I've lived my whole life in Spanish Harlem with my mom, and I never have a father. I have friends who ended up in jail or pregnancy. But Mr.Clark wouldn't let that happen. Mr. Clark worked long hours, making sure I did my work. My grades rose. In fact ,our whole fifth-grade class's scores rose in math and reading. In sixth grade, I entered the gifted program, and Mr. Clark was the teacher. I felt so lucky to have him for a second year !    None of us were surprised when Mr.Clark was selected as Disney's 2004 Teacher of the Year. When he learned he'd won, he said he would draw three names out of a hat; those students would go with him toprefix = st1 /Los Angelesto get the award. But when it came time to draw names, Mr. Clark said, " You're all going."    He got donations to fly all 37of us out to Disneyland inCaliforniaand put us at the Hilton. We were there for three days. People were amazed, but Mr. Clark really cared about us. There's no way I can imagine most teachers doing that. No way. But he saw something in us that nobody else saw.    On graduation day ,there were a lot of tears. We didn't want his class to end. In 2005,he moved toAtlanta, but we always kept in touch. He started giving speeches about education and wrote a best-selling book based on his classroom rules.    In 2007,Mr.Clark took some of us on a trip toSouth Africato deliver school supplies and visit orphanages. It was the most amazing experience of my life. It's now my dream to start a group of women's clubs one day, helping people from all backgrounds.    I'm about to become a senior atHarlemRenaissanceHigh School. My grades are beautiful now, and I'm hoping to go to law school eventually. This fall, Mr.Clark will be opening the Ron Clark Academy inAtlanta, a school for kids who have potential but aren't reaching it, kids who are like I was -- until Mr.Clark came along. What was the author's attitude toward Mr. Clark?
Amazed. Satisfied Grateful. Admiring.