like this is embarrassing. She centered an activity around student's opinions, and then she took that advice. I hope to learn how to center my classroom around my students the way she does.