Getting Our Kids Unstuck--101 Extraordinary Solutions for Parents and Teachers (Touchstone Book)

This is a must read for every educator (teacher, parent, or other) and should be required reading for teaching credential programs. Thank you Ron Clark for all your insight and for your amazing work to build a better education for coming generations! Truly a thrilling read if you care about education and our youth.

This book will inspire educators, parents, administrators, and community members. We need more people like Ron Clark in our world. Thank you for truly believing in the potential of each student and for doing exactly what it takes to reach those students.

Ron Clark's newest book is filled with motivational learning expectations and new strategies, along with Mr. Clark's fantastic sense of humor. Mr. Clark's "call for revolution" is truly inspiring. He points out 101 ways we can make education extraordinary. He discusses fearless teaching, fearless learning, which results in fearless living. I was truly inspired by the comments in the book, such as, "Not every child deserves a cookie", and "Teach the parents the correct way to tutor their children". The End of Molasses Classes is a must-have for teachers, students, principals and parents alike. I have purchased several books for my employees! Jeff Anderson, Audio Enhancement.

This book was eye-opening! Ron Clark explains many of the issues facing today's youth and teachers in a way that parents can understand and relate. Just as society has changed, so has education. Mr. Clark gives parents questions to ask and ways to keep in touch with their children's teachers so that they are not a "helicopter" parent but are keeping informed and offering the kind of assistance good teachers are looking for from their students' parents.

Mr. Clark also seeks to inspire teachers to work with parents and students in a way that motivates and informs.

This is a must read for anyone with children in school or anyone who works with children!

Having had the opportunity to spend time at the Ron Clark Academy and get to know the staff, I know this book is more than accurate in its depiction of RCA. Like the school, the book is full of magic, charisma, excitement and high standards. If you would like to understand the success of educators like Ron Clark and Kim Bearden, this is the book to read. Furthermore, if you would like to find ways to advance your own educational career or inspire a joy for learning in your children this is a "must read." Sure, this book is powerful the first time you read it, but what makes it truly invaluable is that it can (and should!) be used as a reference tool for the classroom and home academic settings. Regardless of what age-group or demographic you teach; whether you are in a traditional, year-round, charter, private, alternative or home school setting; or you just work with children: this is the book for you. Be prepared to have "molasses-style classes" (those classes that just drone on and on) challenged and, dare I say, rebuked through all 101 fire-lighting sections of this book. If you want to be an educator "un-stuck" and on fire for learning, this book will do better than any tractor ever could. More than anything, the success generated from your students after using the tips in this book will certainly be sweeter than any jar of molasses.

I picked up this book from the library about eight months ago while deciding whether to pursue alternative teacher certification. Since then, I've enrolled in a certification program and read numerous books related to teaching for my own personal study in addition to my program requirements. I consider this book the best, or at least in the top two, of all that I have read. While I was reading the book, it crossed my mind several times that this book should be given out at the hospital to all parents of newborns because the parental advice in it is as good as the teaching inspiration.

The End of Molasses Classes is incredibly inspiring and shows what can be done in education by committed teachers. At the outset of my teaching career, I doubt if I will be able to pour as much of my time into my work as those at the Ron Clark Academy since I have a child at home who still needs quite a bit of care. It seems to be an all-consuming life for Clark and his staff and I applaud their commitment and drive. But I can certainly use the ideas in this book and tweak them to fit my own life and teaching style. And I just may hop up on a desk now and then as well.

Clark's recounting of the time and effort that went into the ceremony for the first graduating class was what touched me the most about this book. The ending brought me to tears and made me want to teach even more. This book is one that I will be adding to my permanent library. In case anyone is interested, I would consider "Star Teachers of Children in Poverty" by Martin Haberman to be a contender for my most inspiring book along with "The End of Molasses Classes". They are very different books in terms of style, but both are excellent.

The End of Molasses Classes is a motley of helpful tidbits for parents & teachers, letters from parents, students, & teachers relating their experiences with the author's education style, and the author's own anecdotes, all threaded together with the listing format common to Ron Clark's books. Where in the past he covered the 55 standards he uses to maintain an orderly and uplifting classroom and the 11 attributes he believes should be instilled in every student by parents & teachers, here Ron provides 101 suggestions for anybody with an interest in education. Indeed, were he a bit less humble, the book could have easily been entitled Education 101. Ron has clearly adopted the traditional maxim "it takes a village to raise a child" and institutionalized it in the form of the Ron Clark Academy, where students, according to The End of Molasses Classes, are inundated in a challenging and inspirational environment provided by not only the teachers, but also staff and parents. Ron's educational philosophy is demanding of both teacher and parent, and The End of Molasses Classes attempts to make it seem both accessible and absolutely necessary.

Read as a teacher, The End of Molasses Classes will offer both philosophical suggestions and direct examples on how to implement those suggestions in and out of the classroom. Read as a parent, The End of Molasses Classes will offer ample advice on how to maximize your kid's educational experience. Read as neither, The End of Molasses Classes will offer plenty of entertainment, making you both laugh and choke up more than a few times.

This book is a must-read for educators, parents, and anyone interested in transforming today's youth into tomorrow's leaders. Not only do you learn the fascinating backstory of the Ron Clark Academy, you get to know several of his memorable students by name--indeed, the real-life examples of these children's work at school, lives at homes, and triumphs over immense challenges make for an inspiring, page-turning read.

Besides that, Clark also offers specific, realistic advice for teachers and families on how to encourage students, and to reach into the larger community to create a real culture of support and love of learning.

As an etiquette consultant who frequently visits the RCA to work directly with students, we have seen Clark's enthusiasm and dedication first-hand, and the book's tone perfectly captures his approach and philosophy.

By the time you finish "The End of Molasses Classes," one reaction will likely stand above the rest: you'll really wish that you could be a student at the Ron Clark Academy, no matter how old you are.

Ron Clark is not only an amazingly innovative and dedicated teacher, he is a darn good writer, too. He keeps the reader engaged with his lively language, anecdotes, and stories. I've worked as a classroom teacher, a reading specialist, private tutor, consultant, and homeschooling parent, so I'm very plugged in to educational reform. I enjoy reading about innovators in the field of education. Don't be put off by Mr. Clark's extreme devotion (which some may feel is impossible to replicate). Rather, be in awe of it and take what lessons you can to apply in your own school, classroom, or home. I was very inspired by Mr. Clark's book and have since shared it with other educators and principals.

I'm currently pursuing my master's in education and I picked this book up as a possible resource. As a public school teacher I would have to say I was very disappointed. While it did have a few good tips I would say it failed in the following ways:

1) It was out of touch with the realities of a public school environment
2) It felt out of touch with what current research is saying.
3) It placed far too much value on extrinsic motivations.

I'm sure everything works fine in the private school he started himself, but I don't feel his policies would be effective when you look at the larger picture. His energy is contagious and I can see why he appeals to the television media but as a teacher I find some of his thoughts dangerous.

I love big ideas, but I don't feel his were carefully crafted with a larger student audience in mind.

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome. So many wonderful ideas! I wish I could buy a copy for every school administrator, teacher and parent!! This book needs to be in the hands of everyone that effects children's lives. This is one purchase you will not regret. Kudos to Ron Clark for taking risks and realizing that all children can learn.

There is truth and inspiration in every captivating page. No excuses, read for solutions! Dry off that wet kindling and light your fire! The only reason why you would put this book down is because it IS on fire!

Those who care TEACH! And those who care about teaching will read this book! It is a must-have manual for every educator that refuses to settle for average results and strives to keep raising the bar. Ron Clark and his academy dance the "obmil" on a daily basis. The bar keeps being raised and raised, never lowered. No matter what new challenges educators face from year to year, the Ron Clark Academy keeps inspiring all types of students to become passionate life-long learners. I worry that some schools and educators fear failure and under so many pressures to meet the needs of so many diverse learners, end up doing the limbo in their schools...but not at the Ron Clark Academy. If we set better goals, we will get better results. His honesty on how to achieve this is OH SO REFRESHING!

Thanks for keeping it real (and real funny), Ron! Keep on dancing the obmil and inspiring others to do the same! Shout-out to NC Teaching Fellows - light your fire and go out and inspire!

It's an easy read, humorous, inspiring and full of down to earth ideas for teachers and parents. I would like an appendix with details of test scores, and Mr. Clark (as well as other teachers) need to be aware of intellectual property rights. It's theft to use a popular song and adapt the words as a teaching tool.