Ron Clark = Enthusiasm

If you have never heard of Ron Clark, then you are in for a treat. He is an inspiring teacher who was Disney's Teacher of the Year in 2001. He was a fifth grade teacher in North Carolina when he heard schools in Harlem were having a hard time finding and retaining teachers. So he packed his bags and moved to New York City. He found a job at a school and they offered him the Honor's Class to teach, but he wanted to teach the low achieving students. By the end of the school year, after overcoming several challenges, his students performed better on their end of year tests than students in the gifted classes.

Ron Clark has also written a few books, had a movie (starring Matthew Perry) made after him, and started the Ron Clark Academy. The Ron Clark Academy is an incredibly impressive school. Since a picture paints a thousand words, a video must paint a million. Here is a little video clip of the Ron Clark Academy:

Ron Clark is an impressive educator, there's no doubt about it and the Ron Clark Academy is making a huge difference in the lives of the students who are lucky enough to attend. There are two things that I find particularly impressive about this man. The first is that he is always wearing slacks, a button up shirt, a tie, and a blazer. It would be easy to say, "I'm going to be dancing on desks today or sliding down a slide. I shouldn't wear nice clothes." Ron Clark does these things and still remains professional in his attire.

The other characteristic of Ron Clark that I appreciate is his enthusiasm. He obviously loves teaching and as a result, his students love learning. Because Ron Clark is so passionate about teaching, he is inspiring other educators to be better. Enthusiasm for the classroom is contagious!

What do you do to maintain enthusiasm for the classroom?