Ron Clark, award winning grade six teacher and author, became famous with his unconventional teaching methods. Although he has fun and makes up rap lyrics to popular songs to enhance learning, Mr. Clark has a serious side too. He wrote the book The Essential 55 - it was on Amazon’s top ten list for many months. It is not only a great teaching tool, but according to Clark, 80% of the rules can be used for parents as well.
He believes in teaching the whole child and not just the curriculum. Ron Clark also believes there is a cycle of disrespect between teachers, students and parents. Teachers blame the parents for having no manners and say it is not their job to teach them that. Parents then blame the teachers for student’s behavior.
Manners, Rules and Respect
Some of the simple yet effective rules he suggests are to answer with "Yes Sir" or "No Ma'am", which shows respect. Another common sense rule is to look the person in the eye when speaking. While he agrees that you can't necessarily teach pride or self esteem, you can teach the behavior that people exhibit that have it. His rules help enhance children's academic performance as well as improve communication and social skills.