If you walked into an ordinary middle school, you'd probably see a similar scene: students in their seats listening (or pretending to listen) to their teacher. Spend one day at the Ron Clark Academy, however, and you'll witness a classroom like no other.
While other schools across the nation stick to strict rules and often stay away from controversial teaching methods, this private middle school is changing the norm completely. Here students sing grammar lessons to the beat of popular songs like Mariah Carey's 2009 hit "Obsessed" and even dances on tables.
“You can’t teach the way that we used to teach kids," says co-founder Ron Clark. "I mean, these kids have iPods, and video games, and movies, and all this stuff that’s going on… You can’t just bring kids in and have them sit down and expect them to stare for an hour."
Clark, who co-founded the Atlanta school in 2007, says the unique method of teaching is working since every student seems eager to learn and pays attention. The students’ standardized test scores also show success with many of them scoring in the highest percentiles. All the students featured in the video also appear happy to be in school — and that's often not the case for other students around the country.
"Our motto at the school is there's no room for fear," says one student Chi Chi Ugwuh. "I've learned to put myself out there and just get what I get."
Watch the incredible video below and please SHARE if you are blown away by this form of teaching!
