ABSTRACT

Would you want to be a student in your own classroom? In this bestselling book, Pernille Ripp invites both novice and seasoned teachers to co-create a positive, interactive learning environment with students.

Based on honest reflections on her own teaching experience, Pernille offers a wide variety of ideas for sharing control, developing your intuition, learning how to fail, giving yourself grace, building community and trust, creating more choice, allowing time for student expertise, and letting go of the punish, behave, and reward cycle so that intrinsic motivation can thrive. This fully enhanced new edition is chock full of additional strategies and tools on topics such as centering students’ identities, overcoming barriers when creating student-centered lessons to emphasize ownership of the learning cycle, shoring up your boundaries to manage your time and stop the intense prep work, changing your homework habits to reduce your load and give students more time, deemphasizing grades, and much more.

With Pernille’s heartfelt stories and practical strategies, you’ll feel inspired to give your classroom back to your students and foster a community of truly passionate learners!

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

Learning to Break the Rules

chapter 1|13 pages

Rediscovering the Teacher You Set Out to Be

Taking the Steps to Change

chapter 2|19 pages

Would You Like Being a Student in Your Own Classroom?

Creating Conditions for Shared Power

chapter 3|20 pages

Shoring Up Boundaries

Protecting Your Time and Yourself

chapter 4|15 pages

It's Not How Your Classroom Looks

Creating Classroom Spaces Where All Children Can Thrive

chapter 5|16 pages

Cultivating a Passionate Learning Environment

Ways to Build Community and Trust

chapter 6|25 pages

Giving the Classroom Back

Getting Started With Student-Centered Learning and Overcoming Barriers

chapter 7|23 pages

Letting Go of the Punish, Behave, Reward Cycle

Building Conditions for Better Intrinsic Motivation

chapter 8|21 pages

Centering Standards and Identities

Planning Units and Lessons That Center Children

chapter 9|14 pages

Free to Have a Life

Changing Your Homework and Worksheet Routine

chapter 10|23 pages

Grading Destroys Curiosity

Moving to Authentic Assessments

chapter 11|10 pages

Final Thoughts

Making the Changes That Matter