The Internets went wild earlier this week when the video above of Ron Clark, founder and teacher at Atlanta’s Ron Clark Academy, hit. The video shows Clark dancing with students at his school.
Clark is a former Disney American Teacher of the Year (not to mention New York Times bestselling author and Oprah Winfrey Phenomenal Man) because he knows that when you build relationships with kids, learn about their culture, infuse that same culture into learning and treat kids with the SAME respect you want you will reach the new heights.
While, I love the dance video I have seen out here that feature Clark dancing with his students, but what I love more is the message behind the dance.
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Ron Clark Academy is doing what every school should do – treat everyone – yes, even kids, with respect. That means your you are a child you have to do this mentality goes out the door. I can hear you now saying, but I am an adult and they are kids. They are still humans and we should treat them with respect. If we want to get respect from them we need to model respect by giving it to them. Clark’s recipe for success, which includes more than just giving respect, is one that works. In the history of the school only one student hasn’t gone to college.
SN: I am a proponent of post-secondary education – be that college or trade school. So, this was music to my ears.
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Public school districts around the country need to pay attention to what Clark and his team are doing. The things they are implementing are what parents, who are seeking alternatives to public education, want for their kids. Parents don’t want No Nonsense Nurturing for their kids.
The bottomline is this.
Public education will only survive IF the leaders do things differently. This means changing these old mindsets and replicating some of what is working for Ron Clark Academy. And that y’all is #thedamntruth.
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