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S TART
READING
TODAY !
V ISIT ENDOFMOLASSESCLASSES.COM
FOR VIDEO AND MORE!
FOLLOW R ON!
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A l s o b y R o n C l A R k
The Essential 55
The Excellent 11
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A Tuchte bPuihed sim & schuter
new yr ld Trt sde new Dehi
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Tuchte
A Divii sim & schuter, Ic.
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new yr, ny 10020
Certai ame have ee chaged.
Cpright © 2011 R l. Car, Ic.
A right reerved, icudig the right t reprduce thi r prti there
i a rm whatever. Fr irmati, addre Tuchte suidiar Right
Departmet, 1230 Aveue the America, new yr, ny 10020.
Firt Tuchte hardcver editi Ju 2011
ToUCHsTonE ad cph are regitered trademar sim & schuter, Ic.
Fr irmati aut pecia dicut r u purchae,
peae ctact sim & schuter specia sae at 1-866-506-1949
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Fr mre irmati r t a evet ctact the sim & schuter speaer bureau
at 1-866-248-3049 r viit ur weite at www.impeaer.cm.
Deiged Ruth lee-Mui
Mauactured i the Uited state America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
lirar Cgre Catagig-i-Puicati Data
Car, R.
The ed mae cae : gettig ur id utuc :
101 extrardiar uti r paret ad teacher / R Car.
p. cm.—(A Tuchte )
1. Eective teachig. 2. Hme ad ch. 3. Cduct ie. I. Tite.
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Fr keeth
It i m greatet wih r a m tudet tgrw it the idividua u have ecme.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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,
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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
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6 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 7
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
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8 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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.
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 9
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
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10 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 11
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-
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12 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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.
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 13
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.
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 15
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
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16 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 17
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
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18 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 19
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
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20 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 21
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-
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22 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 23
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.
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24 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 25
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
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26 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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
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RCA’ Cre Pricipe ad Vaue 27
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
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28 THE EnD oF MolAssEs ClAssEs
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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For more practical, innovative, and powerfulmethods to enliven classrooms and ignite a
passion for learning in every child, order yourcopy of The End of Molasses Classes !
“Get on the desk ” and make every schoolthe absolute best it can be!
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