When Ron Clark walked into his fifth-grade class in rural North Carolina, he was confronted with a tremendous challenge. The children had little interest in learning, and were sorely lacking in guidance. How would he transform a group of apathetic kids into disciplined, thoughtful, and curious students? He quickly realized that they needed to learn some basic rules. Clark compiled a list of 55 lessons, and soon, his fifth-grade students--who once struggled to read at the third-grade level--were reading at the sixth-grade level . . . and loving it. What's more, they were gaining something crucial-self-respect. Those 55 lessons evolved into what Clark calls The Essential 55 -- guidelines for living and interacting with others.The Essential 55 will prepare parents and educators to teach students the rules for life -- everything from knowing how to say thank you, to acing an interview. Ron Clark is the New York Times bestselling author of The Essential 55, which has sold more than one million copies in the U.S. and has been published in twenty-five different languages. He has been named "American Teacher of the Year" by Disney and Oprah Winfrey's first "Phenomenal Man." He founded The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, which tens of thousands of educators from around the world have visited to learn about the extraordinary ways that teachers and parents of RCA have helped children achieve great success.
