The Essential 55- Chapter 22-32

As I was reading chapters 22-32 from The Essential 55 book I have noticed that it is never too late to teach a child how to behave at all times. Some parents do not prepare their children to act appropriately in public places, such as restaurant; when eating it is not acceptable to "play with food" something that is very common among young children since they show lack of interest for behaving well, but in the long run might it ever be mastered(p.94). Most parents and teachers don't demand it from their children because they think the kids are not interested but in reality "the kids really enjoy learning manners and putting them into action" (p.98). Practicing good manners can be done at school as well for example, when having new visitors "sending two students to the front of the building who are to shake the visitor's hand and give him/her a tour of the school" is a great way for students to be respectful in a different type of situation(p.85). Good manners are not only seen through physical actions, they can also be verbally practiced, such as "calling when having a question over the homework", people will not lend you their help unless you ask in a nice way and ask for a precise and understandable question(p. 91). In the "professional world" one must "be accessible in order to be successful", there are many people that do the same job you do and if you are not easy to reach people will turn around and look for another person that is willing to work(p.91). Teaching children the importance of manners, whether it's at a table or at the work place, is very importance to set a path of pure success.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr232.shtml

The Essential 55- Chapter 11-21

After reading the second set of chapters,11-21, from The Essential 55 book I have noticed that a shift has happened. Chapters 1-10 were mainly about establishing moral rules rather than actual academic based rules, now chapters 11-21 deal a bit more with class assignments, grades, and expectations from Mr. Clark when dealing with his teaching. He requires his students to "be as organized as possible", it is very important as a student to be on time when turning in assignments and completing them from levels of importance or approaching due dates(p.62). Just like all Mr. Clark's rules, this one applies to every person as well, adults "have to pay bills by a certain date"(p.56). I love how Mr. Clark made turning in homework into a game, all his students were motivated and committed to the success of the whole class. His students went "sixty-two days in a row" in which they all completed their homework(p.58). The classroom went "from 30 percent homework participation to 100 percent", all students approach homework differently when it's fun rather than it being harshly enforced(p.58). Even some of my pre-k students already love school and the work because of the fun environment in the class and the way my mentor teacher approaches her lesson plans. Now something that they do find difficult is " not asking for rewards" young children are so used to receiving rewards from their parents because they behave well or because they have accomplished something important; "In the real world, rewards aren't always given to people", the people that do something they love and enjoy will not expect rewards because their happiness is their reward(p.54). A student's reward is the knowledge obtained every single day and the ability to manipulate it to grow up and be successful. 

https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/article/does-homework-contribute-to-student-success

The Essential 55 Chapter 1-10

 The first ten chapters of The Essential 55 book have illustrated what good educators should teach, which are lessons that the students can relate to the environment outside of school. Besides creating rules for his classroom Ron Clark establishes good morals. If a teacher " wants children to respect him/her, they must let them know it" in the "real" world people will introduce themselves the way they want to be referred as when holding a conversation(p.1). The tone of the conversation can be set with the words used while speaking to one another. Also when having a conversation it is "important to keep eye contact to [successfully] get your point across" and create credibility regarding the information being covered(p.3). Part of having an interactive conversation includes both sides being able to listen and "make comments until the other person is finished". For children, especially young children, listening to others without interrupting seems to be very difficult(p.4).
I absolutely love the way Mr.Clark establishes the concept of equality and staying humble. In society today we are set up to compete against those to our right and those to our left. Personally I disagree with competition among classmates, every student will shine with their own unique talent. As teachers it is fundamental to set the mindset of "no bragging when doing well or winning" due to the different self-esteem of all the students(p.14). Staying humble and not bragging "makes skills seem larger than what they really are" and creates the sincere admiration from peers(p.15). Teaching children to be successful begins with teaching them the way to act while working hard to reach success and finally how to act once having ultimate success in order to keep it. Every students in a classroom is worthy of accomplishing their dreams; every teacher is worthy of making dreams come true.
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar03/vol60/num06/Moral-Teachers,-Moral-Students.aspx

Are schools built for learning?

As I was listening to Will Richardson's TED talk I understood what a school really is; a school is a place where students are obligated to attend whether they are learning or not. Teachers are having to rush through their lessons in order to meet standards, which sometimes means that some students are left with unanswered questions that later come to define the teacher's effectiveness, when in reality the teacher was only trying to do her best to cover everything that the students "need" so they can succeed to the eyes that view statistics.
The simple arrangement of classrooms today already says enough, students are to all face one way and sit in a reduced amount of space to where they are not to move from. I believe that all students from all age groups should be able to move around in class and interact with each other and what surround them. Otherwise school is just that place where you go and sit and listen to a person speak. I consider an ideal learning environment to consist of academic freedom, such as learning in a fun way not the old traditional bookwork and notes. I also believe that students should definitely meet a certain criteria, but I do not agree with the result defining how intelligent they are and whether they are ready or not to advance to the next level. When in reality no one is never "ready", there is so much information floating around that a school year just isn't able to fit in due to the length of it. A longer school year is a must, but shorter days are also a must. There is so much the human brain can take a day and it is incredible how students go almost eight hours a day learning eight different things.
In the future of education an ideal learning environment can be enforced by the amount of subjects taught a day and the way those subjects are approached. I am also a supporter of eliminating some standardized testing which does not measure total intelligence. Schools need a change before we lose the interest of our students and school becomes "that one place where I go sit and listen to a person speak."

http://www.montana.edu/facultyexcellence/Papers/activelearn2.html