Where do I even begin? I think Friday was the best experience I have ever had. The Ron Clark Academy is nothing short of amazing! This past week was our school's Fall Break. Let me rewind back to March, that is when my co-worker/friend Ashley and I decided to take the plunge and get tickets to RCA. It was something I have been looking forward to since we received the conformation email! Ashley and I went to Atlanta on Wednesday and went shopping, explored ATL, and ate delicious food. Thursday night, I was so excited, I couldn't really sleep. The anticipation allowed me to get about 4 total hours of sleep, but come Friday morning that didn't matter!
We arrived at 8 sharp and began gathering around the gate. Promptly at 8:15, the gates opened and we were escorted into the library where the music was blaring and everyone was dancing. I was immediately greeted by an adorable 5th grader, and we had a short conversation before she asked me if I wanted to go jump on the trampoline. Of course I didn't bat an eye, and before I knew it, I was meeting Kim Bearden and getting strapped into the trampoline. A trampoline in the middle of their library? That is my childhood dream come true! I couldn't imagine what else was to come!
We then went into the main building and began our day. I don't want to spoil the greatness that happens there, so I'll give you a quick snapshot. As soon as we were inside we were welcomed by more music and dancing. Ron welcomed everyone, and we were off to our first part of the day. The morning was a whirlwind of classroom observations and workshops.
One of my favorite quotes from Ron was "Allow yourself to forgive yourself." This hit home with me because I am my own worst critic!
One of the most inspirational part of the day was listening to Kim Bearden. She is such a genuine person, and a phenomenal educator. She told us her story and she touched everyone in that room. One of my favorite quotes of the day was something Kim said that really stuck with me, "I believe what I can do, not what I can't do." This is a quote I am going to keep close.
The middle of the day was lunch in their Harry Potter inspired dinning hall. During lunch we had a wonderful conversation with a 7th grader and she told us everything we were curious about, and so much more. She even noticed that I wear the same perfume as Hope King, one of their teachers. The ability the kids have to carry a conversation with an adult is amazing!
After lunch there were more classroom observations and workshops. Rigor was in everyone of those classrooms, but along with the rigor was student engagement and fun. I enjoyed watching the different teachers teach because they all had their own unique way of running their class that were all very similar, if that makes sense.
At the end of the day is was time to be SLIDE CERTIFIED! I was standing at the top of the slide and there were two students on either side of the slide and the boy looks at me and says "Superman, you're definitely going to superman." Without even thinking twice, I was sliding head first down the slide! The end of the day was just as amazing as the rest of it. I won't ruin the end, you'll have to go and experience it for yourself.
My time at RCA has forever changed my teaching life. This experience is one of the hardest things to put into words, and I have pondered over it for a while and haven't found a good way to say it other than incredible in every way. I have a list of goals that I hope to accomplish by the end of the year because I was so inspired and saw the amazing things happening in that school. I also got to meet some of my teaching and blogging role models. Hope King made my day! I was so glad I got to meet her, she is as sweet as I had imagined. I aspire to be like her everyday!
I hope you have an opportunity to visit this one of kind school because it is guaranteed to change your world and I know this because it changed mine.
Find more info about RCA here
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