Crash Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me

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 happiness: “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.

Kim Bearden is the cofounder, executive director, and language arts teacher at the Ron Clark Academy, an internationally-renowned middle school and educator training facility. She resides in Atlanta with her husband Scotty and daughter Madison.