I've Been Slide Certified

I slid down a slide last Thursday. It was just a regular, plastic, enclosed, blue slide with a quick turn in the middle.  That's where the "regular" part ends though. You see, this slide wasn't in a park or on a playground.  It was inside the most amazing school I've ever seen.  A school that was once a run down factory in Atlanta, Georgia. A school that was at one time merely a dream of one of the most impressive educators I've ever had the pleasure of watching teach.  A school that houses 128 of the most captivating students I've ever met.  The name of this school you ask? The Ron Clark Academy. After I slid out of the slide, one of the students quickly placed a sticker on my shirt that read I've been slide certified.  I had only recently heard about his slide, or for that matter his academy at all.  In fact, when one of our teachers told me she wanted to apply for us to go see his school through district PD money, I really wasn't all that excited. I told her I would go if they granted us the request and didn't think much more about it until we heard we were going. I flew to Atlanta unsure of what the big deal was about Ron Clark, but I came back inspired and ready to make some additions to our already amazing building. I haven't quit talking about him since I got back. In fact, my husband, Robert, says he can tell anyone anything they need to know about Ron Clark now as well. You get the point.  His visit was a game changer.

As we flew to Atlanta, I started thinking about what we would see during the next two days. I imagined there would be maybe 100 teachers and administrators in attendance.  Wrong.  There were 500 plus lined up outside the locked gates each morning.  As they opened on Day 1, you could hear the music playing. It was so loud your body vibrated as we got closer.  You didn't have time to focus on that though because the man himself was greeting everyone at the doors into the school. My "I don't care" attitude was now replaced with excitement I couldn't contain. Ron Clark had a suit coat on along with shorts. multi-colored tights and some very loud blue shoes that caught my eye immediately.  He greeted us all with a huge smile and a "good to see you" as he himself moved to the music.  The crowd in front of us was dancing the entire time as they entered and it suddenly occurred to me we were all going to be expected to dance our way into the Ron Clark Academy. I'm not gonna lie. Little Satotha Applegate from the 70s emerged for a moment and I was a tiny bit stressed at the thought of dancing in front of anyone. I quickly made the decision though that while in Rome... The atmosphere was electric as we moved past the students who were lined up to greet us. They were, of course, dancing themselves and doing a much better job than me.  Kids were everywhere. High fives were flying. You heard laughter and saw smiles wherever you looked.  It was incredible. Our day just got better and better. We moved from one amazing classroom to another. Teachers stood on desks. Students taught lessons. Chants were sung.  During Ron Clark's session, he told how he reluctantly started out as a young teacher in North Carolina and then eventually felt called to teach in Harlem. We hung on his every word as he told stories about Oprah, traveling on his annual trip with the eighth graders to Africa and visiting with parents during home visits. He shared his philosophy on professional development.  Not everyone is chosen to attend workshops. That's right.  For Ron Clark, he only sends runners. But the most impressive thing I saw the entire time I was there was the math lesson he taught. He never said a word. He used sign language while teaching algebra to fifth graders and every student responded with the answers to his questions simultaneously. Did I mention he never said a word? 100% of the students were actively engaged and they were the ones doing the talking. It may sound chaotic. It wasn't. It was inspiring! I'm not usually at a loss for words, but it's hard to explain to others what we actually saw those two days. We listened to Ron Clark, Kim Bearden (co-founder of the academy), Hope and Wade King and many more.  Of course I had to buy a keepsake or two to remember the experience. Yes, I brought back a t-shirt. Yes, I brought back a pen. Yes, I brought back a bookmark, but more importantly, I brought back some valuable life lessons as well.

1. Surround yourself with colleagues who make you better. Those of us lucky enough to experience RCA (Ron Clark Academy) and see the amazing teachers, were left in awe after watching them and listening to their stories and experiences. There was not one more impressive than the other. They were all amazing. They were all runners. Not a walker or rider in the bunch. But besides that, they had each other's back. Each one of them clearly brought out the best in each other. They weren't trying to outshine anyone. There were no jealousies. They praised each other publicly and you knew it was genuine. They were a family and that was evident from the minute we danced our way inside the academy.

2. Create an experience. The teachers didn't just teach. They inspired the kids by creating experiences and they do it every. single. day. There were no bulletin boards or student work showcased in the hallways.  Instead, there were pictures of the kids in settings all over the world as they had experiences most of us would only dream of. We don't have to stand on desks like Ron Clark though or have students playing the drums during lessons, or visit Japan. We do, however, need to be working to find ways to create experiences for our kids. That means getting up from behind our desk or table. Be active. Move and expect that of your students. Try new ideas. We saw no worksheets and no one was working alone. There was collaboration and engagement happening through meaningful experiences throughout the entire building. We heard chants being sung about the scientific method and saw students answering questions as they stood on desks (alongside Mr. Clark). Those kids will never forget the experiences they are being given and ours shouldn't either.

As I entered Carver after being at the Ron Clark Academy, I was struck with how quiet it was. Obviously, there was no music playing...yet. There were no kids singing chants...yet.  There was no one dancing...yet. It just wasn't alive...yet, but it won't be like that for long...

So as the current year has just ended and a new one is on the horizon, ask yourself if you surround yourself with colleagues that make you better. If they don't, why do you stay beside them? Do they have your back or do their jealousies cause them to turn on you? Do you create experiences at school or do you find yourself looking on Teachers Pay Teachers for the next best worksheet?  Do you take risk or are you happy with the status quo? If these answers aren't what they should be I suggest you beg to be sent to the Ron Clark Academy and prepare yourself for the experience of a lifetime, where you will be changed forever and leave there being able to say I've been slide certified.
.