Crash Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me

by Kim Bearden

The inspiring true story of how a group of inner city school kids taught their teacher how to overcome personal adversity and achieve success and “Kim Bearden’s message is one that should be heard by all” (Ron Clark).

Crash Course chronicles the life lessons that Kim Bearden has learned during an award-winning career in education. From her challenges as a first-year teacher to her triumphs as the cofounder of the highly acclaimed Ron Clark Academy, Kim shares how children can teach each of us the importance of building relationships, abandoning fear, discovering resilience, embracing one’s unique gifts, and living with passion.

Full of honesty, humor, heartbreak, and humanity, Kim’s experiences show how children can help any one of us find joy and meaning in both our personal and professional lives. Crash Course is “humorous and sensitive” ( Kirkus Reviews ), an important resource for every home library.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Nonfiction, Teachers

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 6, 2013

Reviews

[Ricardo Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on RCA

[Tammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a reasonably interesting book.

I'm a teacher that actually does do a lot of hands-on and engaging activities in my classroom. But, this teacher is just...over the top. So, in some ways, rather than be inspired, the book made me feel a bit defeated. If I have to do all the things she does to be a "good teacher" then there is a problem. It feels as if she does a lot of entertaining things. I might argue that *engaging* doesn't always equal *entertaining*.

Still, if she wants to put in that kind of time and money, then I suppose "more power to her." Still, for most of us, the kind of teaching she describes is simply too much. So, I didn't find the book to be all that helpful or inspiring to me.

[Alex Ricker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so thankful that I bought this book! It is the perfect, feel-good, motivational book for educators to remember why they do what they do! This book gave me so much joy and inspiration and I can't wait to share it with all my friends! Visiting RCA is now on my bucket list!

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has not aged well and it fails to provide anything insightful about the teaching experience. The writing itself is quite bland, and the overall purpose is unclear as the narrative seems only to serve superficially as a brag book full of Kim’s self-ascribed accomplishments teaching in an inner city private school.

Kim’s account of her teaching experience is incredibly narrow and if you’re a public school teacher, you will quickly check out of her narrative due to its fluffy, borderline toxicaly positive attitude.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the author's philosophies about teaching, such as: the jigsaw analogy. I also looked forward to her engaging lesson ideas and classroom transformations, however, I found myself wanting a book on that topic instead. A variety of students are discussed, but the author changes quickly between them. I do think this book would be valuable for a new teacher starting out and should definitely be read as a book club, but maybe not independently.

[Aija · Rating 4 out of 5]

Šī ir viena no tām grāmatām, ko turēt pa rokai, kad nedaudz piemirsies, kāpēc esi tur, kur esi, t.i., strādā skolā. Iedvesmojoši un stipri. Lasot nevienu reizi vien pieķēru sevi domāja, ka es arī tā gribētu - tik viegli, ar aizrautību un atdevi kaislīgi mācīt ne tikai mācību vielu, bet arī dzīvi un attieksmi.
Skolotāja, no kuras mācīties mīlestību pret darbu un bērniem, kā arī radošumu bez robežām.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was inspiring & disheartening at the same time to read about the support she has been given to give kids an exceptional education & real life learning opportunities that many of us just cannot provide our students. Very bittersweet read for me.

[Lisa Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of life...taught by children

Through working with children, Kim shows us truths about what is important and why. Excellent stories that leave you wanting more...and to be in her classroom.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very inspirational book lent by my amazing friend, Erin.

[Bailey Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great philosophy but unrealistic in the reality of most poorly funded American schools

[Alison Wheaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very genuine and thoughtful. Reinvigorated my love for what I do.

[Jenniferschneikart · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspiring! I can only hope to one day be the type of leader Kim Bearden is!

[Martha Schwalbe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book but I didn't get any new ideas from it.

[becky phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for educators!

[Susan Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me want to be better...at everything!

[Katie Gawron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved all of the life lessons, but wasn’t totally in love with the book. I still came away feeling a little deflated and like re-creating Kim’s magic is an impossible task.

[Kelsey Schilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The students who hardest to love, most likely need it the most.” This line has stuck with me and hopefully will stick with me for the rest of my life.

[Susan O'dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been decades since I sat in a classroom but I hope I will never stop reading and learning for the rest of my life. I have worked in professional services my entire career and Kim's book is chock full of examples of innovation and creativity that could be adopted in the work place. Who else but someone as ingenious as Kim could come up with teaching grammar via an operating room?! She opened my eyes to new ways to motivate my colleagues and staff to think about serving our clients differently. On a personal level, her transparency is stunning. There were many times when I had to reach for Kleenex before I could keep reading. Kim's honesty shows it is not all sunshine and roses. But her incredible passion for teaching - reaching - connecting - inspiring is what keeps her going...and her students hungering for more. THIS passion is what motivates people to always want to learn, to be their best, to do more than they ever dreamed possible. I would encourage anyone who wants to better themselves to read this book and think about how you can adopt innovation into your environment, just as Kim has shown us through her extraordinarily unique classroom. What a writer - you will not be bored! Of course not, she teaches ENGLISH! :)

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kim Bearden shares the experiences she has had teaching over the past three decades specifically focusing on her time at the Ron Clark Academy. For teachers who are reading the book she provides activities to think about at the end of each chapter. Even though I am not a teacher myself I enjoyed reading her stories. However, I do feel like she makes things sound a little too easy for most people teaching poor and inner city students. The Ron Clark Academy is an acclaimed school and gets lots of press and thus lots of opportunities that not all schools get. I don't discount all the great work that the teachers and administrators at that school do with students who come to them from not the best of places, but I think that a lot of the great things they are able to do at their school are made much easier by the large donations and publicity they get that not every inner city school is going to be able to benefit from. I'm glad her kids are getting the opportunities that they are. I just wish all America's kids could be so lucky.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank Kim Bearden, author and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for the copy of Carsh Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me that my Mom won in the Giveaway and shared with me.

As an educator, Kim Bearden learned how to listen to her students, teach to their interests and get them involved with hand-on learning. She used her abilities to relate to her students to give them lessons that had meaning, were interesting and from them they showed her the joy of learning and kept her exploring ways to reach each child in her classroom. After 43 years of teaching, I know the best teachers are the ones that can relate to their students and use their skills to help them give creative learning experiences to increase learning outcomes. Teachers that have this ability take the most away from working with their children in personal growth and job satisfaction. This is an excellent motivational book for all teachers.

[Graham Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim Bearden writes a nice, inspirational collection of devotional-type essays designed to spark several positive aspects of a teacher's character. Each chapter is relatively short and consists of more personal reflections and stories than nuts-and-bolts practical advice. It's a nice, easy read that won't overtax you but, like cofounder Ron Clark's books, give you over-the-top, imaginative lesson ideas to spur the creative juices. One issue I noticed that the promotional materials include personal details about her life but in the book itself there are merely passing references to any of the negative aspects of her life. More details may have distracted from the purpose of the book (and wasn't necessary), but the suggestion this would be a very personal look into Bearden's life was somewhat oversold.

[Debby Carr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads book giveaway The book is an easy read and the chapters are divided into lessons for the reader including homework. I was pleased to find the lessons the students taught Ms. Bearden in her many years of teaching and it is apparent she is a very accomplished educator. I would have appreciated to learn the life lessons Ms. Bearden would learn if she worked in an grossly underfunded public school in a low socioeconomic area. The studetns at RCA receive a remarkable educational experience which just is not available to the majority of students in this country. Trips to New York City and Africa? Many schools do not have the funds available for a field trip within 20 miles.

[Alicia Duff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from first reads, I can tell the book was written with love and compassion. I really enjoyed the insights Kim provided reflecting back on her lengthy teaching experience. As a teacher in the public school system I would like to transfer some of the ideas Kim implemented to foster deeper learning connections with my own students. I especially liked that she included "homework" exercises at the end of each chapter for the reader to reinforce the meaning making derived from each course. I was hooked reading the book and didn't actually complete the 17 courses yet, however I intend on following through spending a week on each of these once the school year starts.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, and it had some positives, but the school environment she works in is NOT the reality for most teachers, so connecting with her anecdotes required a lot of eye rolling, suspension of belief and grains of salt. I totally appreciate the environment and experience her school offers her students, but as an educator, I want to improve what I provide to my students, but all I read was the wonderful things her students had offered to them via grants and donations. Now, I'm depressed and demoralized.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to Kim Bearden and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for my copy of Crash Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me.

My oldest daughter started teaching in a third grade classroom in 1968 and recently retired and because of her, I really enjoyed Ms. Bearden's book about the joy of teaching. My daughter often talks about what her students have taught her too, so it was a special book for me and I plan to share it with my daughter on her next visit.

[Katee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely wonderful book. I loved Bearden's insights into the core values that perhaps every teacher should possess, not just herself, in order to be an effective educator and person. Ever since I attended the Ron Clark Academy's teacher training in February 2013 in Atlanta, I have found a way to work through my personal struggles while maintaining a fresh perspective and outlook on my former professional career.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of the Indiana Department of Education's Book Club. There were chapters which were slow and there were chapters in which the author seemed to be advertising for her academy. With this said, the last two chapters of the book were the best: uplifting, heart-felt, and sincere writing from the author that ended on just the right note.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very sweet and touching book. As a future educator, I do feel I learned quite a bit from the book! I was surprised by the amount of errors in the book (which is a big pet peeve of mine), but it was a sweet, light read and I was able to overlook the errors and just take away important information from the book.

[Gretchen Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I heard Kim speak she brought tears to my eyes. I find her a very inspiring speaker.Her book did not disappoint. The stories of her life intertwine with the children she taught through the years, and she shares some life lessons about what she has learned through the years. Love!

[Jacqueline]

WOW! I will be referring to this book often....to remind me of that joy and my experience at RCA and to fill the void in my students and to hold them to high expectations, and believe in their talents.