The Ron Clark Story . Summer 2016, A Time Where I Was At

The first way Joe Clark persuades his students and coworkers is by using ethos. Clark starts off by explaining to his staff that in order for a real, positive, change everyone needs to work more efficiently and work together. “The only way we’ll get anything done is to get everyone involved,” states Clark. He also demonstrates that education is not only about the students, the teachers also play a major role. “But that is not their failure. I don’t blame them (the students). The failure is yours. That’s right yours. How many hours do you spend preparing your lesson plans? How often do you stay after school to give those children--the ones you know need it--the extra help they require?” Joe announces to his educators to make them realize that they need to work along with their students for an impact to be made. Clark also puts an importance on making sure all his scholoars know that no matter what their differences are they’re all equal. After making the white kids stand up Clark points out, “And they’re the same as all of you. They’ve got no place to go. If they had, they would have abandoned us a long time ago like everybody else did.” By saying this Clark tries to empower the kids and get them to perform with one another more efficiently, Forcing them to observe past each other's differences so they can

Shoot! I thought. I didn’t want to wake up Darry, he looked so peaceful. More peaceful than I have seen him in years. He only worked one job now so he could spend more time with Sodapop and I. The judge said that he would take care of some of our expenses so Darry could be home to help me get better. It really worked. My grades in school improved as well as my attitude. I worked really hard on my English grade, I wanted to make my teacher proud. I wrote a story for extra credit about this past year and it began like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home…“It was really scary.” I started. “One of those boys was pushing Johnny’s head into the freezing cold

The first thing that I resonated with, and my classmates felt the same, was Yasmeen’s story. Many of my classmates and I felt very strongly for Yasmeen and her situation. She is so young and yet she has lost both parents, in the midst of a legal battle for custody

I’ve dedicated Tuesdays and Fridays to mentoring 9th-graders about making their high school experience easier. My brother’s compassion leads me to mentor another class of special needs students. My passion for giving back to the less fortunate has led me to be a spokeswoman for the "Promise of Gwinnett" campaign and to speak in front of the GA Board of Education about my experiences with education. I made connections and strengthened my relationships with the underappreciated cafeteria staff and custodians through the Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy (CLA) as we threw them a celebration for their service. Every day I’ve been selling candy for CLA to raise money for a scholarship for those in need of financial aid. But my biggest success that triumphs in my heart is my dedication to Holiday

A long 20 years have passed for me to be on page 87 of my autobiography. My life is at a secure base, something that helps me feel confident in my abilities. As my last semester at John Tyler starts to wrap up, I can see how much progress I have made and how hard I had to work to get where I am now. My classes are fun yet challenging, and my peers are encouraging me consistently to do even better than the last test or project. Even though I plan on graduating at the end of this semester and attending a new college, I will never forget the experiences that John Tyler gave me to prepare me for VCU.

Diverse individuals with distinctive stories apply for school each year. Some with stand-out encounters, others an ability that separate them from others. Be that as it may, for me my experience, culture and trials are what decide my uniqueness. Conceived from the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti where I lived with my persevering mother (after the death of my dad when I was 10 months) providing for us through her little business. Until the overwhelming quake that struck my nation in 2010. This disastrous occasion changed my viewpoint in life. I left my past life alongside my mom in Haiti. I packed material possessions alongside the adventures and memories that I experienced throughout the years and went to a foreign nation to close relatives. I went to

Yelling, name calling and humiliation, these are just some of the things that Joe Clark had done to transform teachers who were once looked down upon by students to people that they now look up to. Through harsh methods Joe Clark was able to change teacher that once had no control over their students to people who are now looked up to, but in-order to change them he had to do more than just give them respect they had to earn it and work hard to earn it by changing how they behaved with their students. From the evidence shown it can be said that Joe Clark like his teachers to act quickly and on command thus preparing them to act quickly without notification if something were to happen in the school that would require their immediate attention. From one of Joe Clark’s quotes he states that, “Discipline establishes the format, the environment for academic achievement to occur”, meaning that without a firm hand of authority in a high position of a school, teachers will not act to their full potential because they will feel

I failed a chemistry class, even with tutoring, meetings with the teachers, and at home tutoring from my roommate who was attending EWU as a Biology/Chemistry major. The disaster of that course, diminished my thinly restored confidence and I fled. I took up an opportunity to become an expat and live in Lebanon. The first summer I was there, I witnessed the war between Palestine and Israel, only a country away. The impact my experiences changed how I viewed privilege and what I had taken for granted back home. I felt ashamed at what I had so readily given up in self-pity and comparatively meager issues. Thus, after teaching English for a year and traveling, the profound realization of how imperative my education was towards helping the world become a better place sank in. I wanted to go farther than I ever had but this time I was going to do it right. My life became an awareness of the worlds pain, its need, and my insuppressible desire to solve it. I moved back to Chewelah after nearly a year and a half in Lebanon, and with a wholly renewed

Even though I studied harder than I ever had before, I still did not reach the grade I thought I deserved. He told me it was because the student who shared a desk with me earned a C and it was partially my fault. This lesson taught me that life is not just about reaching personal success but helping others reach theirs too. My schools CFX’s (Companion’s of Francis Xavier) were another way I have lived out service, spirit, and intellect. During summer vacations after my sophomore and junior year, I would spend hours in the sun hammering nails or digging the foundation where a new home would be built. At the end of every grueling day, we would discuss the reasons why this certain group of people were impoverished and the systematic ways that we could fix it. These trips helped me grow as a person and realize my place in today’s society. It also made me look at larger issues in our world such as homelessness and the border issues - I worked in solidarity building homes with people that were impacted by these matters. One of my greatest moments of service and spirit came on my senior year trip. It was Easter Mass and my group was in the

Over the years I have encountered many road blocks, none of which I hadn’t been able to overcome. My freshman year I had been cut from the volleyball team after working so hard over the summer to improve my skills. I admit, I felt extremely put down by this turn of events but if that had never happened, I wouldn’t have found the sport I love more, cross country. On top of that, I received and application for National Honors Society last year, and I was ecstatic. However, when I didn’t quite make it in, there was a determination in me to find a way to better improve the skills required to qualify to be a part of this amazing group of people. Those events shaped my character deeply. I also had the amazing opportunity to go on a mission trip to

My next opportunity presented itself with a chance to work with expelled and pre-expulsion Middle School Students at Passage Middle School. This alternative program was very small. In fact the entire program was my classroom. I worked within a

As you know, I was one of your favorite students but I didn’t get to actually tell you my story. When my two sisters and I lost our mother to breast cancer, I was only seven years old. It seemed like immediately after her death my loving and grateful father remarried. I struggled with reality for years and I felt lost. By the time my twenty-first birthday came I was pregnant. I had little knowledge on anything. Honestly, I missed out on my mother’s reliance on God including her guidance. There were periods of hardship until I finally cleared my mind. I started to listen to my step-mother’s military ways and I took action. I started my education with my dreams in mind and enrolled at Parkland College.

On August 24th, I began a new chapter of my life. This was the first day of classes for the fall semester, which meant that I was officially a college student. For almost all of my classes, I had a fellow baseball player or two which helped out because I would have someone to converse with. After the first week of classes, I thought that my classes would be a breeze, but eventually that would come to change. The assignments began to become

Later that month, I received a letter in the mail that had the official stamp of the Robinson Scholar Program on it. I remember the letter being perfect. A blue wax seal was placed on the back and my name was so elegantly written on the front. For a good amount of time, I just stood there looking at it. I was too scared to read what I already presumed was an, “We’re sorry letter.” Finally I opened the letter and read that I had been expected. Tears began to roll down my cheeks, I just couldn’t believe it. A small town girl with little money, no experience, or not any guidance just got an acceptance

“The Ron Clark Story” is such an inspirational movie in my opinion. I feel that this movie shows what dedication in teaching is all about. It shows that teachers care and have chosen their career in order to make a difference. Ron Clark was an outstanding teacher who was said to be able to raise test scores in any school he taught at. However, instead of choosing a simple, private school that already has high test scores, he chose to teach in an area where students were really struggling. He chose to help those that really needed it. The Ron Clark Story, in my opinion, is all about how much of a difference teachers can really make.