Rachel - The Essential 55 by Ron Clark

Summary

My book, The Essential 55 by Ron Clark, was a read to help teachers discover the successful student in every child. There are 55 “rules” within the book to help you teach your students not only the standard class subjects, but also life skills that they are able to use in many situations. For Clark, the methods in this book were to help prepare students for their future. It covered many topics from manners to respect and even to fine dining. I found much of this book to be eye opening, useful tips for classroom management from an almost militaristic perspective. Although some was a bit too intense for my teaching style, there was definitely a lot within this book that reminds you, you aren’t only a teaching subjects, but children as well. There are 55 rules within this book that this teacher stands by 100%. His perseverance on this is definitely commendable, however, I have shortened the list for us to 10 suggestions I feel I would use, and 5 that I was not as fond of in the book.

What I would/could use:

1) Rule #52: Accept that you are going to make mistakes. Learn from them and move on.

·       I think this is key advice as upcoming teachers. We have to remember that everything makes mistakes, to use them as a teachable moment for ourselves, and to move on.

2) Rule #14: Answer all written questions with a complete sentence. Also in conversation with others, it is important to use complete sentences out of respect for the person’s question.

·       This is important for children to learn and use throughout their life. In a job interview, you cannot just give a standard “yes or no”. You must be prepared to justify your answers, and as teachers, we must guide our students in how we can accomplish that.

3) Rule #16: Homework will be turned in each day for each subject by every student with no exceptions.

·       This rule is pretty straightforward. It must be expected that the homework will come in or there will be punishment. For this rule, the teacher set up a tally, where they would count how many days they have gone where everyone has done their homework. After 10 successful days, the students will receive an award. I thought this was a neat way to encourage homework completion. The only downfall of this, as I mention in my critique, is that the teacher was quite strict in the students handing in their assignments. As you will read, sometimes I think it did more harm than help.

4) Rule #6: If you are asked a question in a conversation, you should ask a question in return. It’s only polite to show others that you are just as interested in them as they are in you.

·       This was similar to rule #14 but I believe it was equally as important. When building any type of social skills, it is important to gather information and show interest in others in order to help build that connection. As a teacher you must remember to do the same thing in order to get it in return from your students.

5) Rule #20: While you are with a substitute teacher, you will obey the same rules that you follow when I am with you.

·       I loved this rule because of the story he told. Whenever he knows he will need a substitute, he films his lesson and just has the substitute pause and press play. He keeps it engaging, and the students never miss a lesson. I thought this was a super neat idea!

6) Rule #24: Flush the toilet and wash your hands after using the restroom.  When in a public rest room, get a paper town before washing your hands. After washing our hands, use the paper town to turn off the facets and get another paper towel to dry your hands.

·       This seems straight forward, but I would definitely endorse it in my classroom. As teachers we are exposed to many germs, and anything we can do to help limit our exposure is helpful.

7) Rule #25: If we have a visitor for our class, I will send two students to the front door of the building. You will have a welcome sign for the visitor and will shake hands, tell him or her who you are and welcome the person to our school.

·       I thought this was such a neat idea. Sometimes visitors are not sure where exactly to go, and this way we have two guides taking them exactly where they need to be without them even having a chance to get lost.

8) Rule #28: If you have a question about your homework, you may call me. If I am not there to answer the phone, please leave a message.

·       I think this is a super neat idea. Giving our students access to homework help at any point could be fundamental in their success. I would do this with caution, only after reading your school environment to decide if this would work for your and your students or not.

9) Rule #48: If any child in this school is bothering you, let me know. I am your teacher, and I am here to look after you and protect you. I am not going to let anyone in this school bully you or make you feel uncomfortable. In return, I ask that you not take matter into your own hands; let me deal with the student.

·       I think this should be a standard approach with teachers and I think following up on his speech will be something I strive for.

10) Rule #50: Be positive and enjoy life. Some things just aren’t worth getting upset over. Keep everything in perspective and focus on the good in your life.

·       This should be a rule for everyone. We have to lead by example for this one, and I believe without a doubt that leading with positivity is the best way to have success in whatever it is that you do. If our students can see us leading this way, hopefully they will follow suit and live their life as positively as they can as well.

What I don’t know if I would use:

1) Rule #18: You will make every effort to be organized as possible.

·       Although this sounds like a reasonable request, the teacher in this situation would find a student who was not organized and would dump their desk out. I recall this happening to me as a student, and I can tell you right now it never made me any more organized. Therefore, I think this is one of the scenarios where I might consider the rule, but change the punishment.

2) Rule #9: Always say thank you when I give you something. If you do not say it within three seconds after receiving the item, I will take it back. There is no excuse for not showing appreciation.

·       This also sounds like a reasonable request, and yes, to have students say thank you is definitely something important for them to remember. However, as I explain in my critique, there was an incident where I believe this rule did more harm to the child than teach them a lesson.

3) Rule #1: When responding to any adult, you must answer by saying “Yes ma’am” or “No sir”.

·       I understand this is a source of respect, however, I know personally I have no desire to be called ma’am and I am sure there are others who feel this way. In addition, this section stipulates that the student must always respond this way. I think that is a bit overbearing, I would not want to speak like that throughout my whole education and I am sure my students would feel the same.

4) Rule #47: Do not bring Doritos into the school building.

·       This is one of the rules I also disagreed with. This rule was completely made up just for the sake of having an extra rule. The teacher would even find Doritos and smash them over the garage if a student brought them to school. I think this is a bit harsh, and most definitely wasteful. I would also need to consider the child, perhaps this is their only bag of Doritos a year, or maybe it was a special prize for something. I don’t think smashing children’s food is necessarily the answer to anything.

5) Rule #49: Stand up for what you believe in. You shouldn’t take no for an answer if your heart and mind are leading you in a direction that you feel strongly about.

·       Again, this rule seems like a good one. However, in his example, he uses it to justify the scenario in my critique regarding the girl forgetting her homework one time. I don’t think it is fair to punish children for such simple mistakes. If we expect our mistakes to be forgiven, we must forgive others as well. I believe we must realize that sometimes we need to get off our high horse and really think of our punishments make sense in the big picture. It’s one thing to stand up in something reasonable you believe in, it’s something else to just hate to lose, and in this case, I think he was just holding on too tight to his power and didn’t want to lose, no matter what the student cost.

Resources
Reading Out Loud

    Dealing with Bullying






Dealing with Parents

  How to return a question

Critique

I only have a few critiques about this book. My main critique is mostly just a difference in opinion to the writer. The teacher who wrote this book held a very authoritarian teaching style. Although I agree that there should be structure in the classroom, sometimes I didn't necessarily agree with the methods he used to get it. He imposed very rigid standards with often harsh consequences if his expectations weren't met. I feel that sometimes his punishments were more to establish and maintain his own power ego rather than to give them to a student who deserved them. For example, in one situation, he wanted the students to be held accountable for their homework. To start them off he distributed a blue piece of paper and asked they bring it back the next day. When a top student forgot their paper, he still punished her with detention (p. 49). In another situation, another top student forgot her paper while helping her younger siblings get ready for school (p. 57). In different example, he wanted to ensure all his students said thank you, and ended up taking a way a book set that was won by a student since in her state of excitement did not say thank you in under three seconds (p. 24). I understand that giving exceptions could affect how much the students respect the activity; however, I think some times we still need to lead with compassion first. Life happens, and even as adults sometimes things happen that are out of our control that prevent us from meeting a deadline or completing a job. I believe a true leader that leads with compassion and understands that a person needs a break on occasion, especially when we have proven ourselves otherwise worthy. I think he raised a lot of great points and interesting rules or teachings to consider when working with children, however for some, I would definitely consider using different methods to make sure they stick.

If there are two messages directly from him in the book that I agree with, first it would be that, “As a teacher, there are times when you not only have to fight for what you believe in, but also have to stand up for your word.” Secondly, “Always make sure there are seven things in your life at all times. Laughter, Family, Adventure, Good Food, Challenge, Change and the Quest for Knowledge.” In addition, I think as teachers, we must also support our students to help provide as many of those suggestions as we can on any given day. I believe those seven suggestions could be fundamental to your teaching practice and ensuring that each is met could be extremely beneficial to any struggling student. If you take anything away from this book, I hope it is those two suggestions.

 Clark, Ron (2003). The Essential 55. New York: Hyperion Books.