LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE BUNNY
TEACHER
Practical weekly advice for the
classroom teacher brought to you by:
Rittman Rules! L.L.C.
Confidence Communication Creativity
Dede Rittman, a classroom
teacher for 37 years, shares her ideas, expertise, and lessons learned with all
teachers, both new and experienced.
Dede believes that every day learning, as well as learning about
teaching, are two life long processes for educators. Each day, Dede will share a “carrot of
wisdom” with you from her days as a classroom educator, focusing on the three
C’s of Confidence, Communication, and Creativity. Because of the person and teacher she is,
Dede will also add a fourth C to this web site, Compassion, which is a must for
all teachers. Dede believes that
teachers are each others best resources, so many of the “carrots” will address
staff relationships.
By the way, Dede’s teaching
days are not over, as she is continuing to educate both teachers and students
through her company Rittman Rules! She will soon be publishing her ebook RITTMAN RULES! A Practical guide to Student Teaching.
The name “Bunny Teacher” comes
from Dede’s former grade 10 English students.
As a teacher, Dede set very high expectations in the classroom, but
delighted in the learning process and often praised her students and called them
her “bunnies” as a term of endearment.
In 1989, her third period class bought her a bunny for her birthday, and
the saga and legend of Binky Rittman was born.
Binky Rittman was a Netherland lop who lived for 11 years- a long time
in “bunny years!” She was litter-box
trained by Dede and her husband Scott, and Binky had full run of the
house. When asked how she could litter-box
train a rabbit, Dede always answered “I teach 10th grade; I can tame
anything!” Binky went everywhere with
the Rittmans- on vacation to the beach, on weekends to the mountains, on long
drives in Dede’s convertible, to the nursing home to comfort patients, and
sometimes to school- and Binky gave love to everyone she met. Binky died in
August of 1999 from cancer, which had spread from the year before, when she had
a hysterectomy and complete mastectomy in 1998.
When Dede sees former students, they continue to remember Binky Rittman
and they still consider themselves to be “One of Mrs. Rittman’s Bunnies.”
An entertaining speaker, Dede
is available to address your faculty on a variety of topics.
Dede can be reached at bunnyteacher@yahoo.com or dederittman@gmail.com
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