* My Favorite Teacher *

Due Date: Wednesday, September 21st- "My Favorite Teacher." As a teacher, I like to think I've made a positive impact on my students. I'm sure at some point in your school career, there was a teacher who made you feel special. One who recognized a special talent of yours. One who told you to reach for the moon because if you missed, you'd still be amongst the stars. Maybe it wasn't a teacher but another mentor. Here's your chance to honor that person who encouraged you to be all that you could be.

For this homework assignment, I'm going to do a little "thinking outside of the box" that I always like to encourage. I've had so many wonderful teachers that I thought rather than just single out one, I'd write about a teacher who I think really has some good ideas about education. You may have seen him on Oprah or other talk shows. He has written a book called "The Essential 55" in which he lays out 55 rules to guide children to not only be better students but better human beings. 55 rules? I know that sounds like a lot but they are common sense rules that make sense not only for teachers to require but parents, too.

Here's what Oprah has to say: "I met Ron Clark, the 2000 Outstanding Teacher of the Year, last fall at Disney's American Teacher Awards. He'd not only traveled from East Harlem to Los Angeles to receive his award but he'd raised more than $25,000 to bring his entire class with him. As I watched the video about Ron's life and his decision to relocate from North Carolina to one of the toughest areas of Harlem, I was moved to tears. What I saw in Ron that day left me humbled and inspired—I could literally feel his deep sense of love for and connection with his students." Click on Oprah above to read more about Ron Clark's approach to teaching.

Click here for some of Mr. Clark's rules
Click here for Mr. Clark's guidelines for parents
If you click on the book above, you can browse the book!