Ron Clark (teacher)
{{Short description|American educator, author, and motivational speaker}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ron Clark
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Ronald Lyle Clark Jr.
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|10|24}}
| birth_place = Chocowinity, North Carolina, United States
| education = BA (East Carolina University)
| occupation = Educator, motivational speaker, author
| spouse =
| children =
}}
Ronald Lyle Clark Jr. (born October 24, 1972){{cite web|title=2007 Award Recipients|url=http://www.piratealumni.com/s/722/rdsite/index.aspx?sid=722&gid=1&pgid=338|publisher=East Carolina Alumni Association|access-date=September 15, 2011}} is an American educator, author, and motivational speaker. He has taught in North Carolina and New York City, and later founded the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia.{{cite news|last=Gutierrez|first=Bridget|title=Teacher Ron Clark opens Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/teacher-ron-clark-opens-ron-clark-academy-atlanta/iO4HxWmlzoGVgd7C5nup6K/|newspaper=Atlanta Journal-Constitution|date=September 3, 2007|access-date=April 12, 2025}} Clark is a New York Times bestselling author, known for his innovative approaches to education and teacher training.{{cite news|last=Heffley|first=Lynn|title=Ron Clark, the Real-Life 'Freedom Writer'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/arts/television/13hein.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 13, 2006|access-date=April 12, 2025}}
Background
Clark attended school in his earlier years within the Beaufort County school systems in the town of Chocowinity, North Carolina. Clark was an outgoing student who later graduated from Chocowinity High School{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewashingtondailynews.com/2017/02/06/ron-clark-visits-bccc-talks-education-system/|title=Ron Clark visits BCCC, talks education system|last=Hudson|first=Caroline|date=February 6, 2017|website=Washington Daily News|access-date=January 28, 2019}} with the Class of 1990. After graduation, Clark's goals were to become an educator at East Carolina University through the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program. Following his graduation, he traveled for a time and then began working in Aurora, North Carolina. Four years later he began teaching elementary school in New York City's Harlem. In the fall of 2007{{cite web|url=http://www.ronclarkacademy.com/Fast-Facts|title=Fast Fact|website=The Ron Clark Academy|access-date=February 13, 2016}} Clark and co-founder Kim Bearden began the Ron Clark Academy, a private non-profit school in Atlanta, Georgia, which follows a unique curriculum.
Pedagogical ideas
Clark has written four books on education:
- The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child (2003){{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/67255-the-essential-55-an-award-winning-educator-s-rules-for-discovering-the|title=The Essential 55|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=January 28, 2019}}
- The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children (2005){{Cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/181830-the-excellent-11-qualitites-teachers-and-parents-use-to-motivate-inspi|title=The Excellent 11|website=www.goodreads.com|access-date=January 28, 2019}}
- The End of Molasses Classes: Getting Our Kids Unstuck: 101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers (2011), listing solutions for parents and teachers{{Cite book|url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-End-of-Molasses-Classes/Ron-Clark/9781451639742|title=The End of Molasses Classes|date=June 17, 2012|isbn=9781451639742|language=en|last1=Clark|first1=Ron|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}
- Move Your Bus: An Extraordinary New Approach to Accelerating Success in Work and Life (2015), philosophy on types of employees/educators and how to motivate them{{Cite book|url=https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Move-Your-Bus/Ron-Clark/9781501105036|title=Move Your Bus|date=June 30, 2015|isbn=9781501105036|language=en|last1=Clark|first1=Ron|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}
Clark proposed fifty-five essential rules for success in and out of the classroom, many of which focus on respect and school policies. These include "Make eye contact, respect others' ideas and opinions, always be honest, and do not bring Doritos into the school building".Clark, Ron. The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child. New York: Hyperion, 2003. Print. He later proposed eleven traits of excellence: enthusiasm, adventure, creativity, reflection, balance, compassion, confidence, humor, common sense, appreciation and resilience.Clark, Ron. The Excellent 11: Qualities Teachers and Parents Use to Motivate, Inspire, and Educate Children. New York: Hyperion, 2004. Print.
Accolades
Clark has appeared on national TV shows, including two appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show, where Winfrey named him as her first "Phenomenal Man."{{Cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/spirit/phenomenal-man-ron-clark|title=Phenomenal Man: Mr. Clark's Opus|date=November 2001|website=Oprah.com|access-date=January 28, 2019}}{{Citation|last=Ron Clark Academy|title=Ron Clark's First Appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EvHVkRhb5k |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211214/5EvHVkRhb5k |archive-date=2021-12-14 |url-status=live|access-date=January 28, 2019}}{{cbignore}} In 2000, Clark received the Disney Teacher of the Year award.{{cite book|last=Clark|first=Ron|title=The Essential 55: An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child|url=https://archive.org/details/essential55award00clar|url-access=registration|publisher=Hyperion|year=2003|isbn=1-4013-0001-4}} Clark's first year in Harlem was the focus of a 2006 made-for-TV movie, The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry as Clark.https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_ron_clark_story/
''Survivor''
In 2019, Clark competed in Survivor: Edge of Extinction and became the thirteenth person voted out of the game. He made the jury and voted for Chris Underwood to win the game.{{Cite web|url=http://insidesurvivor.com/cast/season-38-cast-revealed|title=Survivor Season 38 Cast Revealed|last=Holmes|first=Martin|date=July 23, 2018|website=Inside Survivor|language=en-US|access-date=January 28, 2019}}
Personal life
Clark is married to his husband Lloyd Sage, who appeared in the Loved Ones Visit segment of Survivor: Edge of Extinction.{{cite interview |interviewer-first=Dalton |interviewer-last=Ross |first=Ron |last=Clark |title= Survivor Quarantine Questionnaire: Ron Clark says Jeff Probst found lost wedding ring |url=https://ew.com/tv/survivor-edge-of-extinction-ron-clark-quarantine-questionnaire-jeff-probst-wedding-ring/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=February 9, 2023 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.ronclarkacademy.com Ron Clark Academy Website]
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473389/ The Ron Clark Story on IMDB]
{{Authority control}}
{{Survivor contestants}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ron}}
Category:Schoolteachers from North Carolina
Category:East Carolina University alumni
Category:People from Beaufort County, North Carolina
Category:Educators from New York City
Category:Survivor (franchise) contestants
Category:LGBTQ people from North Carolina