• The Essential 55

  • An Award-Winning Educator's Rules for Discovering the Successful Student in Every Child
  • By: Ron Clark
  • Narrated by: Ron Clark
  • Length: 2 hrs and 24 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (380 ratings)

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The Essential 55  By  cover art

The Essential 55

By: Ron Clark
Narrated by: Ron Clark
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Publisher's summary

If there were a code you could learn that would lead you to become a great teacher (of students, of your children, or of any young person in your life) wouldn't you want to learn it? The Essential 55 is a collection of the amazingly effective rules that Ron Clark used to become an extraordinary teacher. Through trial and error, this teacher has distilled 55 ideas that have helped him take apathetic students in some of the country's most challenging areas and transform them into award-winning scholars.

Covering all aspects of life, from the classroom to the world, from human interactions to the most frightening of all, cafeteria and bathroom manners, Ron Clark shows that with determination, discipline and regular rewards, the children you stick by will be the children you eventually admire.

Click here to listen to Ron Clark's The Excellent 11.
©2003 Ron Clark (P)2003 Hyperion

Critic reviews

"This book is a definite winner...Clark's slim but valuable volume will make a welcome addition to any teacher's library." (Publishers Weekly)

"Clark's book is a handy blueprint for parents who want to equip their elementary- and middle-school children." (Time)

What listeners say about The Essential 55

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Refreshing

Coming from a college student who really struggled to connect with their learning experience, this was a refreshing take on education. It’s great to know there are teachers out their looking for way to connect with their students and teach them lessons that will last a lifetime!

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  • 09-27-21

worthy

Amazing teacher and great life lessons. Worth listening to every year as a reminder. carpe diem!

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Practical Information for Teachers

I loved every part of this book! It was a fast and easy read. Awesome!

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Wonderful book

I love this book for our kids. Performance was Great!! enthusiasm great advice to live life. 100% recommend for everyone!! A lot of adults also need this advice 👏🏼👏🏼

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Love!

I hsvd read this book in person and love it. I Sakai appreciate how authentic it is and that he makes a point in there to personalize rules for your own tolerance.

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awesome!

Ron Clark has a fantastic mind for education. He inspires a new wave of common sense strategies.

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Must read by all teachers!

I will read this over and over and over again. I LOVE that Ron Clark reads this book himself. The ending pulled this whole book together to be absolutely amazing!

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Every Teacher Must Read

This book will help beginning to veteran teachers. The excitement and love of impacting students and teachers is amazing!

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A Helpful Start

It was interesting, funny and inspiring. It's not about duplicating his 55 essentials but about each teacher getting the inspiration and motivation to create their own essential 55. I wish I heard more applicable to high school but that's not this book. That's not what he teaches and he can only speak on his own experiences and that's fine too. The concepts are translate-able.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Ron Clark's enthusiasm spot on!

This was the perfect read for the beginning of the school year. While I dearly want to soak up every ounce of Mr. Clark's enthusiasm I did raise my eye brows at a few "rules." I do however feel like there is room for individual teaching style and he admits we SHOULD have our own rules that make sense for us. This feels a little dated, I would love to read an updated revised version.

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1 person found this helpful