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Lucky to Have Him
When I met him, I had a lot of anger inside of me. I've lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem with my mom, grandmother and little sister, Ivy. I never had a father, but in my neighborhood that's not unusual. You have to watch yourself. There are shoot-ups all the time. I know kids who have been shot or beaten up. I have friends who ended up in jail or pregnant. I could have ended up that way, too, but Mr. Clark and my mom wouldn't let that happen.Mr. Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact, our whole fifth-grade class's scores rose in math and reading. In sixth grade, I entered the gifted program, and Mr. Clark was the teacher. I felt so lucky to have him for a second year!
He took our class to see The Phantom of the Opera, and it was the first time some kids had ever been out of Harlem. Before the show, he treated us to dinner at a restaurant and taught us not to talk with our mouths full -- stuff you don't usually learn in the ghetto. He told us to say "Yes, ma'am" and "No, sir." We didn't want to let him down.
None of us were surprised when Mr. Clark was selected as Disney's 2000 Teacher of the Year. When he learned he'd won, he said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him to Los Angeles to get the award. But when it came time to draw names, Mr. Clark said, "You're all going."
He got donations to fly all 37 of us out to Disneyland in California and put us up at the Hilton. We were there for three days. People were amazed, but Mr. Clark really cared about us. There's no way I can imagine most teachers doing that. No way. But he saw something in us that nobody else saw.
On graduation day, there were a lot of tears. We didn't want his class to end. Was I ever surprised when Mr. Clark showed up at my new junior high the first week of school, just to say hello. He's been a constant in our lives. In 2001, he moved to Atlanta, but he always kept in touch. He started giving speeches about education, and wrote a bestselling book based on his classroom rules, The Essential 55.
In 2003, Mr. Clark took some of us on a trip to South Africa to deliver school supplies and visit orphanages. It was the most amazing experience of my life. It's now my dream to one day start a group of women's clubs, helping people from all backgrounds.
I'm about to become a senior at Harlem Renaissance High School. My grades are beautiful now, and I'm hoping to go to law school eventually. This fall, Mr. Clark will be opening the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, a school for kids who have potential but aren't reaching it. Kids who are like I was -- until Mr. Clark came along.
From Reader's Digest - August 2006
As told to Cathy Free
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