Abstract:

TLN Forum member Susan Graham wrote this entry in late August 2006, during the release of the TNT movie The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry. Read other comments about the Ron Clark phenomenon at the TLN Teacher Voices blog.

Full Text:

I've been caught off guard by the Ron Clark phenomenon. Suddenly he seems to be everywhere. He's written a New York Times bestseller; he's on talk shows, he's got his own movie; he appeared at a neighboring school system's staff convocation and was on the front page of my local paper. He's even in my bedroom on the table smiling at me from the cover of The Essential 55 because I decided I needed to know what made Ron Clark's Rules so transformational. I've discovered the answer: Ron Clark.

Ron Clark, by all measures, is an exemplary educator. In North Carolina and Harlem, students under his tutelage performed above and beyond expectations. His zeal for promoting social, moral and emotional development as well as academic excellence is praiseworthy. His ability to solicit corporate support is admirable. His vision of a Ron Clark Academy for low income middle school kids in Atlanta is exciting. His skill as an engaging and persuasive communicator is impressive. He also just seems like a really nice person.

So, I kept wondering: What is my problem here? Why do the Ron Clark Story, the Ron Clark interviews on Oprah, The Essential 55, and the Ron Clark Academy leave me with this gut level discomfort? Am I guilty because he has made a much greater personal investment in his students that I am willing or able to make? Do I resent the recognitions and the excitement of taking students to the White House, winning the Disney award, and having one's very own movie? Is it the $17,500 he gets for a speaking engagement that makes me jealous? Am I so mired in tired educational platitudes that I see more problems than potential in a middle school curriculum framed on travel to every continent except Antarctica?

I finally figured it out late last night as I observed one of my back to school rituals—watching Mr. Holland's Opus. One of the hallmarks of good cinema is that repeated viewings surprise you with nuances that were overlooked when the outcome of the plot was unknown. Two people jumped off the screen at me last night. Beancounting, risk-avoiding, procedurally correct Principal Gene Wolters was Mr. Holland's nemesis and my oracle. It's easy to paint the principal as the bad guy and in most teacher movies that's what happens. But the more I learn about school, I realize that principals make hard choices between good options; and what may look like a commitment to mediocrity is often a commitment to equality by trying to meet almost unlimited possibilities with very limited resources.

In my past viewings of Mr. Holland, I have always admired the character of Gertrude Lang, the bad oboeist cum governor who makes the grand gesture of returning to preside at the retirement concert honoring the "teacher who made a difference" in her life. Last night it occurred to me for the first time that Governor Lang was in a much better position to ensure funding for fine arts than penny pinching Principal Wolters. An appreciation for what she had gained personally from Mr. Holland's instruction did not translate into advocacy for sufficient funding to retain fine arts for the children of her constituency. The disconnect between perception and reality clarified my Ron Clark concerns.

It's about resources

The inspirational outcomes of Ron Clark's teaching are dependent on almost unlimited resources to carry out his vision. I give him full credit for what he achieved by doing whatever he had to do to get what he needed from administration, colleagues, parents, corporate sponsors, and even his students to achieve his vision for those kids in his classroom. Here's the problem for me: Mr. Clark does not seem to acknowledge that every resource he consumes to achieve his goals for his students is a resource no longer available for other students in other classrooms.

Mr. Clark sacrificed his personal life for the sake of his students. How long can a teacher be expected to postpone all their personal goals for teaching? What about educators with children who constantly balance the often competing demands of teaching and parenting? When Mr. Clark held up the cafeteria line for thirty minutes to get Shamika to fess up to cutting in line, it represented a success for his team building efforts. But what was the impact on his colleagues and students who were waiting behind him? What about the cost of extending food service operations for half an hour? What did his victory cost his school?

It's commendable that Mr. Clark wanted to take all of his students to the Disney awards and dress the boys in tuxedos so they would not feel self conscious about being inappropriately dressed. But two years later, Mr. Clark was gone and the kids were still in Harlem. What else could have been purchased for P.S. 83 with the corporate money solicited to provide travel for 30 kids to California for a few days? What an amazing experience it would be for any child to travel the globe for three years of middle school education. But what will become of them? Where will those kids go to high school? What if they had one study abroad experience in middle school and the rest of the money all that travel would cost was put aside for them in a college fund? What is admirable – and what is effectual?

I've decided I have no real problem with Ron Clark. He's done great things for the kids he taught. He has inspired a lot of teachers and does a great job of inspiring people to commit to excellence. But over the last few years, I've learned some important lessons about leadership and about trying to get other people to invest long term in education initiatives. Here are some essential questions to discern the difference in what is admirable and what is effectual use of resources. Is an initiative grounded in research? One could argue that there is insufficient data to determine if travel, as an instructional format, is highly effective.

Is it affordable? Travel as an instructional strategy is simply not fiscally reasonable. This year many teachers will be told there is insufficient funding for a half day field trip on a school bus to the local museum, much less an extended tour of Asia.

Is it sustainable? While one could argue that the money and services were donated to Mr. Clark for his students as a one-time gift and might not have been offered to a general fund or a more mundane line item such as textbooks or electric bills. But that same reasoning implies that it might be unrealistic to hope for gifts of this magnitude as a sustained funding source year after year.

Is it replicable? Part of what makes The Ron Clark Story compelling is it's Cinderella quality. Ron Clark had the courage to bet everything on a classroom of fifth graders and it ends happily as they all go to the ball. Most teachers lack the time, the stamina, the connections and the charisma to do what Ron Clark did.

How does it impact student learning? There is no doubt that Mr. Clark consistently improved performance for his students. But without following these students' performance over an extended period of time, it is difficult to know how their year with Mr. Clark impacted the long-term education experience for these children.

Mr. Clark encourages me to make my classroom management more consistent and intentional. He reminds me of the importance of early and regular parent contact. He inspires me to remember that every child has potential and that I could be the teacher that makes the difference. While Ron Clark gives us hope, education is a complex problem and process, the promise of formulaic success can result in disappointment and disillusionment. My concern is that extraordinary teachers like Ron Clark may serve as a balm on the conscious of the public and a seductive distraction from the hard business of providing every child with a quality teacher and equal access to enriching experiences and rigorous learning.
 

Susan Graham is a National Board Certified Teacher in the middle grades and served as a TLN Fellow in 2004-05. She is also a regular blogger at Teacher Magazine where she writes "A Place at the Table."

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