The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck--101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers (Touchstone Book)

My wife is a teacher; I work part time with an after school program. My Mother-in-Law just retired as a principal in June and my Mom retired as a teacher last year. Many of my friends are related to education in one way or another. Personally, I spend a fair amount of time reading about and thinking about education theory and practice (at least for a non-educator).School reform is a hot topic, but the largest problem, in my mind, is scalability. There are many very good solutions to the problems of education, but very few of them really scale because they are so dependent on either the people or the cultural context where they are working.Ron Clark is a teacher and administrator that is trying to deal with the problem of scalability. He is the co-founder of a demonstration school in Atlanta. The school was built with the express purpose of teaching other teachers how to better reach students. (It is a middle school because that is the age that Ron Clark believes is most in need of help.) So each classroom has a class of about 30 student and stadium seating for about 80 adults. My wife and Mother-in-Law and many teachers I know have visited the school. I am currently trying to get some of the people that work in the after school program in Chicago to come down and visit.The End of Molasses Classes is the latest book by Ron Clark about his teaching method. I have read his two previous book and they were directed at teachers and more about how he teachers. This book is broader, for teachers and parents and other people interested in education. It more about the general method of how the Ron Clark Academy works and why it works.The format is 101 short chapters (some less than a page, very few more than 2 or 3 pages). Most chapters have a story to illustrate the point of the short chapter and a little explanation. Clark knows how to tell a story. He is a bigger than life, over the top, never can exert too much energy type of person. I went with my wife to the book release party and he never stopped. He signed about 1000 books, hugged and talked to every person, and did not stop moving all night. He is all about the energy, but there is more than just energy. He has well thought out principles that are behind the success of the school. One of the most obvious from the book is how much he values his staff, parents and students. He spends most of the book talking about how much the people around him have made the school a success. Clark is not a shy man, but he is also not hogging the credit.The major issue really is time and effort. Ron Clark Academy teachers work from before 8 to around 6 every day at school. Then most days they need to work at home to prepare for the next day or grade. Ron Clark and the co-founder told one another they would essentially ignore family and all other responsibilities for the first three years of the school to get it off the ground, and in the book he says that has not been long enough. I am editing this at about 6 AM. My wife is walking out the door to go to school. Yesterday she got home at about 6:30. We have said we will not have children because we cannot do our jobs and have kids. Obviously that is not going to work for all teachers. And it cannot really be expected for all teachers.Not every teacher is going to teach like Ron Clark, he knows that. But he does hope that teachers realize that they are important to the process and that it is essential that teachers find the best way to engage their students. This is not a blame book, but he is clear that teachers and schools can only do so much. Without parent support, even the best teachers will often not be able to help students succeed to their full potential. I am seriously considering going to visit the school myself because I want to know more about it. If you have any interest in education, or you are a parent, this is a good book about what needs to be done to move students to the next level. If you are a teacher, get this and read it before school starts, you will be encouraged and ready to start the year.Originally published on my blog at bookwi.se

In my opinion, this book has life-changing information for parents. I am so thrilled to see so many educators all over the world be inspired by RCA. My hope is that parents all over the world will consider this "required reading" for themselves.Part II of the book is geared specifically toward parents, and it is OUTSTANDING. "Don't be a Helicopter Parent. You can't rescue them forever" speaks to the importance of letting children learn to deal with disappointment, and how to handle the situation. Mr. Clark illustrates these points with a truly amazing story. (Ron, you definitely deserved a Krispy Kreme in front of American Idol after THAT experience. Your patience is really commendable.) The chapter entitled "Remind children of their blessings and stress the value of a strong work ethic" really stood out to me as well. There are so many wonderful, American affluent communities (like the one we live in) and the parents are hard working and well-meaning, but it is so easy to fall into bad habits that can create children with "entitlement issues." As a mother of a 10-year-old boy, the chapter, "Don't get your kids a video game system unless you are prepared to be a prison guard," really hit close to home. We have a game system, and it is a challenge to control his use of it. I gleaned several great ideas from this chapter.But this is not just "garden variety parenting advice." Mr. Clark explains how these basic childrearing concepts are critical for a student's success in school, and beyond. Mr. Clark is right on - we DO need a full blown education "revolution" in our country. And it will not work unless parents PARTNER with the teachers and the schools. Mr. Clark has done of fine job of providing very specific suggestions on how to implement positive changes in our children's school experience. He does this with compelling real-life stories and shares his personal experiences with kids and their families. He has laid out an excellent "revolution strategy." I hope we all embrace it.

My Thoughts On The Book: This summer some of our reading specialists were allowed to attend a Ron Clark training. When they got back they were so excited and decided to have a Facebook book study. We were called Educational Runners. We were each given a chunk of the book to read and then five questions about that particular chunk. I had never heard of Ron Clark prior to this and I was sold hook, line, and sinker. As a teacher of 25+ years sometimes we find ourselves getting stale in the classroom. Times change....kids change.....and things need to be shaken up a bit. I loved the practical teaching strategies Ron Clark provided in the book. "No More Molasses Classes" was just the inspiration I was looking for to rid myself of the stales. Our school is going to do a book study on Moving the Bus next and I was the first one to sign up for it. I cannot wait! If you are an educator, parent, or anyone who works with youth, this book is a must read.Disclosure of Material Connection: I did not receive this book free from anyone. I paid for it from Amazon. It was just so amazing I felt as if I needed to write a review so that other teachers would catch the fire and read it too. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” !

so many good ideas on different types of teaching children. i learned so much from this book. i recommend listening to it on audible as well. the author reads is and his enthusiasm and excitement is so inspiring. i recomeend this book to every one out there, wether you are a teacher, parent or neither of those, you will learn something. for example he teaches the importance of a firm handshake and eye contact. i love it! things that are being missed today.

If you know this man, you already know this is a must-read. With these 101 great ideas on how to be a great teacher and/or run a great school, you get to know about Ron Clark and his Academy, you start to feel the energy, you come to realize what it takes to be A-1. And even if you're never going to be like Ron Clark, his crazy brilliant ideas will help you change for the better. I just love this man! He is such an inspiration!

It's a wonderful book maybe one day I could become a better teacher as him so Im in the way because Im learning how to

Amazing book, got it in 2 days! Love this!

Every teacher who has lost their mojo must read this!