the end of molasses classes by ron clark—read an excerpt!

8/6/2019 The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark—read an excerpt!

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A l s o b y R o n C l A R k

The Essential 55

The Excellent 11



A Tuchte bPuihed sim & schuter

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Preace

For those who have poured molasses, you know it comes out slowly, drag-

ging itsel rom the lip o the jar, hesitating in air as it seems to stretch

itsel to the biscuit, resisting every step o the way. It’s some kinda slow,

and it’s easy to see where my grandma Maude got one o her avorite say-

ings, “You are moving as slow as molasses.”

As a kid in the South, I learned to use molasses as a descriptive word

or anything that was slow, and as I traveled to all ty states to learnabout education in our country, I ound mysel drawing back to this

word rom my childhood. I witnessed teachers with no energy, students

who were struggling to prop up their heads, and classrooms that were just

checked out and uninterested. I thought to mysel, over and over, “Tese

are molasses classes.”

It broke my heart.

In the midst o the molasses, I would also nd pockets o classrooms

that contained passionate teachers and students who were on re and

thriving. I was urious that every child couldn’t have that type o experi-

ence, and I wanted to do something, to make a change. I just don’t have

the patience to try to rebuild the education system in America by go-

ing through politics and up against the bureaucracy o the system. For

me, the best way to initiate change in the way we educate our children

was by starting a revolution rom the ground up. I decided the most e-

ective way to ignite the revolution would be to build a school unlike

any other in the world. A school ull o passion, creativity, and rigor. A

school where parents and teachers would work together and support one



x Preace

another in the education o all children. It would be a school that would

nd new and innovative ways to reach our children in the school and

in the home, and the overall mission would be to then share what waslearned with others. It would be a school that would hopeully start a

change, one person at a time.

Now, years later, that dream is a reality. Te Ron Clark Academy in

Atlanta, Georgia, has started rom that ground-up revolution, and over

ten thousand educators rom around the world have visited our school to

learn about the unexpected ways the teachers and parents o RCA have

helped our children achieve great success. Te proessional developmentexperiences we oer are unique, because we allow educators to sit in our

classrooms to watch me and the rest o our exemplary sta in action as

we educate our students. As a teacher in North Carolina and New York,

I never let my classroom to see what other teachers were doing, and un-

ortunately that is the norm in our country. eachers graduate college,

enter their classrooms, and stay there thirty years. Tey rarely venture out

to learn rom others, and oten they don’t have access to an exceptionalteacher to learn rom. Our school oers that experience. We give teachers

something to strive or, and we show them what excellence in a classroom

looks like. We are by no means perect, and we make mistakes, but the

visitors are then able to see how we handle typical classroom challenges,

how we motivate students to apply their best eort, and how we inspire

every child to achieve successs. Tat type o experience is valuable or any

educator looking to improve and develop as a proessional.

Visiting educators oten comment that they wish every teacher and

parent could learn about the techniques we are using at RCA. Tere is

nothing like visiting in person, but or everyone else, we have created this

book, listing 101 o the most eective strategies we have used to help

our children succeed. Tis book serves as guidance or parents who want

more or their children, teachers who need strategies or helping students

achieve success, and communities that hope to uplit every child and im-

prove the education o our next generation.



PART IRCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue

I wr with a acut damic ad award-wiig teacher

wh are the et i ur prei. over the ear, we have

uit a it pricipe, idea, ad vaue that we ue t ru ur

ch ad um up wh we are a a ami. Thee “cre pri-

cipe” are at the heart hw we, a educatr, paret, admetr, tai ucce rm the chidre we ve.



1Teach chidre t eieve i themeve

ad d’t detr the dream.

As adults, it’s our job to inspire students to dream big and then to show

them that we believe their dream is possible. I love when my students tell

me that they want to be president o the United States, because I already envision one o them one day being just that. Tat is how I ask my sta

at RCA to look at our classes; I want them to realize that they are spend-

ing their time preparing someone to be the leader o the ree world. I tell

them that we can’t be sure which o them will hold the position, so we

best prepare all o them.

O course, I realize that the odds o any student becoming president

are small, but that isn’t important. What is important is that we see thatthere is potential in our children. Once we see potential in them, they

will begin to see it in themselves. I you walk in your classroom and “see”

a class o children with discipline problems and learning disabilities, you

are sure going to have your hands ull. I you “see” a class ull o law-

yers, business leaders, artists, and presidents, you are well on your way to

building a classroom o children who will regard themselves highly and

have their own expectation o success.It makes me cringe when a student says he or she wants to grow up to

be a proessional athlete. It’s such an unlikely goal, but I always tell my-

sel that I don’t want to be the person who turned someone away rom a

dream that could come true. I don’t want to squash a possibility, no mat-

ter how unlikely it may be. When students tell me that they want to be

athletes, I simply remind them that no matter what they do in lie, they

will enjoy it more i you are educated. I then ask them what they are go-

ing to major in at college and take the conversation in that direction.

I recall one student, Sita, I taught in New York City, who was a

skinny little scrawny thing like I used to be when I was his age. When I



4 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs

asked him what his goals were, he told me he wanted to go to college on

a basketball scholarship. Okay, so this kid looked as i he couldn’t lit a

ve-pound bag o potatoes and his legs were nothing but bone and knee.Tat’s it.

I just said, “Buddy, I love that you have a goal, and I believe in you. I

it’s what you really want, never give up.”

Sita assured me that he was a great basketball player, and I made some

time to play him ater school. Yikes. He shot the ball with so much con-

dence, but it went over the backboard. It was bad, but I told him to try

again and to ocus. His ace was so ull o condence. I told him thatgoals are only good i you’re willing to work or them, and he said, “Yes,

sir,” and went back to throwing the ball over the ence.

I kept up with Sita, and years later he called to let me know that he

was trying out or his high school’s basketball team. He was so excited

and asked i I’d go to one o his games to watch him play. I promised him

that I would be there no matter what and that I was so proud o him. I

asked him to call me with the game schedule as soon as he received it. When he didn’t call me the next week, I gave him a call. Sita talked so

sotly on the phone I could barely hear him. I was able, however, to make

out the words “I didn’t make it, Mr. Clark.”

It just about killed me. I told him not to worry and that even Michael

Jordan didn’t make his basketball team his rst year o high school. I re-

minded him not to give up and to continue to work hard. I told him

that he ound basketball un, and since basketball brought him so much

joy, that practice would be a pleasure. He agreed and promised to work

hard.

wo years later, Sita called to tell me that he had joined a basketball

club where he was able to play in games each week. He said it wasn’t

the school team but that he at least got to play. He invited me to come

watch, and I told him I couldn’t wait. When I arrived, I realized that the

game would be played on a small court at the end o a recreation center.

Tere were no bleachers, and I was the only person there to watch the

game. When I walked in, however, Sita was overjoyed. He just looked

shocked, like he couldn’t believe I was there. He said, “You really came,



RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 5

Mr. Clark.” I was also shocked to see him; he was tall enough to hunt

geese with a rake and he had lled out . . . a little. I sat to the side o the

court, anxious to watch the game.Sita was so excited. He was trying so hard that he had ve ouls in ve

minutes and ouled out in the rst quarter. He walked over to me and

said, “I am sorry, Mr. Clark. I was trying so hard.”

I said, “Sita, you keep at it, buddy. I enjoyed those ve minutes, and

I will remember how hard you were trying out there. Tose ve min-

utes taught me a lot about the eort we all need to put into everything

we do.”I stayed in touch with Sita and saw him a couple o times a year. We

never, ever discussed basketball again—until I received a call rom him

late one night. Sita let me know that since graduating high school, he

had been taking classes at a community college. I knew that much, but

he then told me that he had also been playing in community basketball

leagues, trying his best to get better. He was twenty-two years old and

still holding on to his hope o getting a basketball scholarship. He said,“Mr. Clark, remember when you told me that you believed in me and

told me never to give up?”

I said, “O course, buddy.”

He said, “Everyone else told me I was crazy. But because you believed

in me, that was enough or me. And, Mr. Clark, I didn’t give up, and I

want you to know that I just signed the paperwork accepting a ull bas-

ketball scholarship to play in college this all.”

I elt a lump in my throat.

He asked, “Mr. Clark, will you come watch me play?”

I just said, “O course, buddy. I will be there to see you play.” And

then ater a ew seconds, I asked, “Buddy, have they seen you play?”

Luckily, they had, and Sita’s abilities had improved dramatically. He

was going to college on a basketball scholarship, a goal he achieved be-

cause he would not deny his dream.

Imagine i every child reused to deny a dream. Doctor. Veterinarian.

Archeologist. Lawyer. Philanthropist.

Imagine i they never gave up. More important, imagine i we always




believed in them and let them know we had aith in them. Imagine what

would happen i we saw the great potential in them, and, thereore, they

saw it in themselves.I am incredibly proud to see the great success o my ormer students

rom New York and North Carolina. I have gone to dozens o their col-

lege graduations, and I have oten taken my current students with me to

show them true role models. When I visit colleges with my current stu-

dents to introduce them to university lie, my ormer students are almost

always the tour guides.

Te most important thing I see in my ormer students, however, isthat they all seem to have chosen majors and proessions that will allow

them to make a dierence in the lives o others. I remember Rubina tell-

ing me, “Mr. Clark, you have done so much or me, and I can’t wait until

I am in a position where I can do the same or others.”

Alize Beal was in my rst class, the “lower-level” th-grade class,

in Harlem. Ater traveling to South Arica with our class, she told me

that she was inspired to uplit others, not only in our country but alsoaround the world. She told me she wanted to be in international politics.

It seemed such a long shot, but I told her she would be wonderul and

that we need people like her in charge o important decisions.

When she was in high school, she called to say that the trip to Arica

was still very much in her mind and that she wanted to take her current

classmates there but that no teachers would sponsor the trip. I told her,

“Do it yoursel ! Find a way to lead the group. You can do it!”

A month later, I got a yer in the mail rom her school letting me

know that a group o their students was going to Arica to deliver mos-

quito nets. Te letter said they were currently doing a und-raiser and

were asking or support. In the top right-hand corner o the yer, it said,

“rip Advisor: Alize Beal.”

I said, “Oh, wow. You go, Alize! Get it!”

A ew months later, she led the group to Arica and changed their

lives orever.

When I took my RCA students to Washington, DC, Alize conducted




the tour o her college, Howard University, or us. Her degree is in inter-

national relations; she is there on a ull scholarship, and she is determined

to have an impact on the world.I recently saw her Facebook page, and there she is standing with Vice

President Biden, smiling rom ear to ear. I called her immediately and

ound out that she was doing an internship at the White House. Tat

girl is going places, and there are countless other stories o students I have

taught in the past. Te potential is there; it is our responsibility to see it,

to encourage it, and to let our children know that, without a doubt, we

believe in their dreams.

2

nt ever chid deerve a cie.Last year one o our new th graders was really struggling. He entered

RCA below grade level in every subject and he was ailing several courses.

When I met with his mom she deended her son by saying, “Well, he

made all A’s at his other school.” When I told her that was shocking, she

explained that he had done so well because he had a really great teacher.

Urgh!Tere is a misconception in our country that teachers whose students

make good grades are providing them with a good education. Parents,

administrators, and the general community shouldn’t assume good grades

equal high academic mastery. In act, in many cases those teachers could

be giving good grades to avoid conict with the parents and administra-

tion. It’s easier to y under the radar and give high grades than to give a

student what he or she truly deserves and ace the scrutiny o the admin-

istration and the wrath o an angry parent.

I have attended numerous awards ceremonies where practically every




child in the class received an honor roll certicate. Parents always cheer,

take pictures, and look so proud. I just sit there and think, Ignorance is

bliss. Are these kids really being challenged, or are they only achieving medio-cre standards set forth by a mediocre teacher in an educational system that is

struggling to challenge even our average students? Yet, all o the parents look

so proud and content.

Te worst part about it, however, is that I am araid most parents

would rather their child get a good education where they received straight

A’s and praise than an outstanding education where they struggled and

received C’s. At the beginning o every year, I give my th graders an assignment.

Tey have to read a book and present a project on one o its characters—

specically, they have to gure out a way to cleverly show such details as

what the individual kept in his heart (what he loved the most), saw with

his eyes (his view o the world), “stood or” with his eet, and held to

strongly in his backbone (his convictions). I encourage the students to

“bring it” and to use creativity and innovation to bring the body o thecharacter to lie.

Most o the students will bring a triold where they have drawn a

body and labeled the locations. Some will use glitter, and some will be

quite colorul. I am sure in most classrooms the projects would receive

high grades, mostly A’s and B’s. I, however, hand out grades o 14, 20, 42,

and other ailing marks. Te parents and students are always upset, and

many want an explanation.

I ask them to trust me, and I explain that i I gave those projects A’s

and B’s, then the students wouldn’t see a reason to improve their eorts

on their next assignment. Some sta members have even said, “Ron, but

you know what that child is dealing with in her home, and you know she

did that project all by hersel.” I quickly tell them that society isn’t going

to make excuses or their home situations, and we can’t either. I we make

excuses and allowances, it will send the child the message that it’s okay to

make excuses or his or her perormance based on circumstances, too. We

just can’t do it. We must hold every child accountable or high standards

and do all we can to push the child to that level.




I recall giving one th-grade student a ailing grade on her rst proj-

ect. She cried and cried. She had never made less than an A on her report

card, and her mother was devastated, too. I explained that the low grade would be a valuable lie lesson, and I gave the young girl, and the rest o

the class, tips and strategies or receiving a higher score in the uture. I

showed them an example o a project that would have scored 70, a proj-

ect in the 80s, and a project that would have earned an A.

I was pleased to see that her next project came to lie with New York

City skyscrapers that were sculpted rom clay, miniature billboards that

contained academic content, and streetlights that actually worked. Teproject was much, much better, and it received a 70.

As a nal project, the students were instructed to create a time line

that would contain a minimum o ty signicant dates in the history

o a specic area o the world. Te same young lady brought in her nal

assignment wrapped in trash bags. Removing it, I saw a huge, our-oot

pyramid, a replica o the Great Pyramid o Giza. Te student had made it

out o cardboard and apparently had used sandpaper to make it eel likea real pyramid. It was beautiul, but it didn’t contain a time line, so I told

her the grade would not be passing.

She grinned at me, walked over to the pyramid, touched the top

point, and suddenly three sides slowly ell open, revealing the inside. She

had carved her outline on the inside, using detailed pictures, graphs, and

descriptions o 150 major events. She even had hand-carved Egyptian ar-

tiacts and placed them throughout the inside o the pyramid, just as you

would nd in the tomb o a great pharaoh. She had handmade mummies

that she had learned how to make on the Internet. She looked at me and

said, “Mr. Clark, I have worked on this or weeks. I wanted it to be good

enough. I wanted it to be an A.” It was miraculous and spectacular. I

looked at her, ull o pride, and said with a smile, “Darling, it’s an A.”

I her initial project hadn’t been an F, she never would have walked in

with that pyramid. Tat child is about to graduate RCA, and she is ready

to compete with any high school student across the country. She knows

what high expectations are, she understands the value o a strong work

ethic, and she knows how to achieve excellence. I we continue to dumb




down education and to give students A’s and B’s because they “tried,” we

are doing them a disservice and ailing to prepare them to be success-

ul in the real world. Tat young lady couldn’t walk into an elite highschool and compete with a glitter-lled triold. However, she can walk

into any high school with that pyramid and her overall knowledge o how

to achieve that type o excellence and stand high above her peers.

I oten bake cookies or my students. I tell them it is my great-great-

grandma’s recipe and that she handed it to me in secret on her deathbed.

(Okay, a stretch.) As I pass out the cookies, the kids who are working

hard receive one with delight; the students who aren’t working as hard donot. Parents will call and say, “Mr. Clark, I heard you gave every child in

the class a cookie except my child. Why are you picking on my child?”

Why does every child have to get the cookie? Te parents claim that

I will hurt the child’s sel-esteem. Has it really gotten to the point that

we are so concerned with our children’s sel-esteem that we aren’t realis-

tic with them about their perormance and abilities? I we give “cookies”

when they aren’t deserved, then we are telling our young people that they don’t need to work hard to receive rewards. We are sending a message that

the cookie will always come. Tat is why we have so many young people

in their twenties who have no idea what it means to work hard. And that

is why they are still looking to their parents to provide support (and to

give them the cookie).

I tell my students who don’t receive a cookie that I will be baking

cookies the ollowing week. I tell them that I will watch them until thattime and that i they are trying hard they’ll earn their cookie. It is shock-

ing to see how much eort kids, regardless o their age, will display to get

a cookie. And when it is earned, it means something. Te students will

glow with pride, and they will explain how they are going to eat hal the

cookie then and save the other hal or later. Also, it tastes better than any

cookie they have ever eaten, and it sends the message that with hard work

comes rewards. I parents and teachers are just rewarding our kids with-

out cause, we aren’t teaching the value o personal eort.

We all need to teach our young people that not everyone deserves

a pat on the back just because we are attempting to make everyone eel




good. Giving praise that isn’t earned only sets up our students or more

ailure in the long run.

I you are a teacher who wants to increase expectations but is araid o the

backlash rom giving ailing grades on assignments that will cause your

parents and administration to reak out, there are some steps you can take

to protect yoursel. When you give an assignment, show your students

beorehand what you expect. Show a detailed description o what would

earn a ailing grade, a passing grade, and an outstanding grade. Share that

with your administration as well to make sure it meets their approval, andthen make your parents understand the expectations. Letting everyone

know what is expected beorehand will leave no opportunity or com-

plaints ater the grades have been given.

I you are going to give rewards, such as cookies, let the parents know

the classroom behaviors that will earn the reward and the behaviors that

will not. When students are struggling, let the parents know specically

the areas that need to be addressed. I the child still does not meet the cri-teria, you have been clear about your expectations and thereore negative

conicts can be avoided.

3Defe ur expectati ad the

raie the ar; the mre u expect,

the etter the reut wi e.

I am a rm believer that you get what you expect rom people, and the

higher you place your expectations, then the better the results. As I have

traveled around the world learning about education, I am always blown

away at the level o academic expectations other countries have o their

students. I believe it’s because the other countries want to position them-




selves to be where the United States currently is in terms o the world’s

economy, and they have realized that ocusing on educating their popula-

tion is the way to achieve that goal. When I have traveled through our ty states, however, I have not

seen the same picture. In many cases, I see teachers who are lecturing in

monotone voices, students who are alling asleep, and work that is ar too

easy. Te students are learning only out o a textbook, and there is no

movement, no lie, and no passion.

Where I see other countries teaching to their brightest and really

pushing their young people with a high degree o expectations, I see ourcountry teaching to the middle and rewarding mediocrity. We have an

education system in the United States that isn’t tailored to meet the in-

dividual needs o its students. It’s a watered-down approach to educating

the masses and herding children through a system that is geared toward

quantity over quality with a ocus on basic standards instead o having an

expectation o excellence or all.

When I rst started teaching, I told a ourth-grade teacher that I wasstruggling because there were so many kids o dierent levels in my class-

room; there were gited, average, low, and a heavy dose o low-low. With-

out hesitation, she said, “each to the middle, because i you make it too

hard, the low ones won’t know what’s going on.” I decided to give it a shot

and to ocus on the average students. Ater a week or so, I realized that the

smarter kids seemed bored and were starting to cause discipline problems.

I met with a mother about her son’s behavior and she said, “Te reason he

is in so much trouble is because he is bored. Te work is too easy.”

I am sure that is a sentiment elt by parents all over the country, but

in this case, she was denitely right. I was sacricing his needs or the

students who were at the lower end academically. I asked mysel, “Why

should we sacrice the gited ones to meet the needs o the lower stu-

dents?” I we, as a society, continue to sink all o our unds and resources

into making sure that not one child is let behind, where will our country

be twenty years rom now? Other countries are pushing their brightest

and raising expectations, and we are placing our greatest attentions on

making sure the needs o our struggling students are met.




I was really bothered by it all. I wanted to nd a way to address the

needs o everyone, but it’s nearly impossible when you have a class o

more than thirty kids with a ull range o abilities and discipline prob-lems. I decided to make an attempt to ocus the content o my lessons on

the high achievers. I would nd the brightest child in my classroom and

make sure that he was challenged on a daily basis and hold every child in

the class accountable or that same level o achievement. I knew, however,

that I would be setting the rest o the class up or ailure i I didn’t nd a

way to excite them to nd the harder learning un. I you are really going

to hold every student accountable or the highest levels o the curriculum,then you have to gure out a way to lit the students up to that level. You

can’t just set the bar, sit back, and say, “Get there.”

For example, the rst year at RCA, my th- and sixth-grade classes

came to me averaging better than 39 percent o the nation in math on

the Stanord 10 (an achievement test administered in public and private

schools across the country). I realized that most o the class wasn’t even

on grade level, so I said to mysel, “I’m going to teach them eighth-gradealgebra.”

When I told the sta at RCA what I was going to do, they said, “Ron,

come on now. You’re setting those kids up or ailure.”

But I said, “Nope. Te more you expect, the more you get. You will

see; I will get those kids up to eighth-grade algebra. But even i they don’t

quite get there, the gains they will make will be enormous.”

Tey still told me it wouldn’t work because I was skipping too much

content, but I told them I was sticking to my guns and that it would

work.

I started that year teaching eighth-grade algebra. I went in there like

a tornado, on re and ready to get the students up to the eighth-grade

standard!

And . . . it didn’t work.

Yeah, I skipped too much stu. I had students cry and parents com-

plain, and there was a general lack o positive spirit and excitement in the

room. Te students were looking at me as i I was speaking in another

language.




It’ the order operati

Ati—Ati, A, A, pu

When I introduced the song, the students sat straight up in their seats

and looked eager and excited or the rst time. Tey thought it was the

coolest thing ever, and they were anxious to learn the chorus as well as all

o the other verses o the song that dealt with how to handle the algebra

problems.

Te next day they showed up or class, eager to sing the song and to work on cool movements to go along with it. I saw in their excitement a

window o opportunity. I told them that we would gladly sing the song

at the end o class i everyone ocused and concentrated the entire period.

Boy, those were some attentive children! Tey were ready to go! Every

student sat rapt with attention, and as I taught the lesson, I explained

what each line o the song meant and how it would help us learn. Te

students would collectively go “Ohh” and nod their heads in understand-ing. At the end o class, we sang the song together, and I let them come

up with dance moves and hand signals or division, cubing numbers,

and other aspects o the song. When class was over, they all moaned and

asked i they could stay longer. I told them they had to go but that we’d

get another chance the next day.

When they arrived the next day, they didn’t walk; they bounced into

class. I let them know we’d sing it again at the end o class i they all tried

hard during the lesson. No one seemed to mind a bit, and they earned

the chance to sing the song again.

Te next day the same thing happened, only this time when they sang

the song, it wasn’t really singing a song, it looked more like a Broadway

production. Te students were really letting loose and choreographing

the coolest moves! It was incredible!

Te end o that week was our rst educator visitation ever at RCA,

and at the end o the math lesson I thought it would be cool to show the

visiting educators the song we had learned. I asked the educators to come




to the ront o the class, the music started, and the kids took over. I still

remember standing there and watching the aces o the visitors. Te kids

looked so sharp, happy, and ull o passion or algebra! Tey were singingtheir hearts out, and some kids were so excited that they jumped up on

the desks, continuing with the dance moves rom up above. It was orga-

nized, wild, and beautiul.

When they nished the song, the educators erupted into applause.

Te kids and I kept tossing one another glances that said “Wow, they re-

ally liked it.”

When one o the teachers asked a student what he loved most aboutRCA, he answered, “I love algebra class because it’s un and challenging at

the same time.” Tat child came to RCA scoring better than only 4 per-

cent o the nation when compared to other th graders (in other words,

96 percent o American th graders did better than he did), and his a-

vorite class was algebra. Wow.

Troughout that year, I continued to nd ways to make that class

un. We used colored chalk to work out algebra problems on the side- walk, I played the Mission: Impossible theme in the background as they

tried to work the challenging problems in sixty seconds or less, and I used

ootball stats, ood challenges, and more songs to make the class un.

When the students weren’t trying their hardest on the board work that

started each class, I gave each child a balloon and Magic Marker. Tey

worked the problem on the balloon, and ater sixty seconds the students

with the correct answers got to sit on their balloons and pop them. I had

to use tricks like that a lot, but it kept the energy and excitement or the

class high, and the students were always excited to see what would hap-

pen next in algebra class.

At the end o the year, we received the end-o-grade scores or the

th and sixth graders. On the Stanord 10, the th and sixth graders

scored on the same level that the average tenth grader would have scored

on the test. As a class, they had outscored 86 percent o the nation. Tat

is a 47-point increase in the group’s percentile score, and those amiliar

with the Stanord 10 will tell you that is an incredible eat. Tey will also

tell you that in order to have a class’s percentile that high, you can’t have




students scoring in the single digits, and that is the best news about the

scores. While the high-perorming students almost all scored in the 99th

percentile (that means that only 1 percent o all students taking the testdid better), the students who came to me with scores ranging around the

3rd, 10th, and 11th percentiles were now scoring in the 65th, 77th, and

80th percentiles. By teaching to the top and not lowering the expecta-

tions o the entire class, all o the students beneted. It was an incredible

validation or where our goals should be in every classroom, and it set

a tone or high standards leading to outstanding results throughout our

entire school.Looking back on my teaching career, I know I owe a great deal o

the success o my students to the philosophies o teaching to the top and

not lowering expectations. I ound that children like a challenge, and that

when it is presented in a positive and encouraging way, they are receptive

to giving it a shot.

A common question I receive is how do we deal with students at RCA

who would benet more rom a small classroom getting geared towardstudents with learning disabilities. I have ound that being surrounded by

peers who are paying attention, trying hard, and eagerly trying to solve

challenging problems encourages those students to take on many o those

behaviors, and we eel that they are better o in the regular classroom

setting.

All kids want to eel that they are normal, and when we separate

them rom their classmates too much, it can be demoralizing. In my ex-

perience, the students who remained with my general education classes

showed greater progress, and their test scores increased more than those

o students who were removed or part o the day. In some cases, how-

ever, or students with autism or academic weaknesses that simply can’t

be met in the regular classroom setting, individual classes are better. I es-

timate, however, that less than 20 percent o the students being pulled

out or special services in our country actually are better o in the long

run rom being in the small classroom setting. Te other 80 percent will

perorm better in the regular classroom environment.

Regardless o the level o the students, they all benet rom higher




expectations. Te more we ask o America’s children, the more they will

achieve, and i we aren’t pushing them academically, then we aren’t giving

them the tools and skills they will need to compete with other studentsglobally who will be more prepared or the jobs o the uture.

Frm Matthew’ Mm

I’ve ee imp amazed at hw much m chid ha “rie t the

ccai” i hi chwr ad ha grw much academica

i uch a hrt time at RCA. It i true: raie the ar ad with gd,id teachig, chidre wi reach that eve perrmace. Ad i

u ctiue t raie the ar, the wi jut ctiue t eep reach-

ig ad exceedig the ar. We were td Mr. Car ad Mr.

bearde prir t ch tartig t e prepared r the amut ad

the caier wr at RCA. We, the rea were t iddig. Dur-

ig the frt ew wee ch, m fth grader wa dig eighth-/

ith-grade math. We had t earch math rmua ie, ad wewere uig m teth grader’ high ch equati cacuatr jut t

chec ur wr. I rememer thiig, There is no way my child is

going to be able to do this math. but I ept remidig me what

Mr. Car ad Mr. bearde aid, “Trut u—the tudet wi e

fe. The wi evetua get it, jut e patiet.” We ept wrig

with him, upprtig him at hme, ad maig ure he tudied ev-

er ight. I eve ega devepig pp tet—mimicig Mr. Car.

We, eede t a, m chid wet rm maig 41 ad 60 t

90 ad eve me 100! He did get it . . . jut a the aid he

wud! The mra thi tr: trut the teacher ad e upprtive

them ad ur chid. Aw them t “puh” them ad appreciate

them r dig .

—Mr. Meadw, paret, Ca 2014




Frm Teema’ Mm

Ater the frt da at RCA, we gt hme ad aw the hmewr adwere quic awaeed rm ur tupr it a reait high expec-

tati. We at arud the tae that eveig wderig, “What i

the wrd! Did u get the eighth-grade hmewr pacet?”

M huad ad I ed at the frt math prem the hme-

wr heet, ed at each ther, ed at ur , ad ed at

the prem agai. Ueievae. The prem wa a g a the

page. M chid had idea where t tart, et ae cmpete it, Ithught.

oviu rutrated with ur impicit, ater a ew ecd, ur

chid atched the paper rm u, ega igig a g, ad et

traight t wr the prem ie it wa a reeze. We watched

him ad wdered, i he rea dig thi? oa, a, he did’t

get it right the frt tr r the ecd tr, ut he wa t araid

trig agai ad agai uti he gt it right. oh, there were auttwet-fve g prem. It t aut a hur t fih them

a. yu hud have ee tw adut ad three chidre peerig at

e heet i the midde the itche tae ad evere u tr-

ig t wr them ut. It wa great! I wih I had a picture that.

The et part, hwever, wa watchig Teema ear t mater

the agera t the pit where he wa hadig the prem with

eae ad actua teachig the ret the ami hw t d it a

we. The tadard were raied r u a, ad, a a ami, we re

tgether t the chaege.

—Mr. Hai, paret, Ca 2014




4Upit ther adut wh pa a re

i the ive ur chidre.

When you show people that you appreciate their hard work and that you

are aware o their eorts, the job they are doing tends to improve. We

need to realize that when parents and teachers uplit one another, they arecreating the type o environment where children will soar, and the impact

can be proound.

Te rst year at RCA, our parent association, RCAP (Ron Clark

Academy Parents), let us know that they wanted to do a teacher appre-

ciation week. Tat is pretty standard at most schools, and we were all

amiliar with the concept. Basically, you receive a thank-you card in your

mailbox, and on Friday you nd a mug with a red bow on your desk.Tat seems to be standard procedure or teacher appreciation week.

We let the parents know that we would be grateul or anything they’d

like to do or our sta, but we had no idea o the amazing week they had

planned. We were served homemade breakasts and lunches the entire

week, courtesy o our parents’ kitchens. Te parents turned one o our

rooms into a spa, and parents who were licensed therapists gave mani-

cures and massages throughout the week. Our avorite treats showed upas mini-surprises; every time I turned around I saw a resh Coca-Cola,

Swedish Fish, and chocolates. Yum. Te best part o the week, however,

was that throughout each day, parents were hugging us and thanking

us with heartelt words or the impact we were having on their children.

It was wonderul. We honestly didn’t think it could get any better, but

then we were asked to clear our schedules or a small event on Friday

night. We agreed and were told to arrive at RCA at six.

Upon our arrival, we saw limousines awaiting us in the parking lot.

Parents were there to help us step into the cars and going out o their way




to treat us like royalty. Te limousines took us about ten minutes away to

another school that had allowed our parents to use their gymnasium or

the night. When we pulled up, I couldn’t believe my eyes. All o the RCA stu-

dents, their parents, grandparents, riends, and amily had ormed a red

carpet line out in ront o the gym. Tey were cheering on both sides, and

they were so loud, it elt as i the limousines were shaking. I’ve only ever

seen something like that on V when the Beatles or Elvis were arriving,

and I couldn’t believe that my sta members and I were receiving the

same treatment. As we stepped out o the limousines, the crowd erupted. Conetti ew

and students high-ved and hugged us as we made our way down the red

carpet. In the gym we ound tables, with tablecloths and candles, set up

to accommodate hundreds o people. Te parents and grandparents had

been preparing a east or days, and ood was everywhere: turkey, barbe-

cue, chicken, collards, cake, string beans, and corn bread. Wow! It could

not get better, but then, it did. A program began with each sta member being called up to receive

a basket that contained his or her avorite items. Each sta member also

received a plaque o appreciation. And then, the best part happened! Te

curtains pulled back, and I will never orget what I saw: our grandmas

and one great-grandma, decked to the nines and lip-syncing “My Guy”

by Mary Wells. Te crowd jumped to their eet! It was amazing! As soon

as they were nished, the entire Avril amily (our student, Osei, along

with his mother and sisters), took the stage dressed as the Jackson 5 and

sang “I Want You Back,” complete with dance moves to rival the orig-

inals’! I honestly could not contain mysel. I literally jumped onto my

seat, jumped over the table in ront o me, and ran to the stage. (I can be

a tad dramatic.) I absolutely had to be as close to them as I could get, to

eel that energy, to be in that moment as solidly and as completely as I

could. I loved it.

When I turned around, I realized that everyone had joined me. We

had stormed the stage, and everyone was dancing, cheering, and smil-




ing. It was incredible, and as I looked around at Ms. Scott, Ms. Mosley,

and our entire sta, they were all crying and I gure as happy as you can

imagine people being. At our sta meeting that uesday, we talked or more than an hour

about how much that night and the entire week had meant to us. We

talked about how we had to do even more to help and uplit our stu-

dents. We all elt an overwhelming sense to continue to earn the respect

that had been shown to us. Te sta at RCA works long hours, but I saw

everyone staying even later and working harder to be more creative and

supportive o our students.I think a lot o people eel the need to wait until something won-

derul is done or them beore they show appreciation, but what I have

witnessed is that i you show appreciation or others or the job they are

doing, even i they really haven’t gone above and beyond, it can inspire

people to work harder to live up to your gratitude.

As teachers, we need to remember to show appreciation to our parents

as well. I you know a parent worked hard to help his or her child study or a test, you should send home a note to the parent attached to that test

with stickers and a “Bravo” to the parent or a job well done. Let parents

know you can tell how hard they have worked to raise their children with

manners and respect, and reach out and tell them the good things their

children are doing. Have your students write haiku poems and mail them

to their parents or Valentine’s Day. What you do specically isn’t as im-

portant as making sure that you and your sta are reaching out to the

parents and showing them that they are respected and their support in the

mission to educate their children is appreciated.

D Thi:

oe the greatet wa paret ad teacher ca upprt e

ather i hwig mutua repect. Teacher eed t reaize that

chidre are the ceter a paret’ wrd, ad we eed t have




patiece whe a paret eem a it verearig ad hperei-

tive. We’d ie r them t e mre eveheaded, ut whe the taeituati verard we have t reaize it’ e aut u ad mre

aut their ve r their chid.

Paret eed t reaize that chidre wi, ature, cmpai

aut the teacher at time. A cmm cmpait i that the teacher

de’t ie him r that he i eig piced . Whe that happe,

paret hud remid the chid a the thig the teacher ha

de r the ca ad r him a a idividua. We eed t wrhard t eep ur chidre pitive ad t eed it their egativit

aut a ituati.

Frm nee’ Mm

It wa the frt emeter ixth grade, ad nee had a 63 iga tudie, which i a F at RCA. Eve thugh he wa dig

extreme we i a her ther cae, he cud’t eem t get a

hade ga tudie. Mr. Car ued her ut with ever aied

pp tet ad gave her “tugh” ve ever ca. nee et he wa

eig t hard her (eve t the pit thiig that he did t

ie her), ut I aured her that he wa hard her ecaue he e-

ieved i her. I did t ie the directi thi whe thig wa gig

i, ad I ew I had t act quic ecaue thi wa t the attitude

r victr; it wa the attitude r deeat.

s I aed nee thee queti:

D u rememer what Mr. Car aid t u at ur ver frt

paret-teacher fth-grade cerece? Rep: He aid that I wa g-

ig t e a RCA a-tar.

Were u ivited t e i Perrmace Grup whe it wa ivita-

ti Mr. Car? Rep: ye, ad he piced tw fth grader.

Whe did u receive ur RCA jacet? Rep: The frt rud

ad I cried.




Ha Mr. Car ever che u t pi the whee? Rep: ye,

three time, mae ur.

nw, nee, d u rea eieve that Mr. Car de tie u?

Rep: n, I d’t eieve Mr. Car ie me, Mm; I eieve

that he ve me.

Ad he urt it tear.

I itera thught I wa gig t die at that mmet, ut I td

trg ad jut hed m chid. nee eeded t e remided a

her accmpihmet at RCA ad t et her ga tudie gradewer her mrae.

Ater that cverati, he requeted r me t d a paret-

teacher-tudet cerece with Mr. Car, ad I et it up. He ug-

geted cmig t ur hme, itead u gig t the ch. nee

wa ver excited, ad I had t ee her that happ i wee. There

wa a majr ga tudie tet cmig up, ad thi wud e her

fa chace t rig her grade up ad pa the ca.Frm the mmet Mr. Car waed thrugh ur rt dr, I

ew i m heart that nee wa gig t pa that ga tudie

tet, ecaue w thi wa pera. The act that Mr. Car t

the time t cme t ur hme, ta t nee, g thugh her te,

give her tud tip, quiz her, ad eat dier with her wa gig

ave ad ed. nee tudied da ad ight r that tet, ad

he made a 94! Thi pued her grade up t a 83, ad gue wh

made A/b hr r. It wa tru e the happiet da m ie

a a RCA paret ad a nee’ mther.

Tha u, Mr. Car, r hwig ur chidre tugh ve whe

the eed it ad r rewardig them whe the deerve it.

—Mr. baie, paret, Ca 2013




5lite.

Parents, students, and teachers all want to be heard. Tey want to eel

that you truly hear where they are coming rom and that their point has

been made. One o the best pieces o advice anyone ever gave me was to

allow people to vent and to hear them out completely without interrupt-ing. Once they have said all they want to say, then you may begin answer-

ing them calmly. Usually I will say, “I really appreciate hearing everything

you had to say, and I understand your point o view.”

Several times, parents have been upset, and I let them go on and on,

and then right beore they nish, they’ll say, “But, Mr. Clark, that was

real nice o you to listen to me like that, and I eel better now that I know

you heard what I wanted to say.” rying to cut them o or disputing theircomments throughout their rant isn’t going to work. Just relax and listen.

One o the biggest mistakes I ever made as a teacher came because I

wasn’t there to “listen” when I needed to be. I was walking down the hall-

way o Snowden Elementary School in eastern North Carolina. I had just

taken my th-grade class to lunch, and I noticed a little boy standing in

the hall by himsel. Snowden was a small school with only ve hundred

kids, and everyone knew them all by name. However, I had never seen

this child. He looked up at me with huge eyes that were ull o too much

sorrow or the eyes o a child. I asked him i he was a new student at the

school and he said, “Yes, my dad just dropped me o.” He looked com-

pletely rightened. I took him into the ofce and helped to get the process

on the right track. From that day orward, I mentored Kenneth. I saw

something special in him, and I was determined to make that child smile.

I ended up teaching him th and sixth grades, and he was one o the

most insightul and intelligent children I had ever taught. He seemed to

carry the weight o the world on his shoulders, though, and I struggled

to nd ways to make him laugh and enjoy himsel. I recall talking with




him and his stepmother in the hall one day. I said, “Tis young man is

extremely gited, and you should be so proud.”

She looked like I must be crazy as she replied, “Kenneth? Naww.”It was horrible.

Over the next two years, I took his class on trips to Washington, DC,

and New York City. When Kenneth didn’t have all o the unds or the

trip, I sat with him day ater day at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store selling

Krispy Kreme donuts until he had all o his unds.

I sponsored a basketball league Kenneth played in and did all I could

to take him and his classmates to the movies, the bowling alley, and bas-ketball games. Kenneth and I bonded a great deal, but I knew he was

dealing with major issues in his personal lie. I was with him or hours

and hours, but I never once asked him about it.

I continued to mentor Kenneth through junior high and high school. I

eventually took him on trips with several o my other students all over the

country and even to Costa Rica, Japan, and South Arica. Unortunately,

Kenneth was on crutches during the entire trip to South Arica. We visiteddozens o orphanages and schools, but he never complained once.

On the last day o the trip, the boys came rushing to get me. Tey

said, “Mr. Clark, come quick! You have got to see Kenneth!” I ran in his

room to see that his armpits were bleeding. Te crutches had rubbed him

raw, but he didn’t want to mention the pain or ear o looking like he

was complaining or ungrateul. Tat story alone sums up the character o

that very special young man.

When it came time or Kenneth to go to college, I helped him ll out

the paperwork and then helped him buy dress clothes and stock his room

at UNC-Greensboro. When he graduated with a degree in sociology, I

was there in the audience with my students rom RCA. I wanted them to

see Kenneth’s graduation as an example o what you can be, regardless o

your circumstances.

Ater graduation, we hired Kenneth to work at RCA. Tere couldn’t

possibly be a better person to exempliy character, dedication, and respect

than he. As Kenneth works with RCA’s students, I can tell that he loves

them like they are his younger brothers and sisters. He spends every ree




minute at their sporting events on the weekends, tutoring them ater

school, taking them to the movies, and spending one-on-one time with

children who need a positive inuence in their lives. Te greatest thingabout it is that he never tells me or the sta that he was at the games or

that he was working with individual students. I will hear about it rom a

child or a parent, but Kenneth doesn’t care i anyone else knows. He just

does it because he wants to, and that is a beautiul thing.

Kenneth and I were talking one day about his experiences growing up

and how they mirror what some o RCA’s students go through. He said to

me, “Mr. Clark, you knew I was going through a horrible time growingup and that I had so much to deal with in my home.”

I said, “I know, Kenneth, and it used to bother me so much.”

And then he asked, “Mr. Clark, why didn’t you ask me about it? I

would have told you everything. I needed to tell you. I just wanted you

to ask me.”

I still haven’t gotten over it. It’s hard or me to even write about it

here because I stop to think about it, to analyze why I didn’t ask him. Ithaunts me. I think part o the reason I never brought it up was because I

was araid o embarrassing him, and in some ways I elt it just wasn’t my

business. Also, deep down I think I realized that i I knew everything I

probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. It would have been

so hard or me to deal with, and it’s easier to just turn a blind eye and be

ignorant. I made a oolish mistake.

I can’t go back and change what happened, but I can make sure that

rom here on out to be there or my students and not to hesitate to ask

them i there is something they need to talk about. I let kids know that

they can come to me with issues, and I don’t hesitate to ask them about

situations because I am araid it will embarrass them. I think it’s embar-

rassing when people don’t ask, yet you know that it’s on their minds.

Tere is actually a positive outcome rom Kenneth holding his eel-

ings inside. In addition to working at RCA, he also has a budding career

as a recording artist. In his spare time he is known as K-Green, and he

writes and perorms outstanding songs about the emotions he elt grow-

ing up. Te songs are therapeutic or Kenneth and or others who have




been in similar situations. I am so proud o him, and it was an honor to

dedicate this book in his name. I I ever have a son, I would hope that he

would turn out to be exactly like the young boy I have been so honoredto watch become a man.

Kenneth is now serving as a mentor or young people the way I was or him.



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