Monday, November 01, 2010

The Essential 55

Have you ever seen the movie The Ron Clark Story/The Triumph? It was one of those inspiring teacher movies. In the movie, Ron Clark transformed his "difficult" students into high-achievers by introducing a set rules.

Creating rules in order to manage students' discipline might not be a particularly novel and groundbreaking idea. But as a teacher, I know that creating rules and successfully implementing them are two completely different things.

In his book, The Essential 55, Mr. Clark shares with readers his tried-and-tested rules and how they work in his classroom.



For me, the rules themselves are not the main attraction of the book. But the stories behind them are. My favourite chapter is Rule 11: "Surprise others by performing random acts of kindness. Go out of your way to do something surprisingly kind and generous for someone at least once a month". Coincidentally, it is the longest chapter in the book. The chapter details one of the most amazing projects Mr. Clark's students were involved in and how going out of your way to do something wonderful for others is oh-so worth it.

As evident with Rule 11, the set of rules does not only concern classroom dos and don'ts (e.g. Rule 19: "When homework is assigned, do not moan or complain"). They also encompass eating etiquette, good manners, kind acts and living you life to the fullest.

It always annoys me when my students litter, forget to say 'Thank you', cheat during exams, curse, etc. But I haven't really done anything about it other than verbally reprimanding them.

Sometimes, I even choose to ignore the acts. I mean, if I had to reprimand each and every misbehaviour, I would never get to classes on time. I would have to stop every 2 metres or so to ask students to tuck in their shirts/use the boys' staircase/ pick up the trash/etc. I figured that I need to choose my battles, no?

My lack of action maintains the status quo or may have even exacerbated it.

Therefore, I was really impressed with what Mr. Clark has achieved. I concur with him that "kids need and like structure" but I guess, sometimes I'm just not strong-willed and steadfast enough to implement one.

Oftentimes, when I grew frustrated, I just complained; "Don't their parents teach them these things at home?"

Now I realise that though parents are ultimately responsible for instilling good values in their children, teachers should do their bit too.

Another major thing that I got from reading the book is how dedicated a teacher should be. Ron Clark is an award-winning teacher and it's not hard to see why. He typically spends hundreds of dollars a month on books/contest prizes/other items for his students, take them on 25-30 small trips a year, bake them cookies, learned to double-Dutch, etc.

Wow. My effort seems meagre when compared to his and yet I often complain about burnout and tiredness.

Lastly, I was struck by his teaching philosophy. When he was about to take over his first class, the teacher before him said; "As long as you can affect the life of one child, you've been a success".

He disagreed with that stand. "[He approaches] each year with the knowledge that [he has] only one year to make a life's worth of difference in each child in that classroom, and [he gives] it everything [he's] got".

Feeling inspired already? Then, do get hold of the book and read it! :)

5 comments:

SarahDin said...

Salam Syada,

Hope ur doin well. ^_^
Yeah, I've seen this book years ago while we were still in college. Luved the book but never really had an urge to buy it..hehe..
Anyways, I must admit, I feel it would be very difficult to attend to each and every one of the students in class. Truth is, I barely enter class during the first semester due to other school commitments and in the second term I'd be rushing to teach them English and literature - till one day I realise: OMG, I'm so exam orientated! (0_0)
I wonder if teachers overseas are like us teachers in Malaysia. I often feel I don't even have time for myself. Am I being too selfish? I would love to get a hold of that book. Wonder if my questions can be answered coz right now I feel like I have problems in coping with the workload at school (*_*)

RODNEY TAN CHAI WHATT said...

Hi Syada,

Just dropping by your blog because the Essential 55 written by Ron Clark caught my attention.

I was really inspired by the movie which I have watched a few times. You can download and watch it on YouTube as well.

Anyway, I'm glad you are blogging your experiences in the classroom. We definately share many things in common as an ET (English Teacher).

I have an active blog which you can go to for a fun general & global view of English by going to englishteachernet.blogspot.com

I would also highly recommend a blog by one of the top Expert Teacher at englishoasis.blogspot.com for some really practical and useful information.

Cheerio!

ROdney Tan

Rosyada said...

iyce: tu la, mcm impossible je nak attend to every single student. maybe their classroom size is smaller than ours. sbb tu possible kot. i mean, in my school, on average, there are 40 students in each class! ada kelas yg sampai 50 pun! so susah skitla nak capai reach out to every single one of them. tu baru 1 class. if you teach 5 classes?

rodney: thanks! will definitely check the sites out!

me said...

thanks for the review syada! i am so going to get it! :)

Jarod Yong said...

Thanks for sharing!
This book will keep me company during SPM!
hahaha~~