An Award-Winning Educator's Rules For Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child

I loved reading this book! I finished the entire thing in 2 days! While some of the suggestions may not work for every teacher and in every classroom setting, the point is to make each of these rules your own.

I purchased this book along with his other book, "The Essential 55". This book was designed mainly for parents to use with their kids at home. There are worksheets and role-playing ideas for each rule that will help reinforce them. I think that this book would be great for teachers to use as well.

Bought this book after seeing the Ron Clark movie. This book blessed me so much and caused me to sharpen up my own manners and people skills. Everybody could benefit from reading this book because this is a book about how to respect yourself and treat other people with respect and courtesy. The world would be a better place if it were mandatory reading in all schools and workplaces.

Our school is thinking about adopting the rules from the book so I purchased it to read over the summer. I marked my favorite rules to include in my classroom. A lot of the rules relate to etiquette and social skills to benefit them in society, which many children are not learning at home. The demographics are similar to my school so it was easy for me to relate to the author.

The book is wonderful. It fills in all the things a kid should know to become the best most successful adult he or she can be. As a teacher, I find that there is very little time for and often knowledge of basic manners and personal sense being imparted to our children (society's) with hectic life styles. The classroom experience can easily extend into the broader world of our kids to assure them of the best opportunities whether there is time at home or not for these essential "rules."

This guy really rubbed me the wrong way. He seems like an arrogant jerk who thinks he's God's gift to children. There's a fine line between building relationships with your students and caring about them as individuals and trying to take their parents' places. A lot of these "rules" are important to being a decent person, but don't get so caught up in trying to micromanage your students that it takes away from actual teaching. For instance, he talks about the "proper" way to eat corn on the cob--side-to-side, or spinning it around? How is that relevant to anything? As long as you eat without being a pig, I don't think anyone cares which way you eat your corn.

After reading two-thirds of this book, I decided to buy 66 of them and give them to my faculty as a retirement gift. (I retired!) As this book is filled with lots of things that parents just don't teach at home any more, I decided to buy one for each member of the faculty (not retiring). So you can say, that I put my money where my mouth was. The book is superb for old and new teachers alike. I just wish that I had seen it years earlier. It may have had a greater impact on my teaching career.

I hesitated to read this book, passing it up time and again. What would he have to say to help me--a teacher with 33 years experience? Well, as it turns out--plenty! In an engaging story-telling style, Mr. Clark draws you into his own classroom and shows you his real problems and students, while showing you how his rules work. I have used some of his rules since reading the book, and they work! Now I am not going on overnight field trips or taking my kids to the theater, but there is plenty of "good stuff" in here to warrant its reading. My only question is: is Ron Clark still teaching? So few who teach like him continue to teach for more than a few years. I will take
some of his energy and ideas but temper them so I can make it for the long haul!

Ron is certainly passionate about what he does and I will certainly use some of the '55 rules' although I get the feeling they are explained in a rather simplistic way with examples of success not always attributable to the particular rule. It seems to me it is the absolute passion he shows for his students and the high expectations for achievement and behaviour, as well as his ability to build relationships and engage with his students that really make the difference. If only all teachers had these attributes.

I recommend this book for new and seasoned teachers. It has many helpful rules to follow in class and outside of school. Ron Clark gave examples of each rule to follow. Great book to use to plan classroom management.

A reference book for teachers of all grades to read. I recommend reading this book, after you first watch the movie based on Ron
Clark's beginning years of teaching in Harlem, called the "Ron Clark Story."

I feel every new teach should be required to read this book before starting in the classroom and every teacher ready to quit aster a few years should read it and compare what he does to what they did.

The book presents an abundance of great ideas related to teaching. It offers lots of help not only to beginner teachers but also for teachers who feel that it is time to make some changes in the classroom which will lead to a more positive atmosphere. Of course, not all 55 rules can be applied by every teacher but everyone will find rules that he or she will want to remember and try out in his or her classroom. Even if you are not looking for help or new ideas, the book will be fun to read because of its many real-life stories.

After I watched "The Ron Clark Story" on television I checked our local library for any books that Ron had written. I found The Essential 55.

I have a masters degree in education and have never read a more user friendly, practical book for teachers.

I've tried several of Ron's suggestions and they actually work!

A great summer read for teachers and parents. This was a terrific way of recharging the "educators" batteries. I found this book to be inspiring and funny. I may be "sick and twisted", but it's always fun to learn about someone else's classroom horror stories. All teachers have them so when I read someone else's it's good to know I'm not alone.

This book inspires positivity and I would recommend. I purchased as a gift but had to have one for myself too!! I also strongly recommend the movie with Mathew Perry that tells the remarkable story of Ron Clark (the author and inspiration). I have been fortunate enough to hear him in person and I try everyday to remember the tools provided in this book. It can be useful in dealing with children, family and co-workers - respect is key!!

This is an inspirational book for all teachers!!! Highly recommended for making your classroom better. It is also hilarious. You'll get a good laugh from it. Ron Clark just reminds us what education is all about.

This is an inspirational book for all teachers!!! Highly recommended for making your classroom better. It is also hilarious. You'll get a good laugh from it. Ron Clark just reminds us what education is all about.

First day of class and my teacher assigns the class to read this book. My first thoughts were are you serious? 194 page book in less than a week?!! It's crazy! (I'm a slow reader) well nonetheless I had to do the assignment. But I love this book!! It's quirky! And vital! I couldn't put it down. These rules aren't just for teachers but for everyone! Anyone and everyone can gain from this book.

While this book has some good topics to be discussed with kids, it is more about "how to get the teacher to like you" and concentrates on rules that are outdated and a bit unrealistic. I'm pretty disappointed.

The Essential 55 is filled with advice for teachers and parents alike. Practical and "do-able" guidelines including praise, discipline and creative communication skills are just a sampling of the information included in Mr. Clark's book. This is recommended reading for every first year instructor from kindergarten to college and for every "first-time" parent.

Mr. Clark's perspective on student behavior is right on. His methods of teaching correct principles are just common sense. Many of his ideas are common practices that parents have forgotten to teach their kids.