Meet Pernille Ripp
PERNILLE RIPP is a prolific blogger, highly recognized speaker, literacy expert, creator of the Global Read Aloud, and the author of several books, including Passionate Readers: The Art of Reaching and Engaging Every Child. She’s also a Danish educator living in the US, mother of 4, and soulmate to an incredible man that makes it all possible.
Pernille’s context in education is that of a 7th grade English teacher in Oregon, WI. She has the privilege of having her reality checked by 75th students each day, and she enjoys learning from them constantly. Pernille also writes regularly on her blog and frequently shares her learning with other educators around the world.
When Our Best is Not Enough
When Pernille thinks of failures in her education career, she thinks of the moments when her best efforts just haven’t been enough. Yes, she can think of lots of successes in reading and writing and the growth of her learners. But there are other stories and everyday experiences that challenge us as educators and shake our confidence in our own effectiveness.
Sometimes we don’t see the progress that we want to see, and sometimes our students will remain resistant to the passions and skills that we seek to cultivate in them. One thing we can focus on in cases like that, Pernille observes, is to make sure that we are doing everything in our power to avoid contributing to the problem. Even if we can’t be THE solution for a learner, we can strive to at least contribute toward it.
The Power of Pink
Pernille describes the incredible night when Pink asked to personally meet her daughter, a victim of terrible bullying in third grade. She explains some of the trauma that her daughter experienced during the previous year, and calls this surreal experience with Pink as a powerful moment of affirmation and self-confidence that will stay with her daughter forever. (Check out Pernille’s Dear Pink.)
Though her daughter’s story isn’t over, Pernille talks about the power of taking the time and energy to speak life into others by telling them we see them, they’re important, and they matter. The whole experience has also set her daughter on a mission to stand up for other kids who may be struggling in similar ways.
Blogging as a Form of Authentic Self-Reflection
Pernille recalls the very beginning of her blogging journey. Her purpose and intentions have remained as simple as they were at the outset, and the blog remains more about her own reflective process than anything else.
That said, years of consistent and authentic writing have taken her blog further than she could have ever imagined. Many of her closest professional connections and mentors have come from her blogging work, and she owes her speaking engagements and publishing achievements to the organic growth of the blog.
The publishing process requires a thick skin, Pernille observes, and it’s also critical that you understand your core purpose. First and foremost, blogging is about self-reflection and learning. “The reason I publish publicly is because it keeps me honest,” she says.
We actually don’t need more stories from perfect teachers – what we really need is more genuine reflections about what we’ve done, where we’ve failed, and how we’re growing, learning, and improving our practice.
Literacy and Equity in Education
Pernille has focused a lot lately on the roles that literacy and literature play around equity in education. Preserving the status quo often means perpetuating ongoing inequities, so instead of doing that, let’s make it our aim to disrupt norms, she urges. Connect with people who are doing disrupting things, like the authors of Disrupt Texts or the Twitter conversations happening at #CleartheAir.
Pernille is often accused of making her book choices political, but she shrugs that off as inevitable resistance that comes when we amplify the voices of the marginalized.
Children’s Lit Titles on Pernille’s Radar
When she thinks of recent kids’ lit or teen lit titles, a couple of books that have attracted Pernille’s attention include The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, Redwood and Ponytail by K. A. Holt, Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson & Ellen Hagan, and Born a Crime by Trevor Noah.
These stories and others like them are finally being shared, heard, published, and it gives Pernille hope that blind spots in our culture are slowly being eliminated and students are learning to see the world through other people’s eyes.
Pernille’s Professional Goals
Pernille’s goals include continual improvement and growth as a teacher of writing – and particularly, writing as a tool for social change. She’s slowly formulating content for another book as well, and this one will come directly from the learning experiences of her students. Her students have made it clear that they would like to be in a book, and she’s more than happy to amplify their voices.
In the bigger picture, Pernille also wants to remain mindful of life balance: saying yes to large projects also means saying no to other priorities, and it’s important to her to protect the marriage, family, and professional priorities that matter most.
Personal Passions Outside of Education
Pernille is focused on learning how to relax. By nature, she likes to be busy, so she’s working hard to rewire her brain to recognize reading books, hanging out with her kids, cooking, baking, and gardening as productive time. These activities take her away from her computer and so-called “productive activities” in order to slow down and enjoy simple pleasures and relationships more deeply.
Productivity Habits and Hacks
Pernille gives her husband Brandon credit for her productivity, calling him the powerhouse that makes her work possible. He takes care of so much on the home front to create the time she that she needs to meet her professional commitments, and she’s grateful for his support.
She also calls herself a task slayer in the sense that she takes out tasks as quickly as possible. Her blogging practice is quick and efficient, and most of her published pieces are actually first drafts.
She’s also developed her ability to say no and walk away. As a teacher, there’s always more that we can do in our classrooms or on our lesson plans if we are willing to sacrifice personal happiness and relationships. But as human beings, we need to be able to walk away and be content with good enough.
Her motto right now is less learning, more BEING.
Voices and Resources That Inspire Her Practice
Over on Twitter, Pernille shouts out a few inspiring educators worth following: @ValeriaBrownEdu, @DebReese, @JuliaErin80, @TchKimPossible, @TriciaEbarvia, and @NenaGerman.
Pernille’s favorite edtech tool? Her AirPods! As an introvert, she appreciates the power of her AirPods to give her some separation when she needs it.
Her adult-level book picks include Troublemakers: Lessons in Freedom from Young Children at School, by Carla Shalaby. She’s also been enjoying the poetry of Amanda Lovelace in The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One.
A podcast that Pernille and her teaching team have enjoyed lately is NPR’s More Perfect, hosted by Jad Abumrad. Follow the host on Twitter @JadAbumrad.
Two Netflix shows on Pernille’s radar lately are Derry Girls and Sex Education. The latter was seriously entertaining, but don’t break it out in your middle school classroom any time soon!
We sign off on this conversation, and Pernille gives us the best ways to connect with her online. See below for details!
Connect with Pernille:
- On her blog: @PernilleSRipp
- On Twitter: @PernilleRipp
- On Instagram: @PernilleSRipp
- At her Facebook group: Passionate Readers Book Club
- Browse her books: https://amzn.to/2Wo9Bly
Song Track Credits
- Intro: Stand Up (by Mike Cosmo — license purchased at https://taketones.com/)
- Outtro: Bluntedsesh4 (by Tha Silent Partner, courtesy of FreeMusicArchive.org)
Teachers on Fire 