Education students present conference featuring award-winning teacher

LAWRENCE -- A former dancing and singing waiter who later received national attention as Disney's 2000 teacher of the year will be at the University of Kansas on Saturday, May 4, for a student-organized conference.

The featured guest at the KU School of Education's "Teach 2002: A Pre-Service Education Conference" will be Ron Clark, a sixth-grade teacher in East Harlem, N.Y., who took a roundabout journey to become a nationally recognized educator at one of New York City's toughest schools. Clark will speak at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Budig Hall on Jayhawk Boulevard.

"This guy shows that teaching is an exciting profession," said Randall Holt, president of the School of Education Student Organization. "He is a very good role model for what we are striving to do."

Saturday's conference will target pre-service teaching students. It was organized through the SESO and is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to noon at Joseph R. Pearson Hall, 1122 West Campus Road, and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in Budig Hall.

Holt said morning sessions would include information about current education legislation, children and drama, money management, stress management and quality performance assessments. Presenters will include KU faculty, representatives from the State Department of Education, and local teachers and administrators.

The event is free and open to the public. Preregistration is requested for the morning sessions.

Clark has appeared in magazines and on television since receiving the Disney award, a national honor that was developed 13 years ago to celebrate outstanding members of the teaching profession who have a profound and lasting impact on children. Clark was chosen from a pool of more than 80,000 nominated teachers from across the nation.

According to Clark, he didn't set out to become a teacher but rather to live a life of adventure. After completing college, he traveled the world, working as a singing and dancing waiter in London and later finding himself stranded for four days on a desert island in Greece.

When a Gypsy meal of rats made Clark sick during a trip to Transylvania, he returned to his mother's home in North Carolina to recuperate. During that time, Clark's mother suggested that he look into a teaching position at a local elementary school. Clark said that despite his reservations, he applied for the job, was hired and immediately fell in love with teaching.

Clark went back to school at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and received his teaching degree. Five years later, he heard about a school in Harlem whose students were failing because it couldn't attract good teachers. Clark said hearing about the need was like a calling, and within days he was in New York seeking out a school that needed teachers.

His award came after nominations explained how Clark learned to "double Dutch" jump rope and rap his lessons to connect with his students. He also spent his spare time taking his students to New York attractions.

Clark said his devotion and sincerity prove to the children that learning is a fun, lifelong experience. His efforts, he said, are rewarded by the extra efforts put forward by the children.

Holt said Clark's experiences and attitude proved that a career in education could be rewarding and exciting.

"Ron Clark's story is universal," Holt said. "Career choices are made at different points throughout your life, but to find a life of adventure, you don't have to look far. You can find it in just about any career you choose."

For more information about the conference or to register for the morning sessions, e-mail rholt@ku.edu or visit the SESO Web site, www.soe.ku.edu/seso.