Ron Clark's Experiences on Set

I recently had the honor of traveling to Calgary in order to visit the set of the movie based on my teaching experiences. As we pulled up to the set, there were rows of about twenty trailers that were used for catering, wardrobe, offices and temporary homes for some of the actors and cast members. I had no idea that it would be such a big production with a crew of over 100 members. The first place I visited was the wardrobe trailer, and I could have stayed in there all day.

I looked through the rows and rows of clothes that were selected for my character, I was shocked at how closely they had matched my own tastes. I had spoken with the designers severals times, and it was refreshing to see that they had taken my suggestions to heart and really tried to make the clothing authentic. There were even several East Carolina University shirts. Go Pirates!

All of the clothing for my students was selected from the styles of 1999, and seeing all of the popular clothes from that time really brought back memories.

As I walked onto the set, I was overwhelmed by how nice and warm everyone was to me. People I had never seen in my life were hugging me and treating me like we were close friends. I met with the producers and they took me onto the set of my classroom in Harlem, and it was just surreal. I saw my 55 rules posted around the room, the pictures of kids on my bulletin boards and the colorful blue walls with decorations like there were in my actual class.When I arrived theywere filming a scene, and suddenly everyone had to be extremely still. The scene involved Matthew Perry (Mr. Clark) giving a speech to the class about believing in themselves and trying their best on the end-of-grade tests. It was like going back in time and watching myself in my old classroom. When the scene finished, Mr. Perry came over and introduced himself. It felt like the entire crew was staring at us to see how we would act around each other. I, of course, took my natural role and started running my mouth about the whole experience, and slowly everyone faded away and allowed us time alone.I asked him why he decided to take on the role, and he told me that when he read the script. he had tears in his eyes throughout the entire story. I could tell he was sincere, and I instantly felt at ease with him portraying me in the classroom. The rest of my day was spent watching scenes, learning about the movie process and visiting other sets. The highlight of the entire experience, however, involved meeting the child actors. I cannot put into words how impressed I was with these young individuals. They were full of life, intelligent, polite, respectful and just glowing with light. There are four main actors playing four of my main students from Harlem. Brandon Smith and Micah Williams, two of theactors,walked right up to me, gave me a firm handshake and told me that they would be honored if I would join them for dinner that night. I agreed, and we went, along with Brandon's father, to a restaurant that they had adopted as their favorite over their month-long stay in Calgary. I have to tell you, we had conversations about life that I can seldom even have with adults. These young gentlemen were so aware of themselves and had such an amazing outlook on life, and it was just refreshing to spend time with such confident and driven individuals.

Each day the students had to receive at least three hours of classroom instruction, and so I naturally found myself gravitating away from the set and into the classrooms. I taught lessons on geography, the history of South Africa, alegbra and the Louisiana Purchase. I loved it! There were about 30 kids, counting the classroom extras, and it was refreshing to have the opportunity to teach.

After I was on set three days, the fun really got started! Three of my students from Harlem, who are being portrayed in the movie, arrived from NYC. They are now 11th graders, and the experience was just as shocking for them as it has been for me. One of my students, Tamara, couldn't wait to meet the young actress, Hannah Hodson, who is playing her in the movie. When they first saw each other, they hugged and started laughing because they look nothing alike, but after 5 minutes we could notseparate the two girls; they were instantly bonded and discovered they had a lot in common. Tamara said to me, "Mr. Clark, she may not look like me, but she is just like me on the inside."The students from Harlem were joined by three 6th graders from Aurora, North Carolina. They were visiting the setbecause I wanted to give a shout out to the town were I first began my teaching career. All six students served as extras in the final scene of the movie, and let me tell you, I had six little Halle Berry's and Brad Pitt's on my hands! Overall, the experience was out of this world and watching my former students interact with the actors playing them in the movie was priceless. The greatest similarity would have to be between Derrick, my former student, and Micah Williams. Derrick was my "class clown" in Harlem, and Micah who plays Derrick in the movie is a total class clown in real life. Those boys got along so well and were instant friends. As you can see to the right, they also share the same smile.

More details to come! Please visit the Photos/Videos section for more pics and details from the set!