Ron Clark This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. heraldsun.com: Teacher turned speaker has 55 class...

   www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-48 - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/12/2004   Last Visited: 5/13/2004

   Ron Clark heraldsun.com: Teacher turned speaker has 55 class...
   ...
   DURHAM -- Ron Clark can't sit still.
   
   The teacher, author and motivational speaker gesticulates and fidgets during an interview, leaning forward and back and clapping his hands together to emphasize a point. But that's nothing compared to when he gets in front of an audience, when he really lets loose, he said.
   
   "I'm a completely different person on stage," he said.
   
   Clark was in Durham on Wednesday to speak to hundreds of teachers at Hillside High School in a benefit for the N.C. Teaching Fellows program, which offers college scholarships to high school students who commit to a career in teaching.
   
   Clark, a wiry 32-year-old, said that while not all teachers are likely to be as outwardly energetic as he is, they all can find a way to convey passion to their students.
   
   "Every teacher has it," Clark said.
   
   But teachers also have to lay down the law, he said. For example, he gave his students 55 rules for classroom comportment on the first day of school, many of them dealing with basic manners like giving a proper handshake and saying "excuse me" when you bump into someone.
   
   Other teachers might choose different -- and fewer -- rules, he said, but by establishing them from day one, teachers often can avoid things like suspending students as the year goes on and can lay the foundation for academic achievement.
   
   "Once you get your discipline in place ... you can take them anywhere," he said. "You can take them to the moon."
   
   Clark, who has been named Disney Teacher of the Year and has been hailed by none other than talk show host Oprah Winfrey, is currently a full-time speaker and author.
   ...
   To that end, Clark required his students to memorize the names of every employee in their school, and to greet them and engage them in conversation about their lives. That may seem an unusual thing to ask of fifth-graders, but in doing so, Clark said the school became a more welcoming place for the students.
   
   "A school needs to be a home, it needs to be like a family," he said.

2. 2. heraldsun.com: Teacher turned speaker has 55 class...

   www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-480 - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/12/2004   Last Visited: 5/13/2004

   Ron Clark heraldsun.com: Teacher turned speaker has 55 class...
   ...
   DURHAM -- Ron Clark can't sit still.
   
   The teacher, author and motivational speaker gesticulates and fidgets during an interview, leaning forward and back and clapping his hands together to emphasize a point. But that's nothing compared to when he gets in front of an audience, when he really lets loose, he said.
   
   "I'm a completely different person on stage," he said.
   
   Clark was in Durham on Wednesday to speak to hundreds of teachers at Hillside High School in a benefit for the N.C. Teaching Fellows program, which offers college scholarships to high school students who commit to a career in teaching.
   
   Clark, a wiry 32-year-old, said that while not all teachers are likely to be as outwardly energetic as he is, they all can find a way to convey passion to their students.
   
   "Every teacher has it," Clark said.
   
   But teachers also have to lay down the law, he said. For example, he gave his students 55 rules for classroom comportment on the first day of school, many of them dealing with basic manners like giving a proper handshake and saying "excuse me" when you bump into someone.
   
   Other teachers might choose different -- and fewer -- rules, he said, but by establishing them from day one, teachers often can avoid things like suspending students as the year goes on and can lay the foundation for academic achievement.
   
   "Once you get your discipline in place ... you can take them anywhere," he said. "You can take them to the moon."
   
   Clark, who has been named Disney Teacher of the Year and has been hailed by none other than talk show host Oprah Winfrey, is currently a full-time speaker and author.
   ...
   To that end, Clark required his students to memorize the names of every employee in their school, and to greet them and engage them in conversation about their lives. That may seem an unusual thing to ask of fifth-graders, but in doing so, Clark said the school became a more welcoming place for the students.
   
   "A school needs to be a home, it needs to be like a family," he said.