Title: The End of Molasses Classes: 101 Extraordinary Solutions For Parents and Teachers
Author: Ron Clark
ISBN: 978-1-4516-3972-8
Price: $23.00 US
Copyright July 2011
Ron Clark graduated from college in 1994 with a degree, but initially not a teaching license. With the suggestion from his mother, he began his teaching career in his home state of North Carolina. He taught in Aurora, NC, initially as a substitute teacher, and ended up staying there for four years. He then took a teaching job in Harlem at an elementary school.
Mr. Clark had traveled to all 50 states to learn of current teaching methods. He was disappointed to view teachers in some schools without energy and students who were unmotivated, hardly able to hold their heads up in class, thus viewing “molasses classes”. I think we can all vividly embrace how when molasses is poured, it is slow and sticky, not a good characteristic for learning. Mr. Clark then made it his personal mission to create a school full of creativity, life, and passion.
In 2000, Ron won the Disney American Teacher Award out of approximately 70,000 applicants. Kim Bearden was the middle school winner of 2000. Ron and Kim met and started to share their goal of creating an innovative school with unconventional methods of teaching.
Ron, with the help of Kim, then went on to purchase an old factory in Atlanta, GA, to create the Ron Clark Academy, a private, non-profit school with a strong, enthusiastic form of teaching. He used the money from sales of his first book, The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator’s Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child, to help start the Ron Clark Academy, and sought funding from other sources to complete the opening of the school at a cost over $3.5 million.
The first class began September 2007. RCA conducts classes for 5th-8th grade. After applications and interviews, a select few are allowed in as new students each year.
Ron Clark Academy also offers training to teachers from across the world. RCA allows them to learn about the teaching methods used and hopes to inspire all who enter.
Ron Clark vividly recalls many personal incidents from his triumphs and pitfalls in developing new teaching methods to help his students excel at Ron Clark Academy in this book. This is the first and only school I have heard of with a giant blue slide in it and individuals becoming “slide certified” by whooshing down it. The idea of mandatory trips to five of the seven continents while attending RCA is quite novel in my opinion too. RCA also works on teaching students many life skills, even manners!
Mr. Clark writes of the wonderful hope, love, devotion, and respect he shows to his students. I’d like to share a paragraph from the book that reflects some of these feelings.
“As adults, we all owe it to our children to know a little bit more than they do, and to be willing to dig a little bit deeper and look a little bit harder in order to see their hidden gifts. It is there in every one of them, and if we can see past excuses and hard exteriors, then we can begin to help them each become the wonderful person whom we see inside.”
Wow! What true and wonderful meaning to this statement! Give patience and learn the greatness in our children! It seems so simple, but with everything that goes on day to day, it can easily be overlooked. I think we sometimes forget the simple things, just observing and listening to our children.
I was amazed by the amount of time and dedication staff members from RCA provide for their students on a daily basis. There is a story of how he, members of his staff, and parents would do bedroom makeovers for select children and put them and the family up in a hotel as they did the renovation. He would also sometimes provide evening sessions at RCA with parents and children to study and learn tips to successfully study. Another great story was of how he and the staff also found what celebrities and artists were of interest to the female students at the time and secretly hung pictures and posters in their bathroom to show that they were interested in what they enjoyed.
I think The End of Molasses Classes is a wonderful read for any educator, new or even tenured. It gives some great ideas for parents to try too. Let The End of Molasses Classes touch your heart and inspire you as it has done for me. I found this to be a great, uplifting story.
If anyone would like to see a clip of Ron Clark’s teaching style in action and a glimpse of RCA, check out Watch RCA In Action. Mr. Clark stands on top of tables, interacting and creating a fun, colorful way of learning that keeps students engaged and wanting more. To learn more about The End of Molasses Classes, please visit http://www.endofmolassesclasses.com/book.html .
Here is also a YouTube video featuring RCA:
I received this book for free in order to provide the review. The thoughts and feelings expressed are of my own.
