This chapter reminds me of the movie “The Ron Clarke Story.” This movie was based on the real-life educator, Ron Clarke, and how he makes a difference in the lives of his students. He is the founder of Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta where a video of him dancing with his students went viral!
(Remember this?!)
Ron Clarke Academy has “assembled a faculty of master educators who have different teaching styles but a shared objective: to demonstrate how to improve student engagement, increase academic rigor, and create a school climate and culture that leads to success for all learners.” Ron Clarke Academy seems to be succeeding in doing what Chapter 7 is teaching us to do. Subjects Matter has shown us strategies for educators to use textbooks as a resource to help instill our love of science, math, language/literature, history, etc. into our students but beyond textbooks, how do we create a confortable environment for expanding curiosity and a culture for our classrooms that students take advantage of?
(OHHHH SNAP.)
Some of these strategies were very interesting! For example,
I had never thought of “the five-second rule” where everyone pauses after a
question to allow hesitant kids to think and respond. The teachers all find these strategies and ways that help
the students feel that the classroom belongs to them. Making up the class norms
or rules/consequences in the beginning of the year and giving the students certain
responsibilities shows them that the classroom is their space where they’re
respected and that they have a say in their education. Creating that safety net
and sense of trust gives students the opportunity to enjoy education instead of
dread it, allowing them to be curious, succeed, and have some fun like the students at Ron Clarke Academy :) [293 words]
Another great blog, Claire! I, too, was struck by the five-second rule. A common mistake among teachers--perhaps more common among beginning teachers--is not providing sufficient wait time after posing a question. Instituting a formal "rule" to remedy that problem is a great idea, I think. Another mistake, by the way, is that teachers often call on the same students to avoid potentially awkward encounters. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to comment earlier... But I've never thought about that! That's very interesting but I can definitely see young educators like myself inadvertently doing that, especially since our inexperience leads us to avoid awkward situations and taking risks.
DeleteHi Claire! Love your blog...especially that video! Coming from a school with some teachers who had some "different teaching styles" I can relate (maybe on some level) to the students you talk about at Ron Clarke Academy. When teachers can find their "different teaching styles" that are effective and fun, those are the teachers that students love, and they are the classes that students love going to! And you definitely don't need to learn a choreographed dance with your students in order to do that; that would not be fun for anyone to watch.
ReplyDelete(word count: 94)
hey Claire!! I love that video you posted and remember when it came out! You can tell that Mr. Ron Clark has really made a difference in his student’s lives. He is the type of teacher that I can only wish to be like! I can only imagine what our world would be like if every educator strived to be like him.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I completely agree that the RCA is completely relevant to Chapter 7 as I am sure that the academy incorporates everything Subjects Matter includes into its day to day teaching program. (94)