Daddy Mojo reads: The End of Molasses Classes by Ron Clark

For people outside of Atlanta the name Ron Clark may solely be regulated to a television movie in 2006 that told the story of Clarks teaching experience in New York City.  Ron Clark was Disney’s American Teacher of the Year in 2000 and has appeared on Oprah, CNN, The Today Show and others.  In 2008 the Ron Clark Academy, a private school for students in grades 5-8, opened on the south side of Atlanta.  In short, Ron Clark is the teacher that everybody wants to have for one reason or another.

Ron Clark teaching style is strict, fair and fun.  He finds ways to shake up lesson plans in ways that the students can and want to learn the information. RCA is hugely popular and has 4,000 applicants each year for a grade that can accommodate 400.

The End of Molasses Classes tells 101 stories about education, students, teachers, parents and life that embody The Ron Clark Academy.  Just what makes RCA so different that massive amounts of people want to get in?

Respect

The teachers at RCA dress in a professional manner.  All the men wear suit and tie, while the women wear dresses.  They look like a team and it shows in the way that they treat each other and teach the students.  The students at RCA also wear uniforms.  Decorum, a strong hand shake, self confidence, respect and patience are values that they teach there.  It’s about the grades for sure, but it’s also about shaping the young people to become better adults.

Discipline

Their style of teaching is essentially lots of well earned praise, no trophies for everybody, punishment if you don’t do the work and high standards for everyone.  They tell a couple stories of students that did well at their previous schools, but then go to RCA and don’t get the same high grades.  The student in one of these stories cried at first, but put their nose to the books and did a presentation that was one of the best in the class the next go around.

If the bar is set low then the outcomes will be just as low.  I’m paraphrasing, but that’s essentially what Clark said in the book.

(Breaking) Stereotypes

In 2008 during the election RCA made a song about the pros and cons of Barack Obama and John McCain.  The video went on YouTube and generated millions of views.  Once it went viral ABC World News Tonight visited the school to see it being performed live.

As the reporter was leaving Clark asked them if they wanted to chat with any of the students about the issues.  The reporter begrudgingly said yes and over walked a student name Willie who proceeded to tell her about the Republican platform and why reducing capital gains taxes was important.  The reporter then asked to interview more students.

RCA is school that has a very large majority of black students.  No doubt the reporter expected to hear the student parrot democratic talking points.

The End of Molasses Classes bills itself as a book that’s good for educators, administrators and parents.  Ron Clark’s energy and passion is infectious when you see him being interviewed.  He brings that same energy and enthusiasm to The End of Molasses Classes.    Each lesson or story that he shares in the book is real, powerful and something that anybody could learn from.

RCA has teacher tours during the school year.  In the book they print letters from educator, as well as parents who comment about the lessons, teaching styles or ways that their children are reacting to them.    As a parent I can learn lots from this book.  It’s not preachy, but passionate.  It doesn’t talk down to the students (or the parents) but it tells you what’s expected and then gives you the tools to accomplish the goals.  If you fall short, they’ll help you, but in the end it’s up to you.

The End of Molasses Classes is a must for any parent of a 6th-8th grader and a great read for those that just want to get inspired.  This book has Mojo to spare.

Daddy Mojo reads is a review series on books.  Sometimes it’ll be a children’s book and other times it will be a popular fiction or non-fiction book.  I’m not scared to stop a book halfway through if it’s losing me or just plain isn’t interesting-life is too short to waste on a bad book.